The Watchers

Andrea and Jodie watched The Talented Mr. Ripley, the 1999 psychological thriller that features Jude Law at the height of his powers. We talk about what makes the casting work in a story that depends on believing Tom and Dickie’s strange connection, the beauty of sun-drenched Italy on film, and Jude Law’s perfect face (and terrible hat). There’s also Cate Blanchett being effortlessly delightful, the realization that we maybe haven't given Matt Damon the credit he deserves, and Patricia Highsmith’s stunning lifelong commitment to horrible opinions. 

Next week, we’re talking Jennifer’s Body, the horror-comedy revenge cult classic that deserved better the first time around.

Recommended Reading:

The Most Stylish Scammer: 20 Years of ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’

‘Visceral, sensual wonders’: why The Talented Mr Ripley is my feelgood movie

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

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The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

This week, Andrea and Jodie watched The Silence of the Lambs, a quiet little drama about gender in the workplace, mentorship, art appreciation, canine companions, and the importance of strong female friendships.

Recommended Reading:

“30 years in, The Silence Of The Lambs’ Jame Gumb still deserves better” - By Harmony Colangelo

Next week, we’re welcoming October in with the 1999 psychological thriller, The Talented Mr. Ripley. 

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

Follow:

The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

Hey Watchers fam, quick note! No new episode today. We foolishly thought we’d somehow find enough hours in September to stay on track, but that was obviously hubris on our part. We’ll be back in your feed next week with Silence of the Lambs, a full episode, and no plans to take any more time off for the rest of the year. In the meantime, give this one a listen for a few recommendations of stuff to check out while you wait for our return, as well as–depending on where you live–some upcoming events you might be interested in. Thanks for sticking with us. Rate/review if you haven’t, share us with a friend, and we’ll see you next week! 

To ask Rainn Wilson a question for This Helps With Marlon Morgan’s live podcast recording, head to thishelpspodcast.com/ask

Tickets to Laughing Together’s All-Star Improv Jam on September 29th in San Diego, CA are at wellnesstogether.org/conference

Join Beautiful/Anonymous for our 500th episode, recording live at Smodcastle Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, on October 17th: punchup.live/chrisgethard

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

Follow:

The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

Last week, Andrea and Jodie checked into One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to talk rebellion, institutions, and what it takes to be a woman in a male-dominated field. This week, we’re shipping up to Cambridge for a rewatch of Girl, Interrupted. It’s another Winona Ryder voiceover project and the film that gave Angelina Jolie the world’s worst bangs. We get into how Susanna Kaysen felt about seeing her memoir on screen, the 90s all-star cast, and what it says about decades of not-so-great mental-health care for women.

Next week, get ready to sink your teeth into Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning classic, The Silence of the Lambs.

P.S. Our apologies for the unannounced break last week! Missed you terribly. We'll never leave you again.

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

Follow:

The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

This week on The Watchers, Andrea and Jodie check themselves in for a review of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. We trace the long and winding road to bringing this film to the screen, talk about its unconventional on-location set, and reflect on how it launched so many of our favorite actors’ careers. We also unpack the deep misogyny baked into the writing of Nurse Ratched as a monstrous woman.

Next week, we’re staying in the psych ward for the Cuckoo's Nest companion piece Girl, Interrupted.

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

Follow:

The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

This week on The Watchers, Andrea and Jodie are snowed in with Stephen King’s Misery, Rob Reiner’s chilling two-hander adaptation that won Kathy Bates her Oscar and taught us to fear typewriters, sledgehammers, and devoted fans bearing soup. We talk about King’s real-life inspiration for the story, the long and winding road to casting Paul Sheldon, and why this movie manages to be terrifying, funny, and oddly cozy all at once.

Next week, we’re moving from one devoted nurse with a questionable bedside manner to another, trading Annie Wilkes for Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

Recommended Reading:

"Retrospective: 30 years later, ‘Misery’ still loves company" - Eddie Mouradian

Follow:

The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

This week on The Watchers, Andrea and Jodie revisit Stand by Me, a beloved film that, nearly four decades later, still lands with kids and adults. We talk about why the nostalgia feels real instead of cheap, the oft-discussed ways the actors’ real lives mirrored the roles they played, and whether or not we can make the case that it counts as a Jersey movie.

Next week, you cockadoodie listeners better not go anywhere because we’re coming back for Reiner’s second entry in the King Cinematic Universe, Misery.

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

Follow:

The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

This week on The Watchers, Andrea and Jodie hop on their bikes and pedal straight into the summer of 1970 with the coming-of-age classic Now and Then. Often called Stand by Me for girls, we talk about where that comparison lands, where it misses, how the film captures girlhood friendships, our draw toward the nostalgic, and which parts still work on rewatch. We also cover how Now and Then handles grief, first crushes, and the awkward limbo between kid and teen.

Next week, we’re heading down the tracks for the only natural follow-up to Now and Then, Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me, a darker, sharper coming-of-age story about friendship, mortality, and that one summer that changes everything.

Recommended Reading:

“​What White Girl Coming-of-Age Movies Don’t Do For a Black Girl” - Zoé Samudzi

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

Follow:

The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

This week on The Watchers, Andrea and Jodie bundle up for a double dose of March family goodness with Little Women, starting with the beloved 1994 version and bringing in Greta Gerwig’s more meta 2019 adaptation. We talk about what makes this story so enduring, why every generation gets the Jo it needs, and how both films handle what's really at the heart of Louisa May Alcott’s classic. We also get into 1994’s all-star 90s cast, the importance of women-led movie sets, and what Alcott really thought about the men in her novel. Plus, significant haircuts, compulsory heterosexuality, Freudian analysis, and other Watchers classics.

Next week, we’re sticking with girlhood, nostalgia, and formative trauma but trading bonnets for bikes with 1995’s coming-of-age drama, Now and Then.

Recommended Viewing:

“Why The Costumes of Little Women did NOT deserve an Oscar” - Micarah Tewers

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

Follow:

The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."

This week on The Watchers, Andrea and Jodie are heading to 1960s Massachusetts with Mermaids, the coming-of-age dramedy that gave us Big Hair Cher, yet another Winona Ryder voiceover, and Christina Ricci's first major role. We talk about the movie’s unique (somewhat perplexing) tone, how it captures the confusion of girlhood, and the enduring charm of Bob Hoskins.

Next week, we're traveling back a century or so for another movie about a family of girls enduring New England winters, 1994's star-studded and heartbreaking earnest Little Women.

If you're reading this, that means you've probably got your podcatcher of choice open right now. It would be SO helpful if you gave our little show a follow. If you like what you hear, you could even leave us a review.

Follow:

The Watchers on Instagram (@WatchersPodNJ)

Andrea on Instagram (@AQAndreaQ)

Jodie on Instagram (@jodie_mim)

Thanks to Kitzy (@heykitzy) for the use of our theme song, "No Book Club."