Auteur Theory

Originally published August/September 2016

First published August 2016

Well, we made it. The Future: 2020. That glimmering utopia of progress and innovation -- ehhh, well, it's the year 2020 now. But what of the decade that came before?

On this special bonus episode, Nick and Chris will be presenting their Top 10 Best Of the Decade 2010-2019. Find out which films (and other media, because someone decided not to follow the rules, even though the episode was his idea) Nick and Chris think will stand the test of time, unlike the many, many others that will be lost like tears in rain...

From the imagination of George Lucas, a boy with a thirst for adventure must leave his humble home on an epic quest - aided by a charming outlaw, a princess, and a wise old wizard - to master a magical power in order to defeat an evil dark sorcerer. Are there lightsabers, spaceships, and robots? No. But this one has a tiny Kevin Pollack and someone gets turned into a duck at one point!

It's the 1988 fantasy adventure epic Willow. Lucas leaves behind a galaxy far, far away for a world of castles and dragons - and brings Ron Howard into the director's chair hoping to create the next great Hollywood franchise. That didn't happen. But in the over 30 years since, it has developed a devoted cult following. 

Nick and Chris are joined by Cecil Laird of The Horror Show to see if this overlooked epic can still muster up some magic.

This week, Nick and Chris are joined by Jeff Gordon of Zia Records to take a look at Ron Howard's re-teaming with Michael Keaton for the 1986 comedy Gung-Ho. A slapstick-satire of the culture clash between working-class heartland Americans and the emerging Japanese corporate culture - this one was a staple of VHS video stores and mid-afternoon cable back in the 80s and 90s. But how well does it hold up in 2019?

Join Nick, Chris, and Jeff to find out if Howard and Keaton of the 80s in a modern cultural climate pull off a laugh-fest, or a cringe-fest.

So in our exploration of the film work of director Ron Howard, why are we doing an episode on this forgotten 1985 animated Disney opus? We don't really know either. But why not, here it is.

Nick and Chris are joined once again by podcaster Heidi Schilling (Campfire Curmudgeon, A Schilling for Your Thoughts) to revisit one of Disney's most controversial films, the gothic-fantasy The Black Cauldron. 

Decades in production, hastily re-edited, and not often talked about; does this dark fairy tale adventure hold up? Join us to find out.

Alright, so this was mostly a conversation that happened off-air, but I think we just need to get out in front of it. Our co-host, Nicholas Edward Jones, has a deep hatred for chartered boats. I don't know what happened to him in his past to ingrain this in him; but he especially hates them when the captain on board is Steve Guttenberg. He's apparently fine with them when the captain is a drunk Englishman who gets eaten by an oversized fish; but not someone who - despite being a trained law-enforcement officer - needs help from Becker and Spock to raise a Little Lady. 

In fact, I, Christopher R. Smith, and our special guest, comedian/musician Scott Gesser, find charter boats lovely and charming; especially when they're escorting some lovable old folks to escape this planet with their new extraterrestrial friends as they do in Ron Howard's 1985 sci-fi/ comedy Cocoon.

There's not much we can do about Nick's bigotry against a mid-sized schooner with The Gutts at the helm. But maybe this feel-good 80s favorite will melt his cold, cold heart. Join Scott, me, and Ebenezer Jones to find out.

Mermaids. Now that the Discovery Channel has shown us incontrovertible evidence that they exist, our movie this week is more relevant than ever. It's Ron Howard's 1984 fantasy romantic comedy Splash. It's Tom Hanks. It's Daryl Hannah. And, hey! John Candy is there too!

Will these land/sea-crossed lovers finally bridge the gap between human and mermaid relations? Or will their romance be relegated to airing on Animal Planet at 2am that you vaguely remember watching while drunk? Join Nick, Chris, and podcaster Heidi Schilling (Campfire Curmudgeon, A Schilling for Your Thoughts) to find out if this 80s fan favorite is a keeper, or should just be thrown back.

When you're in the mood for a fun, breezy comedy, where else would you look than the crime and corruption of the mean, gritty streets of late-70s/early-80s New York? Not sounding great? But what if you had Henry Winkler, Micheal Keaton, and Shelly Long as your guides? That's more or less what happens in Ron Howard's 1982 comedy Night Shift.

Join Nick, Chris, and actor/comedian/podcaster Michelle Nakamoto as we look at this 80s sex-worker farce to see if Beetlejuice and the Fonz can manage to pull more laughs than cringes.

As we start off our new season examining the films of Ron Howard, we're starting at the beginning. Howard has left the comfortable TV confines of the sleepy streets of Mayberry and 1950s suburban Milwaukee to begin his rise to one of Hollywood's most successful and prolific directors.

From 1977, it's the rollicking car crash action-comedy Grand Theft Auto. Produced by Roger Corman, this drive-in cult oddity was Howard's first theatrically-released feature film. After spending his entire young life in show business, what happens when Howard first climbs behind the camera? Strap in with Nick and Chris to find out.