The Watchers

This week on The Watchers, join Jodie and Andrea under the moon in Brooklyn Heights for our review of Moonstruck, the romantic comedy that won Cher her Oscar, gave us Nicolas Cage at full Nicolas Cage, and explored the power of a good makeover. We dive into the various non-Italian actors tasked with populating Cher's Italian family, the iconic Castorini home, and the film's surprisingly tender treatment of its flawed but lovable cast of characters.

Next week, we’re sticking with Cher, but trading moonlight for mermaid tails. We’re watching Mermaids. Get ready for unconventional parenting in the form of marshmallow kebabs, teenage rebellion in the form of Catholic piety, and 1990's most desirable bachelor in the form of the late, great Bob Hoskins.

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

Andrea and Jodie are stopping by Truvy's beauty shop to revisit the southern tearjerker Steel Magnolias. We talk about the film’s deeply personal backstory, the stacked cast, and how Steel Magnolias made space for older women in a way that still resonates. We reflect on how this movie landed differently on rewatch, especially for those of us who are starting to feel more like Ouiser than Shelby. Plus: our favorite quotes, behind-the-scenes gossip, and, of course, that scene from Yellowjackets.

Next week we’re headed north to Brooklyn Heights for big hair, big feelings, and that big pizza pie in the sky. We’re watching Moonstruck. Get ready for Cher at her Oscar-winning best, Nicolas Cage in all his unhinged glory, and another standout performance from Montclair theater queen, Olympia Dukakis.

Recommended in this episode:

"An Inside Look at Steel Magnolias from Robert Harling" Gun and Garden, April 2018

The Right Match: A Short Documentary

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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, Jodie and Andrea are back in the kitchen for our full Season 4 recap of The Bear. From standout episodes to side character gold, we’re breaking down what worked, what wobbled, and what we’re still thinking about. Plus, we hand out our Season 4 Superlatives, including Best Richie Line, Best Fak Moment, Biggest Cry, and more. And of course, we share our hopes, dreams, and predictions for Season 5.

Don’t forget, we’re covering Steel Magnolias on Monday as part of our Yellowjackets side quest. See you then!

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, Jodie and Andrea are talking about Harold and Maude, Hal Ashby’s unconventional romance that’s become a cult classic, an aesthetic touchstone, and (maybe?) the origin story of the manic pixie dream girl. We get into: why Maude might be the blueprint for the trope, and why she also transcends it. Why Harold is relatable to those of us who might delight in our melancholy, even if Maude is really who we should be putting on our vision board, the movie’s deep influence on today’s filmmakers (looking at you, Wes Anderson), and how Ashby originally had a very different vision for the film's soundtrack, including plans for another musician to both score the film and star in it.

Recommended Reading:

"A Boy of Twenty and a Woman of Eighty" By Leticia Kent

"The Greatest Comedic Tragedy: How Harold and Maude Redefined Holocaust Humor" - Film Cred

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."

A show where two from Jersey’s distant ends

watch goonies, girls, class presidents unglued.

From clueless cliques to matricidal friends,

now 90s Romeo comes neon-hued.

We trace the plot through fish tank, fire, and storm,

sing praises for our queen, Mercutio,

who dances on the screen in perfect form.

No man more grave than Harold Perrineau.

Our tragic teens, Danes and DiCaprio,

a letter meant to save Claire, left unsent,

breaks the heart of blonde and brooding Romeo

and ends the so-called Life of Juliet

Next week? A dour boy who drives a hearse.

Now? Say Harold and Maude to end this verse.

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, we’re heading to True Directions and diving deep into the 1999 cult classic But I’m a Cheerleader. We talk about Jamie Babbit’s queer filmmaking roots, RuPaul out of drag, and the Barbie dreamscape of repression and resistance. Plus: what But I'm a Cheerleader can teach us about camp, queer longing, and the limits of satire.

Don’t miss next week’s episode on Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

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, Jodie and Andrea revisit Election, Alexander Payne’s dark, hilarious, and deeply cynical take on high school democracy. We get into the film’s multiple narrators, shifting POVs, and why it still feels so sharp 25 years later. From Tracy Flick’s overachieving rage to Jim McAllister’s petty unraveling, we trace how the film breaks down ambition, morality, and why, in 2025, people are still getting Tracy Flick wrong.

Next week, we’re watching But I’m a Cheerleader, Jamie Babbit’s bold, surreal, and very pink satire about queerness, conformity, and finding love at gay rehab.

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:

The Movie Election 25 Years On - Scott Detrow

What America Gets Wrong About Tracy Flick - A.O. Scott

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, Jodie and Andrea are heading to North Shore High to take on Mean Girls, a defining entry in the canon of girlhood, but one we both struggled with more than expected. We get into what makes the movie mean, what it gets wrong that Clueless gets so right, and how it lands in 2025, when girlhood is messier, more public, and more scrutinized than ever.

Next week, we’re revisiting Election, Alexander Payne’s razor‑sharp satire of ambition, repression, and suburban malaise.

Recommended Reading:

• “Mean Girls”: A Time Capsule of Casual Bigotry - Glenda Brown
• ”Fey Grateful That Film Seems to ‘Stick With People’” - Ashley Spencer
• I Adore “Mean Girls,” But Let's Stop Acting Like Teen Girls Are Mean" - Amanda Scherker

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, Jodie and Andrea are covering Amy Heckerling’s 1995 teen rom-com, Clueless. It’s the hyperstylized, deceptively smart, deeply girly ’90s take on Emma that shaped a generation. We get into makeover culture, some casual narratology, teen magazine aesthetics, ska music, why Cher’s makeover actually fails, and how Wallace Shawn is honestly perfect. Plus, Andrea gives a breakdown of the elusive PC game, Jodie goes JSTOR mode, and we consider whether or not it really is a proto-feminist masterpiece.

Next week on The Watchers, we’re covering Mean Girls. Tina Fey’s sharp-tongued, early-2000s take on high school hierarchy, it’s a film with a massive pop culture footprint and a defining entry in the girlhood canon.

Recommended Reading: 

Playthrough - Clueless (CD-ROM, 1997) 

“‘Just a Girl’ Should Have Been a Hit From Clueless, and Other Behind-the-Scenes Secrets from the Soundtrack” by Jillian Mapes

“Clueless at 20: Revisiting the Soundtrack With a Classic Track-by-Track Review” by Kenneth Partridge

“Furiously Franchised: Clueless, Convergence Culture, and the Female-Focused Franchise”, Cinema Journal, Kyra Hunting

Both articles listed below can be found in ReFocus: The Films of Amy Heckerling edited by Frances Smith and Timothy Shary

• “Can I Please Give You Some Advice?: Clueless and the Teen Makeover” by Alice Leppert
• “Cher and Dionne BFFs: Female Friendship, Genre, and Medium Specificity in the Film and Television Versions of Amy Heckerling’s Clueless” by Susan Berridge

This week, Andrea and Jodie are talking Dazed and Confused, Richard Linklater’s attempt at an anti-nostalgia movie about the last day of school. We get into the vibes, the music, what makes the meandering plot work, and why, as adults, the hazing hits a little harder and the movie feels meaner than we remembered. Still, it’s a hangout classic with killer needle drops and a cast full of future stars.

Next week, we’re watching Clueless. Written and directed by Amy Heckerling. As smart as it is stylish. It’s an endlessly rewatchable Beverly Hills take on Emma, packed with iconic outfits, sharp dialogue, and one of the most lovable casts of the ’90s.

Recommended Reading:

“Dazed and Confused: Not So Long Ago, But Very Far Away” -  Chuck Klosterman

Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused - By Melissa Maerz

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."