Paid in Puke Podcast!

On this episode of Paid in Puke, we analyze Susanna Fogel's 2023 thriller, Cat Person based on the 2017 short by Kristen Roupenian, and adapted for the screen by Michelle Ashford, who was the showrunner for Masters of Sex, but most importantly, wrote the teleplay to the abortion episode of 21 Jump Street. The film stars Emilia Jones, Geraldine Viswanathan, Hope Davis, Isabella Rossellini, and Nicholas Braun.

We all had very different feelings about this film, both from our initial watch together in the theater, and after our analytical watches for the pod. Journey with us as we discuss how heavy-handed a metaphor we can tolerate; why Fogel might have tried a bit too hard to cater to a male audience, at the film's expense; the surprisingly problematic element of the source material; and how Nicholas Braun perfected towing the line between awkward and creepy. 

Plus: Did Harrison Ford ruin a generation of men? 

It's our Season TEN premiere AND our ONE HUNDREDTH EPISODE! Thank you to all of our listeners! We are thrilled to be back with our third Abortionpalooza, but much less stoked about the fact that thanks to the overturning of Roe V. Wade, uterus-owning Americans currently have less bodily autonomy than they did in Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Three. 

We kick things off with a brief history of abortion depiction on television and examine season 3, episode 5 of the teen cop drama, 21 Jump Street, "Whose Choice is it Anyway?". It originally aired on December 11th 1988 on the Fox network. It stars Holly Robinson-Peete, Stacey Edwards, and Dana Ashbrook (Twin Peaks). The teleplay by Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex, Cat Person), is surprisingly progressive and they even go so far as to make an anti-choice terrorist the villain. 

Then we tool around with Lily Tomlin and Julia Garner in 2015's "Grandma", directed by Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy), and co-written by Tomlin, who put a lot of her own voice in it. Garner plays a high school girl who asks her free-wheeling grandmother (Tomlin) to help her scrounge up enough money to make it to an abortion appointment by 5 pm. Judy Greer, Marsha Gay Harden, Laverne Cox, and John Cho round out a fun supporting cast. 

We touch on themes such as who *needs* to be involved in deciding what to do about a pregnancy (*spoiler alert* it's pretty much just the person carrying the fetus), where should kids get information about pregnancy and birth control, and why women should be valued for more than just their fertility. 

On the Lunchtime Poll, we reveal some information we wish we had never received.

On this very special minisode of Paid in Puke, we're falling in love with Hannah Pearl Utt's 2024 comedy, "Cora Bora", starring Megan Stalter, Ayden Mayeri, JoJo T. Gibbs, and Manny Jacinto, with cameos from Chelsea Peretti and Margaret Cho. The Pukettes got a sneak peek at this hilarious movie that will hopefully propel Megan Stalter to the stardom she deserves. 

Rhianon Jones' very PDX screenplay tells the story of an L.A. based musician with a tragic past who returns to her home in Portland Oregon on a whim after sensing that her open relationship with her girlfriend in in jeopardy. Megan Stalter owns this movie start to finish. She’s hilarious as always, but also brings out an unexpected dramatic side.

We absolutely loved "Cora Bora", and will definitely give it the full Paid in Puke treatment once it’s out on streaming, but we also want to tell everyone to go see it while it’s still in theaters! As always, there are spoilers, so if you don’t want to know the big reveal about what’s wrong with Cora, see the movie first and then come back and listen to this (or navigate around them*).

"Cora Bora" is in limited release starting June 14th, 2024 – around L.A. and New York. It’s not super easy to figure out where and when it's playing but we promise it will be worth the goog. It opens in Seattle, Washington on June 22nd 2024 at the Grand Illusion Cinema, which is a wonderful little arthouse cinema and there aren’t that many of those left so please support small indie movie houses whenever you can. And please throw down some $$ to support "Cora Bora"! 

*Spoilers 10:07-14:20; 16:00-16:26

On this episode of Paid in Puke Podcast, we're rummaging through Sofia Coppola's 2013 true crime drama, "The Bling Ring", starring Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julian, Leslie Mann, and Israel Broussard. Coppola based the script on Nancy Jo Sales' 2010 Vanity Fair article, "The Suspects Wore Louboutins". Our returning guest is the Sparkle Queen known as Laura Lawrence ("9 to 5"). Laura has has seen the film many times, jammed out to the soundtrack many MORE times, and brings a shopping bag full of fun facts. 

We also get into the film's prescience for today's influencer culture, and why kids are less inclined to aspire to landing "a good job". On the Lunchtime Poll, we reveal the things we have in such abundance, we might not notice getting robbed.

