John Candy just wants to take his family to the lake for a summer vacation, the last thing he needs is Dan Ackroyd tagging along, humiliating him, and stealing his money. But that's family for you. This feels like an unused National Lampoon's Vacation script, and it turns out, thats exactly what it is.

Starring John Candy, Dan Ackroyd, Stephanie Faracy, and Annette Benning. Written by John Hughes. Directed by Howard Deutch.

A computer programmer gets sucked into the mainframe of his former employer and does battle with a malevolent artificial intelligence in a futuristic world right out of a black-light poster. One of Walt Disney Pictures' better forays into science fiction brings us a visually-dazzling world, but that doesn’t quite make up for a story that’s both nonsensical and a bit of a slog.

Starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, and Barnard Hughes. Written by Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. Directed by Steven Lisberger. Music by Wendy Carlos.

An arrogant New York shock-jock's fall from grace is tempered by the debt he owes to an eccentric unhoused man, the woman he loves, and a search for the Holy Grail in Terry Gilliam's magical-realist tale of redemption.

Starring Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, and Michael Jeter. Written by Richard LaGravanese. Directed by Terry Gilliam.

A washed-up, alcoholic ex-ballplayer is recruited to coach the worst team in little league, and sets off to pull them together into a real team, where the star pitcher is a girl and the best player is a dirtbike-riding juvenile delinquent. It's a classic 1970s snobs-versus-slobs story of rooting for the losers, the bums, the misfits.

Starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neill, Vic Morrow, Jackie Earl Haley, and Joyce Van Patten. Written by Bill Lancaster. Directed by Michael Ritchie.

A book editor witnesses a murder during a cross-country trip, and is plunged into a Hitchcockian world of murder and intrigue. Eventually Richard Pryor shows up, and we get some unfortunate blackface. What can I say, it's the 1970s.

Starring Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Jill Clayburgh, Patrick McGoohan, Ned Beatty, Ray Walston, Scatman Crothers, and Richard Kiel. Written by Colin Higgins. Directed by Arthur Hiller.

A Miami Vice-influenced cross between neo-Noir and over-the-top action, it’s the story of two cops—one an alcoholic detective, the other an undercover cop playing hitman—taking down some Hong Kong gangsters. It has gung-fu, babies in peril, and the boxiest, beigest computers the 1990s could deliver. 

Starring Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung, Theresa Mo, Philip Chan, and Anthony Wong. Written by Gordon Chan and Barry Wong. Directed by John Woo.

Apologies to any listeners for the sound, this was recorded while Mary had a bad cold.

Young lovers Anna and Françoise, freshly graduated from college, find themselves in a mysterious forest, where they fall prey to Morgan le Fay, the fairy queen of Avalon who rules her magic island as a savage, Sapphic nightmare. For a sleazy erotic horror film, it's much better than it deserves to be--surprisingly atmospheric, with authentic elements of fairy lore, folk horror, and medieval literary tropes amidst the soft-core action.

Starring Dominique Delpierre, Mireille Saunin, Michèle Perello, and Alfred Baillou. Written by Bruno Gantillon and Jacques Chaumelle. Directed by Bruno Gantillon.

This is a preview of our Patreon-only series Hollywood Avalon: An Arthurian Film Podcast. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies.

A sheet-music salesman's life spirals out of control during the Great Depression, but that doesn't stop him from daydreaming about a better life through song. A film noir plot dressed up as a big, Busby Berkeley-style musical comedy, this remake of a British tv series was a massive box-office bomb, but has become a cult favorite.

Starring Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Jessica Harper, and Christopher Walken. Written by Dennis Potter. Directed by Herbert Ross.

In a world where dancing is banned, only one boy has the courage to stand up to the religious fanatics denying his magical feet. Or something. I guess.

Starring Kevin Bacon, John Lithgow, Lori Singer, Diane Weist, and Christ Penn. Written by Dean Pitchford. Directed by Herbert Ross.

Bored suburban kids get into trouble, hassled by the cops until it turns deadly, and ending in an orgy of destruction--a pretty familiar American story. Sitting somewhere between low-budget exploitation films and more thoughtful, nervy fair, this cult movie pulls off having its cake and eating it, exploring the root causes of juvenile delinquency while having some awesome explosions. 

Starring Michael Kramer, Matt Dillon, Pamela Ludwig, Vincent Spano, and Harry Northup. Written by Charles S. Haas and Tim Hunter. Directed by Jonathan Kaplan.