Podcast Like It's ...

So. Uh. We recorded an episode on "American Beauty" before the allegations about its star came to light. We kinda had to. It was undeniably one of the most important movies of 1999. It influenced the style of every studio-backed Oscar play for 15 years. It basically has "this was made in 1999" scribbled into the corner of every frame. It won Best Picture, guys. So, here it is, our discussion on "American Beauty" directed by Sam Mendes, written by Alan Ball, starring Annette Bening, Chris Cooper, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, Alison Janney, Scott Bakula and John Cho in one scene and no one else of note.

In this episode Phil and Kenny dive into “Deep Blue Sea,” either the dumbest or most brilliant movie of 1999. Don’t believe us? This is a movie about a supermodel scientist (Saffron Burrows) who convinces a preppy billionaire (Samuel L. Jackson) that her team of genetical engineers (including Michael Rappaport) has found the cure for Alzheimer’s disease by genetically mutating sharks, which quickly turn against their creators. LL Cool J is a heroic chef. Thomas Jane is a heroic... good swimmer(?). And, for better or worse, Phil and Kenny are enraptured by this piece of movie magic.

Join Phil and Kenny as they take you back to 1999, by way of 1950s Italy, in Anthony Minghella's "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Why does "Ripley" hold up better than most 1999 films? Is this Matt Damon's best performance ever? Why didn't Jude Law become the star he was destined to be? Why was this movie largely ignored, yet still endures in ways other 1999 films haven't?

Drugs! Raves! Ecstasy! Vegas! Amway! Let's go back to the go-go 90s in Doug Liman's "Go." In what ways did Liman and screenwriter John August go right and go wrong? Are we going to see a more 1999 movie than "Go?" How did go for the young stars of "Go" in "Go?" And where did all of those go-getters go after "Go?" Go with Phil and Kenny as they go ahead and discuss "Go!"

In this episode, Phil and Kenny mosey on over to Barry Sonnenfeld's steampunk (?) Western (?) comedy (?)  "Wild Wild West." Was the film deserving of the wagon-load of Razzies it took home in 1999? Is Will Smith and Kevin Kline the worst on-screen pairing of the year? Was there a hidden brilliance to Kenneth Branagh's performance as a legless man obsessed with mechanical spiders? And what exactly was Salma Hayek even doing there? Mount up and well tell you the tale of the biggest bomb of 1999.

Phil and Kenny dive into the deep end to discuss and dissect Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut." Is this film a masterpiece or merely an excuse for a 20 minute masked orgy? Was the 400 day continuous shoot the reason Tom and Nicole's marriage ended, or was it the deeply troubling depiction of a marriage in crisis? And how just much psychological abuse is permittable? Are the rules different when it comes from a master? Phil and Kenny break it all down on Episode 1 of "Podcast like its 1999."