Ep. 158: Mr. Nice Guy

We've hit a lot of different (Canadian) genres in #VIDtober 2: kids film, thriller, horror, and now, comedy? Yes, comedy! 1987's MR. NICE GUY is the type of (Canadian) 80's comedy we haven't seen since THE FUNNY FARM (not that FUNNY FARM)! Literally, since star Mike McDonald (not that Mike McDonald) and co-writer Mark Breslin are both in that movie as well! (Which was also Canadian.) MR. NICE GUY goes a lot of places. From the Vietnam War to a store security guard to a contract Killer, McDonald plays a character that goes wherever the story takes him which, eventually, decides this should also be a love story between him and Jan Smithers (WKRP in Cincinnati). Does it all work? Does any of it work? What genre is it exactly? We explore, just enough so you might be able to log this one on Letterboxd. (or, if you truly want to watch the entirety of Mr. NICE GUY and do it right, check out our YouTube page!) For this episode, Erica is live from the Cave, Ryan is also working a shift at Rybusters, his in-home video store, and Marc tries to woo a potential new sponsor, a company dear to his heart whom we hope is going to listen! Fingers crossed, because this podcast can't survive on late fees alone! For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/. 

We continue with #VIDtober 2, where we explore the Canadian movies released by New World Video with an important Canadian film: 1967's PLAYGIRL KILLER! The first Canadian horror movie made in color shares a good amount of DNA with Herschel Gordon Lewis' BLOOD FEAST and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS! and also doesn't share some DNA too! Most prominently is actor Bill Kerwin, who starred in both of those films from Lewis but opted out of the third entry in Lewis' "Blood Trilogy" so he could head to Canada and shoot this, a film about a artist who just wants his models to hold their pose without fail for hours on end. Diving into a stranger's pool with us is Doug Tilley, host of a variety of podcasts on Cinema Smorgasbord including You Don't Know Dick, Eric Roberts is the Man, Bartel me Something Good, and so many more! Being a Canadian himself, Doug helps us fill in some gaps we lack in Canadian culture. This also has plenty of music! Crooner Neil Sedaka appears in the film, until he doesn't, and even sings a little bit! We discuss whether Sedaka was too famous for this movie, as well as other topics, such as the stylistics choice of socks with sandals, how we might "pull a Bob" on our won podcasts, and the importance of having an industrial-size freezer in your house. For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/.

Jessica Young joins us for a #VIDtober deep cut as we discuss the espionage/thriller/romantic comedy, 1986's KEEPING TRACK.  This movie stars Margo Kidder (SUPERMAN, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR) as Claire, a lady banker thrust into a world of genetically modified computer chips and government conspiracies when all she really wants to do is sell trains.  You know, as all bankers do.  Claire is forced to partner up with Hawkins, an overworked reporter from Action News.  Hawkins, played by Michael Sarrazin (THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?), is the kind of reporter who finds the craziest stories.  They're so crazy that nobody believes him.  So, it should come as no surprise that Claire and Hawkins find themselves in the most unbelievable of situations.  We do our best to make sense of the plot in KEEPING TRACK.  That said, you shouldn't feel bad for not, well, keeping track.  Jessica helps us decipher the nuances of her native Canada where KEEPING track was shot.  We discuss the benefits of living above a bar/restaurant, differences between US and Canadian trains (although, we're not sure there is any difference) and the proper way disguise yourself when the CIA, FBI, RCMP, and the Canadian Government all want you dead. We introduce a new element to the podcast, "Point Counterpoint".  We're still working out the kinks.  While there is no "lube talk" in this episode, some of the hosts have a visceral response to needing to read "The Reincarnation of Peter Proud" in grade school.  Enjoy. For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/.

