Shut Up and Watch This

Remember BENNY & JOON, that quirky Johnny Depp movie from the 90s? Dave doesn't--it's in his blind spot! Aidan Quinn stars as an auto mechanic who's made it his life's purpose to care for his mentally ill younger sister (Mary Stuart Masterson). Enter an eccentric, Buster Keaton-type (Depp) who can speak her language and read her emotions, but who's appearance upsets the balance. This week Ashley chooses a "comfort food" movie from her past. And Dave has to confront his Johnny Depp problem. 

This week it's Dave's pick: DOWN BY LAW, Jim Jarmusch's deadpan indie prison break film from 1986, featuring Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni. What happens when you cram a deejay, a pimp, and an Italian tourist into a claustrophobic New Orleans prison cell? We talk cinematography, music, male energy, plus the curious Benigni effect. Along the way, we also touch upon Jarmusch's 2017 film PATERSON and Kogonada's COLUMBUS.

One of us chooses, the other watches, then we break it all down. This week Ashley makes Dave watch Jenniphr Goodman's 2000 indie comedy, The Tao of Steve starring Donal Logue, a movie she saw when she was attending community college and still living at home with her folks in West Texas. Dave was in film school in Austin but missed it completely. How does this movie about a sloppy, philosophical womanizer look and feel in the year 2018?