Arguably the most ambitious and accomplished of the many, many outside media adaptations of Louisa May Alcott's 1868 coming-of-age novel, Greta Gerwig's 2019 take on Little Women scored rave reviews and high box office returns. Its studio, knowing that period dramas with lots of actorly moments tend to do well at the Oscars, campaigned hard for it during awards season (it got lots of major award nominations, but it won only a few fancy trophies).

One of the most acclaimed films of 2022, Everything Everywhere All At Once follows a struggling laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) as she navigates dealings with a stern IRS agent (Jamie Lee Curtis), her disapproving father (James Hong), her disappointed husband (Ke Huy Quan), and her distant child (Stephanie Hsu). Things take a turn when she gets roped into a wider struggle centered upon various alternate versions of herself from many parallel worlds. All of these realities involve figures making choices that led to radically different lifestyles, leading our protagonist to intense introspection, significant personal growth, and more than a little kung fu.

While Toy Story holds the distinctions of being the first computer animated feature film and the IP that established Pixar's brand identity, its endurance in pop culture goes far beyond its groundbreaking elements. Toy Story is a deeply emotive and humanizing film that also possesses great story structure, a deep bench of likable characters, and a warmly relatable sense of humor. Toy Story becomes all the more remarkable when one looks into the behind the scenes drama; there were hundreds of ways this project almost fell of the rails, but somehow everything came together exactly when it needed to.

Founded shortly after unionization struggles at Disney resulted in a talent exodus, United Productions of America (UPA) specialized in wartime propaganda cartoons before subcontracting for Columbia Pictures. Their output, heavily indebted to abstracted modern art and limited animation, pushed the boundaries of what an animated short film could be. This recording focuses on four groundbreaking cartoons supervised by director John Hubley; their embrace of wry humor, experimental aesthetics, and unconventional story structure won loud accolades, won many awards, and sent ripples throughout the animation community in ways that are still being felt today.

Film distributor Miramax spent the 80's and 90's cannily marketing its products with great success to critics, audiences, and film award committees. One of the biggest beneficiaries of Miramax gamesmanship was Good Will Hunting, a coming-of-age drama surrounding a troubled Bostonian math prodigy. Good Will Hunting only had one famous actor in its cast and its story could not be easily boiled down into an elevator pitch, but it ultimately became a big hit that won breathless accolades, collected numerous award statues, and launched the careers of Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Minnie Driver.   

Made at the height of World World II, Casablanca centers on a group of drunks, gamblers, criminals, refugees, cops, and Nazis contending for a valuable set of papers that can ensure one safe transit out of the reach of the Third Reich. These documents wind up in the hands of saloon owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), meaning that everyone from corrupt police Captain Renault (Claude Rains) to Rick's old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) suddenly take a serious interest in his actions and motives.

Centering on a group of jewel thieves bickering with increasing severity after a heist goes horribly wrong, Reservoir Dogs broke several molds, inspired numerous imitators, and immediately turned writer/director Quentin Tarantino into an adjective. Its brisk pace, unconventional structure, fondness for pastiche, cavalier approach to violence, and rambling dialogue became hallmarks of independent cinema for the remainder of the decade (and beyond). It would be difficult to fully assess the shadow that Reservoir Dogs left on pop culture in the years since its debut.

Troop Beverly Hills is a late 1980's comedy centering on a privileged housewife (Shelley Long) taking a position as the leader of her daughter's Wilderness Girls group. This is initially so she can demonstrate her resolve to her estranged husband (Craig T. Nelson), but she gradually bonds with her child (Jenny Lewis), forms connections with the other girls, and develops a rivalry with the Culver City troop run by the conniving Velda Plendor (Betty Thomas).

Arguably the most fantastical (and sexy) of the Bard's comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream was first adapted into a movie in 1925 and has received numerous treatments since. This podcast episode delves into a 1999 Hollywood treatment directed by Michael Hoffman and starring Kevin Kline, Anna Friel, Stanley Tucci, Christian Bale, Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfeiffer, Calista Flockhart, Dominic West, and a whole lot of bicycles. This take on the story received lukewarm reviews and tepid box office, but Ryan has a soft spot for this one and he really wanted to talk about it on record. He's joined by Sylvan and Cheryl.

Defying the ascent of talkies, Charlie Chaplin conceived and filmed City Lights as a romantic comedy in pantomime and released it well after the silent era was dead. Despite this, City Lights was an acclaimed success and is routinely argued as Chaplin's masterpiece. It's also Ryan's favorite Chaplin film, meaning that he was eager to drag Sylvan and Cheryl in for a discussion about its merits, impact, and legacy.