Our Corman Graduates series on exploitation filmmaker Jack Hill continues as we move on from Jack's American International Pictures days of COFFY and FOXY BROWN and move on to the next phase of his career, which gets a little help from Corman's New World Pictures staff, as he moves on to 1974's THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS and 1975's SWITCHBLADE SISTERS.    Joining us to discuss the worlds of undercover college journalism and female gangs is none of than author and film historian Nathaniel Thompson of Mondo-Digital.com!   Nathaniel shares his love of Jack Hill with us, including stories about seeing his films in theaters, his theories on Jack Hill's career, and whether SWITCHBLADE SISTERS was indeed adapted from Shakespeare's Othello.  Why did Jack leave AIP? How did these two movies come about? Is THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS a comedy? How did New World have a part (if any) in these movies? We do our best to answer these questions and celebrate the exploitation madness that is Jack Hill. To buy Nathaniel's book, The FrightFest Guide to Vampire Movies, head here. For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

Dirk Marshall from the VH US podcast joins us to bring back #VIDtober.  We are kicking things off with 1984's THE DOG WHO STOPPED THE WAR.  Part of the Tales for All series that also brought you THE GREAT LAND OF SMALL, THE DOG WHO STOPPED THE WAR is considered a classic in Quebec, Canada. It was the highest grossing movie in Canada in 1985 and, upon it's release on home video, was more popular than Star Wars in Quebec.    THE DOG WHO STOPPED THE WAR follows a group of kids on their winter break who decide to decide to split into teams and engage in a weeks-long war game. One team makes a stunningly constructed fort out of snow.  We can't emphasis this enough.  It is a professional snow fort made by maybe three kids.  It has shelving, cubby holes to store drinks and a pretty kick ass sliding tube that we all agree would be the highlight of our winter break if we could have built something remotely close. Through all the snowball fights, cross country skiing, and war-related confrontations, one can't help but wonder, "how is the dog going to stop this war?"  Well, it does. Eventually.  But not the way you think. Ryan talks a lot about his preferred methods for transporting lube.  It's not the way you think or want.  In fact, we talk a lot about lube.  More than you would expect for an episode about a kid's movie.  Are we starting the Lubecast?  Maybe.  We talk about our favorite snow and tree fort ambitions, our love of Romancing the Stone, and the items we thought were cool to bring to show and tell.  To be clear, these are the items WE thought were cool.  Not what the other kids in the class thought was cool.  In fact, we are planning a "favorite childhood memories" show and tell on a future episode.  But, seriously, we talk a lot about lube. For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/.

As we close out #SEXtember 3: Ménage a Trois we were not expecting this kind of surprise. When Erica chose 1967's THE OLDEST PROFESSION based on the New World Video artwork, she had no idea we were about to watch an European-made sex comedy anthology! And when things get weird with New World movies, there's one person we have to call: comedian and writer Ali Davis, who first joined us for such New World odds and ends classics as UP FROM THE DEPTHS and THE FUNNY FARM! We put her patience to the test with this one! Released in the U.S. and Canada by THE BLOC producer Jack H. Harris, this was made by six different directors: Claude Autant-Lara, Mauro Bolognini, Philippe de Broca, Michael Pfleghar, Franco Indovina, and French New Wave auteur Jean-Luc Godard. With all these European directors, do we do accents? Oh, you bet we do! Lots of them! We also try to make sense of the film, which tries to tell stories about prostitution across many different eras, from prehistoric times to the future! It's one sexy ride through time! Well, it is a ride, anyway! The film is aided by a terrific cast, including Jeanne Moreau and Raquel Welch, who got her acting start in her native San Diego, the same place where hosts Marc and Ryan are from! Is there a family connection? Listen and find out! For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/.

It's another sexy, sexy entry into #Sextember 3: Ménage a Trois.  We are talking about 1985's STREETWALKIN'.  STREETWALKIN' was made by Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures during a time he thought he was making movies for New World Pictures.  Directed by Joan Freeman and stars Melissa Leo (THE FIGHTER) and Dale Midkiff (PET SEMETARY).  STREETWALKIN' follows Cookie and Tim who try to make it big in the Big Apple.  Cookie becomes a prostitute and Tim wanders around the city with no parental supervision.  What could go wrong? Marc talks about the challenges of ordering Chinese food late at night.  Marc has a bold take on Shutter Island - a movie he, evidently hates and Erica only remembers "seeing".  Ryan tells a really fun story about how he used to put the DARK KNIGHT on every time that Erica left the room.  It's a really funny story except Marc doesn't understand what they're talking about at all.   We take a break to ask questions about people who drop a number a number two at night clubs.  Did they just not prepare to spend a few hours at a club?  Is it always a digestive emergency?  Either way, it says something about you as an individual when you confidently take a poop in the dirty bathrooms of a nightclub. Also, is this a sequel to Day of the Dead?  It could be.  It probably is.  It should be. 