On Season 9, Episode 9 of Paid in Puke, we're slurping up Emerald Fennell's 2023 gothic drama, Saltburn, starring Rosamund Pike, Alison Oliver, Carey Mulligan, Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Archie Madekwe, and Richard E. Grant. Fennell wrote her original screenplay during lockdown, and filled it to the brim with foreshadowing, symbolism, entendre, and myriad literary references. We're here to celebrate this carefully-constructed masterpiece, dive to the deepest of the layers, and, of course, appreciate the visual splendor.

It's Keggers with Kids all this episode, with Logan Green, who has answers to your burning questions, and a tub full of fun facts.  

On the Lunchtime Poll, we reveal which songs people MIGHT think were written about us ("She came from Greece! She had a thirst for knowledge!").

We ate this movie up and licked the f*cking plate. Come to Saltburn and get lost with us!

It's the Paid in Puke 2024 Oscars Special! Join us and special guest Denise Rodriguez (our Resident Oscar Specialist) as we run through the major categories (all the actors, director, and picture) with our Misses, Wishes, and Predic-shes. We dive deep into the enigma that is the career of B-Coop, and why Oppenheimer has so many more noms, even though Barbie clearly won in terms of money and popularity. We fawn over Poor Things, and we agree that a Greta was snubbed, but it might not be the one you think. We give Past Lives, Saltburn, and All of Us Strangers the recognition that the Academy failed to bestow. And we puzzle over why Willem Defoe is one of the best actors to never win an Oscar.

As a bonus, we each chose a technical category to discuss, and what we're most looking forward to on Oscar Night. 

On season 9, episode 8 of Paid in Puke Podcast, we're sorting through Kitty Green's 2019 drama, "The Assistant". It stars Julia Garner, as the titular assistant at a high-powered New York film production office, who navigates a particularly trying day at work. While this is a "me too" movie, and the nameless boss in question bares some resemblance, The Assistant is not about Weinstein. Instead, it captures an all-too pervasive systematic conspiracy to allow powerful men to assault women without repercussions. 

The Assistant is also relatable anyone who has ever had a job description vague enough to become the office task dumpster. We love this movie, Kitty Green's unique ability to capture the sinister tone of misogynist micro-aggressions, and Julia Garner's nuanced frown. 

On the Lunchtime Poll, we reveal the dumbest thing a boss has ever asked of us. 

On Season 9, Episode 7 of Paid in Puke Podcast, we're celebrating Emma Seligman's 2023 high school sex comedy, "Bottoms", written by Seligman and Rachel Sennott. "Bottoms" stars Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, and Marshawn Lynch. 

Like "Barb and Star" before her, this movie is an instant classic for the Pukettes. We extoll the myriad virtues of the Dream Team that is Sennott, Seligman, & Edebiri. It's a smart comedy disguised as a stupid one, with a thousand jokes landing per minute and some of the *tightest* mise en scène we've ever scène. But even if it were just a stupid comedy, guys make those all the time. That's the point of feminism. 

Our super fun Lunchtime Poll question: What fake club would you start to entice your crush? 

On Season 9, Episode 6 of Paid in Puke, we're dissecting Todd Haynes' 2023 drama, May December, starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton. Team May December is claiming that the film is only "loosely based" on Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau. We discuss the difference between "inspired" and "ripped off", and why Fualaau is not happy about this film. 

Trigger Warnings for child abuse, child rape, and childhood trauma.

This movie is serving THEMES. Why does Hollywood love to look for the humanity in bad people? Can a person truly live a life without regret? Can you really love your abuser? Is there a responsible way to make a film about a living victim without their consent? BUTTERFLIES. 

We do a fun Lunchtime Poll to counteract all the darkness. What is your biggest anxiety when throwing a party? Don't forget the hot dogs!

On Season 9, Episode 5 of Paid in Puke, we're getting friendly with Colin Higgins' ("9 to 5") 1982 musical, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", based on the Broadway show by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson, which was in turn based on a real story published in Playboy! It stars Dolly Parton, Theresa Merritt, Dom DeLuise, Burt Reynolds, and a host of talented triple threats credited as "Chicken Ranch Girl". 

There are, of course, some Hot Probs, but Dolly ain't one. Our National Treasure holds the floor, and even sneaks in her own song to round out the catchy soundtrack.

Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast? You'll never guess which problematic film critic had some truly revealing criticisms about this film upon release (JK, it's always the same guy).

Come on down and hang out with us as we sing the praises of the singular talent that is Dolly Parton.