House of Crouse

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Gord Sinclair. Best known as the bass player and one of the songwriters in The Tragically Hip, he is now a “reluctant solo artist” with a new album pon the way.

His new single “Gool Guy” marks a continuation of the solo career he never anticipated embarking on before the 2017 passing of The Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie. Following decades of music-making with the band’s frontman, Gord Sinclair continues to honour his friend through music.

The new song is the follow-up to his debut solo project, 2020’s Taxi Dancers, which was released to critical acclaim, and brings back a more rhythmic and driving rock ‘n roll energy that just might put you in the mind of The Hip.

Then, bestselling Métis author Cherie Dimaline stops by. Her breakout book, The Marrow Thieves, has been widely acclaimed for its portrayal of Indigenous colonization and ecological devastation and was named one of Time magazine's top 100 YA novels of all time and her other novels, like Empire of Wild and Hunting By Stars have won many awards, including the Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature.

Her new book, VenCo is a novel about a coven of modern-day witches. It is an epic adventure that unfolds involving secret witches, witch hunters, magic spoons and an epic road trip from Toronto, to Salem, through Appalachia and into New Orleans.

On this week’s Richard Crouse Show we meet Matt Bauer. He is the director of “The Other Fellow,” a new documentary that asks a simple question, “What would it be like to share your name with legendary movie spy James Bond?” It is the untold story of the real James Bond[s], people like a Swedish superfan who changed his name to James Bond and opened his own James Bond Museum, a South Bend, Indiana man, James Bond Jr. whose life has been marred by several police officers who refuse to believe the name is real and other Bonds in Vancouver, Toronto, London, Denver, Guyana, Europe, the US and Baghdad. All are bound by being in that looming shadow of James Bond and the movie, The Other Fellow, explains how it creates an identity crisis like no other.

Then, Darron Cardoza stops by. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you know him by his on-line name, The Bitchy Waiter. He is a long time New York City restaurant worker, an actor and a writer. His popular blog and social media sites are the voice for restaurant workers around the world. He says out loud what most people in the restaurant industry are only allowed to think.

This week on the Richard Crouse Oscar Special we meet four Academy Award nominees!

First up, Ke Huy Quan, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the most aptly titled movie of last year, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” You can say a lot of things about “Everything Everywhere All At Once” but you can’t say you’ve ever seen anything quite like it before. An eye-popping reflection on the power of kindness and love to heal the world’s problems, it is exhilarating that mixes and matches everything from family drama and tax problems to martial-arts and metaphysics into a whimsical story that moves at the speed of light. The result is a singular film that milks intentionality out of its madness.

You know Ke Huy Quan as Short Round, the plucky kid companion to Indiana Jones in The Temple Of Doom and from a role in cult classic comedy-adventure The Goonies. We’ll talk about why he chose to return to acting in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” after a twenty-year break from Hollywood.

I caught up with Best Director nominee Baz Lurhmann and the stars of “Elvis,” Best Actor nominee Austin Butler, who hands in a terrific performance as Elvis and Olivia DeJonge who plays Elvis’ wife, Priscilla. We talked about what the story of Elvis’s life can tell us about America, Priscilla’s role in the singer’s life and much more.

Then, we meet Best Actor nominee Brendan Fraser, whose performance as a 600 pound man in “The Whale” earned him a six minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, and the film’s screenwriter Sam Hunter, to talk about what Fraser learned from playing the character, how Hunter changed the script from the original stage play and more.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show, comedian and actor Matt Walsh was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for his role as Mike McLintock in “Veep.” He is a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and has appeared in films such as Road Trip, Bad Santa and The Hangover.

He co-wrote and stars in the new film, “Unplugging,” a new comedy now on VOD, that sees a workaholic husband and wife, played by Matt and Eva Longoria, who are both permanently glued to their phones. In an effort to relax, they go off the grid on a rustic getaway with no cell service, internet or social media to revive their marriage. But what starts as the perfect weekend getaway quickly spirals out of control with unearthly encounters, strong edibles, cranky locals, and a pesky one - eyed dog. Without GPS to guide them or social media to save them, they are forced to rediscover what truly matters — each other.

Then we meet “Pressure” star Kevin Doyle. In the show, now playing the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, it’s D-Day, June 1944. The Allied forces led by General Eisenhower are poised to launch. 350,000 lives are at stake and the decision of whether to attack comes down to the most important weather forecast of all time.

We talk about “Pressure,” and his most famous role, “Downton Abbey's second footman, Joseph Molesley.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Billboard’s Top New Country Artist of 2021, and CMT’s 2022 “Breakout Artist of the Year” Lainey Wilson. Her highly anticipated album “Bell Bottom Country” is out now and she recently announced a 27-city headlining tour, that will visit Vancouver and Edmonton this year.

Then welcome Slava Pastuk, the co-author of “Bad Trips,” a book recounting how he went from an editor for VICE media, to being to sentenced to nine years in prison for recruiting friends into a scheme to smuggle cocaine from the U.S. into Australia.

Finally, we’ll meet Maya Macatumpag, a Filipino Canadian stuntwoman whose work can be seen in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the Ryan Reynold's movie “Deadpool 2”, and the TV shows “Supergirl” and “Supernatural.”

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Quebec ultramarathon runner Joan Roch who is preparing for a nearly 8,000-kilometre run from the most southern point of the United States to Quebec's Gaspé peninsula.

Then, Oscar winner Laura Dern joins me to talk about her latest film “The Son,” which is in theatres now. In it, she plays Kate, ex-wife of the Hugh Jackman character and the mother of a young man experiencing extreme depression.

We’ll also get to know Andrea Constand. Of the more than 60 women who publicly accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault, she is the only one to get a conviction. She joins me to talk about her pursuit for justice and healing and a new docu-series called “The Case Against Cosby.”

Finally, we get to meet Lou Lou la Duchesse de Riere, an Indigenous burlesque performer from Quebec who was named No. 2 in the world by 21st Century Burlesque Magazine.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Mark Critch. He is an actor, comedian and author, who, since 2003 has starred on the political parody show This Hour Has 22 Minutes. He’s photo-bombed Justin Trudeau, offered Pamela Anderson a million dollars to stop acting, and poked fun at characters like Rex Murphy, Don Cherry and Donald Trump.

The show turns thirty years old this season, making it the longest running comedy show on Canadian television. As if that wasn’t enough to keep Mark busy, his other show, the hit CBC sitcom “Son of a Critch,” is now on its second season. The show is a biographical look at growing up in Newfoundland and Labrador, and in a fun twist, he plays his own father on the show.

Then, we get to know Raymond Knowles, and he is the world’s number one Avatar fan. To prove it, he has tattooed 95% of his body with Avatar related tats, named his Edmonton Alberta based carpentry company Mr. Avatar, and has seen the movies more times than you can count.

Usually around this time of year I look at the best and worst movies of the year, but with so much negativity in the world, I decided to concentrate on the good stuff, the best movies I saw this year.

It’s time to buy a new calendar and think ahead to the next year. For some the New Year is a new start on old habits, for others, like me, it’s a time to make some resolutions, but why do we make them every year, when every year we break them. On the show today we’ll talk about resolutions, whether they help or hurt and how to make your life a little better in 2023.

A bee shares their Christmas message with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.