When the leaves start to fall, and the summer temperatures goes down, you know what that means: #Sextember! Three years in to exploring the sexploitation movies released by New World Pictures, we start #Sextember 3: Ménage a Trois with 1984's THEY'RE PLAYING WITH FIRE. Starring Sybil Danning (BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS) as a college professor who seduces her student (Eric Brown, PRIVATE LESSONS, Mama's Family), but is she doing so just for the awkward sex or does she have other dubious plans with her husband (Andrew Prine, THE EVIL, GRIZZLY)? If you answered "yes," you'd be right, because this film doesn't just feature a teacher/student relationship but also murder, a mysterious killer, and many lives being wrapped up in the ongoing entertainment and beer specials at Campus Pub! The was directed by Howard Avedis, who directed the similarly-plotted movie THE TEACHER in 1974, which we discuss along with the complexities of owning a yacht and all the shellacking that is involved, the lack of locations involved in the movie, and the giallo vibes the movie gives, including an unusual voice of the killer! Also: what makes a handyman? Do you have to be smart to be a professor? And what's the place to feed your dog? THEY'RE PLAYING WITH FIRE has a place you've maybe never thought about! Enjoy the theme song, which this film has because most movies of the 1980s did, and is a sure-fire contender for a Worldie later this year! Should we record the Worldies at a Campus Pub? We'd be fools not to!  Listen as we start #Sextember 3 in style, at least until Mom and Grandma kick us out!  For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/.

We end #HAHAugust 2: Double Take with a bucket list guest: director Fritz Kiersch, one of the important directors of the second New World Pictures era, helming CHILDREN OF THE CORN to TUFF TURF, and lastly, UNDER THE BOARDWALK. This is really a 2-part interview, with this being the second half, but, since we're releasing it first, so it's actually Part 1. Trust us, it will all make sense. In this part of the interview (Part 1), we discuss UNDER THE BOARDWALK and a non-New World film Kiersch directed prior, 1987's WINNERS TAKE ALL, including why Kiersch chose UNDER THE BOARDWALK for the third film in his 3-picture deal with the studio and why WINNERS TAKE ALL isn't a New World movie (when it really feels like one). In a two film span, there was plenty of drama, with hirings, firings, and the final days of New World Pictures, for which UNDER THE BOARDWALK was a victim.  One of the final theatrical offerings New World would release, the film got buried by a lack of publicity, along with HEATHERS. With the help of Fritz, we're trying to change all that. Don't miss this terrific conversation, with Fritz explaining the casting, working with Robert King, and the production of UNDER THE BOARDWALK, and what Fritz originally intended with WINNERS TAKE ALL. We also touch briefly on TUFF TUF, but for more on that film, you'll have to wait until the second part of this conversation (really, Part 1). Again, it makes sense!  For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/. 

We continue HAHAugust 2: Double Take with an extremely underseen gem from the New World catalog, the Los Angeles set surf dramedy UNDER THE BOARDWALK, directed by Fritz Kiersch (CHILDREN OF THE CORN, TUFF TURF). Originally set to be released in 1988, New World eventually put this out at the same time as HEATHERS, the final two theatrical releases for the company.  Featuring the endless struggle between the coastal "locs" (or "lawks" as Letterboxd might have you believe) and the San Fernando Valley "Vals," the film concerns two star-crossed lovers caught between the two worlds just as the two sides meet in a local surf competition (or "compo" if you're cool). How does Allie (Danielle van Zerneck, LA BAMBA) deal with her feelings for Nick (Richard Joseph Paul, OBLIVION)? Well, not by looking after her cousin Andy (Keith Coogan, ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING), that's for sure! Helping us discuss this Shakespearean tale is our good friend and New World superfan Justin Grams, who has been with this film from the very beginning!  Listen as we go through the film's history, share our thoughts on a potential sequel, have a discussion of the slang term "whease," and a whole lot more as we give this film the attention it deserves!  Special thanks to Fritz Kiersch, writer/producer Matthew Irmas, and producer Greg Blackwell for their assistance with this episode! For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/