Michael and Us

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/66990683

The new Netflix special RICKY GERVAIS: SUPERNATURE (2022) affirms what we already knew: that the formerly very funny Ricky Gervais is funny no more. Where did his trajectory go wrong? We come up with some theories.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/335-songs-of-66874909

U2 (and specifically Bono) are the uncontested world leaders in "fusion philanthropy," and the hagiographic documentary U2: A ROCK CRUSADE (2009) celebrates this legacy uncritically. So it falls upon us, as usual, to provide the criticism. PLUS: our institutions are failing us, and the institution of comedy is no exception.

Dinesh D'Souza believes he has uncovered shocking proof that the Democratic Party stole the 2020 election in 2000 MULES (2022), a documentary so shoddy that even right-wing media is hesitant to publicize it. We follow the trail of Dinesh's conspiracy theory to its inevitable endpoint: a contempt for democracy itself. PLUS: we discuss the billionaire whose name is on everyone's lips, Elon Musk.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/66509310

In DELTA FARCE (2007), "blue collar" comedian Larry the Cable Guy goes to fight in Iraq, but winds up in Mexico. That's right, folks - it's another document from the Bush era. We discuss conservative comedy and touch on the legendary Larry/David Cross feud that tore a nation asunder. PLUS: Luke reveals a traumatic memory involving the Ninja Turtles.

The documentary WHITE NOISE (2020) follows three very prominent members of the alt-right (you'll be familiar with all of them, folks) as their fortunes rise and fall during the Trump era. We discuss the ethics of interviewing/"platforming" ideological enemies, the differing aesthetic styles of various alt-right personalities, and what happens to political "scenes" during periods of eclipse. PLUS: Luke takes stock of the Canadian Conservative leadership race, and Liam Neeson makes a movie about the U.S./Mexico border.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/66228452

Our Superdelegate patron tier has voted for us to discuss the hagiographic documentary RBG (2018), a shamelessly hagiographic documentary about the liberal Supreme Court justice who we all hope manages to live to the end of Trump's presidency. We discuss two things that are bad: political personality cults, and the United States Supreme Court.

THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998) is widely remembered as a prescient film that anticipates the rise of social media and reality TV. But how accurate was its forecast, really? And what, exactly, was it saying? And hey - did the audience watch Truman go to the bathroom? We investigate.

"The Audience is Us" by Jonathan Rosenbaum - https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2021/07/the-audience-is-us/

The Monkees were a prefabricated pop band who didn't play their own instruments and didn't get much respect. But in 1968, they teamed with director Bob Rafelson and a young writer named Jack Nicholson to take charge of their image with HEAD (1968), a corrosive satire that asks: what do the Monkees have in common with the Vietnam War?

Donate to an abortion fund: https://www.thecut.com/article/donate-abortion-fund-roe-v-wade-how-to-help.html

PATREOON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/328-terminally-65881035

Three of Louis Theroux's most recent documentaries (SHOOTING JOE EXOTIC, PORN'S ME TOO, EXTREME AND ONLINE) give us ample opportunity to discuss some of the key issues of our time: the online right, the changing world of porn, and our old friend the Tiger King. PLUS: Did you know that Netflix had its own news website???

Australian land and British institutions mix uncomfortably in Peter Weir's PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975). We speculate from our Canadian vantage points why this story has become one of the iconic documents of Australia's national identity. PLUS: the boys cannot stop talking about Bob Dylan!

"Picnic at Hanging Rock: What We See and What We Seem" by Megan Abbott - https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3202-picnic-at-hanging-rock-what-we-see-and-what-we-seem