Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

The second film in our "Barrymore Dynasty," also suggested by our Patreon family member, Amy, is the direct successor to "Grand Hotel!" In 1933's "Dinner at Eight," director George Cukor delivers another star-studded story made up of several intertwined tales! Shipping magnate Oliver Jordan (Lionel Barrymore) is informed by his wife, Millicent (Billy Burke) that they're hosting a dinner party next Friday at 8 pm. Oliver is worried that the family business is going to fail during the depression, but has turned to businessman (and not very nice person) Dan Packard (Wallace Beery) for help. Packard is planning on stealing Oliver's company, something his wife Kitty (Jean Harlow) is not supportive of. Meanwhile, Kitty is having a passionate affair with a married doctor, Wayne Talbot (Edmund Lowe), who has become bored with the relationship. Add to this a pair of fading stars, Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler) and Larry Renault (John Barrymore), the latter of which is currently married but having a passionate affair with Oliver's daughter Paula (Madge Evans) and you have the ensemble of intricacy which provides the twists and turns of this surprisingly honest tale of the society elite amidst the American Great Depression! Plus, the gents unveil which two films they'll be looking at next as they celebrate Pride Month!

This pairing is focused on the "Barrymore Dynasty," in this case speaking of both John and Lionel Barrymore, and was suggested by Amy, part of our Patreon family! The first suggested film is a landmark film, in more ways than one, from MGM. Directed by Edmund Goulding, with screenwriter William A. Drake revising his 1930 theatrical play, 1932's "Grand Hotel" featured one of the first big all-star line-ups of the new "Talkies" era of film! The story takes place in Berlin, Germany at the Grand Hotel, destination of a variety of incomes and social strata. In the film, the lives of a ballerina, Grusinkaya (Greta Garbo), a down-on-his-luck Baron (John Barrymore), a successful business owner, General Director Preysing (Wallace Beery), a struggling stenographer, Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford), a terminally ill accountant, Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore), and a scarred war veteran, Doctor Otternschlag (Lewis Stone), all become intertwined as comfort, love, riches, security, and illicit fantasies are all pursued. "Grand Hotel" would end up changing the way Hollywood structured its films, and set a record at the Academy Awards that still endures to this day!

The second film in our second Kevin Smith pairing qualifies as his first actual sequel. In 2006's "Clerks II," we're once again reunited with Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) and Randall Graves (Jeff Anderson) from the original "Clerks" film. This time, they're working at a fast-food restaurant, along with manager Becky Scott (Rosario Dawson) and fellow employee Elias Grover (Trevor Fehrman). Dante is working his last day at the restaurant before moving to Florida with his fiance Emma Bunting (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith). The film chronicles the two clerk's last day working together and, like the first film in the pairing, has a number of noteworthy cameo appearances from a variety of stars including some first-timers as well as some Smith-film regulars. It's also one of the most self-referential films with regard to the tropes established by Smith in the other "Jersey Trilogy" (sic) films. And the trio announce what pairing they're backing their new list up for, which comes from the newest member of their Patreon family!

It's our second pairing of films by independent wunderkind, writer/director/actor Kevin Smith, someone one of the geeks taught summer courses on the films of! This time around, it all centers no co-star Jason Mewes. The fan love-letter, "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" was Smith bring his greek chorus out of the limelight and letting them headline a road picture like no other! Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) find out that the comic book heroes based on the two of them has been optioned as a major motion picture, but they aren't getting any money from it! Plus, it's getting ripped by anonymous posters on the Internet so, in true stoner logic fashion, the two decided to head from Jersey to Hollywood to stop the film from being made! It's one of the most cameo-laden films made, perhaps ever, plus it's filled with Smith's signature vulgarity and "real talk," plus it's got one of the loudest lines "Silent Bob" has ever said on screen! The film also stars Shannon Elizabeth, Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter, Will Ferrell, and the first ever on-screen appearance from Smith's wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith! Plus cameos from dozens of actors, many of whom you'll recognize from "Clerks," "Mallrats," and "Chasing Amy!"

The second film in our pairing about television news was written, produced, and directed by James L. Brooks (of "Terms of Endearment" fame)! In 1987's "Broadcast News," we meet our three leads as teenagers before leaping to the film's present-day. We meet Jane Craig (Holly Hunter), a woman who eats, breathes, and lives television. She works as a segment producer with her best friend, reporter Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks), who is equally as passionate about the integrity of news as an artform. Their world is thrown into chaos, however, when the network decides to hire a good-looking but mentally average correspondent and fill-in anchor named Tom Grunic (William Hurt), and he asks Jane for help becoming a better newsperson. The story has a number of twists the characters are forced to deal with, including a love triangle and something it has in common with last week's film: The result of major budget cuts forced on the news division by the parent network. The film also stars Robert Proskey, Joan Cusack, and Jack Nicholson! Plus, the gents reveal which two Kevin Smith films have become their second pairing to focus on the writer/director/star!

Our last pairing from our August list is all about television news as depicted in film! We start in 1976, with directory Sydney Lumet's scorching review of the battle between a TV network and its new department! In "Network," we watch as veteran news anchor for the UBS network, Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is informed that he is being fired after decades in television news. When Beale goes on-the-air that night, he announces that he's been fired for low ratings and that he'll be blowing his brains out, live, the following Tuesday night. He is forcebly taken off the air and terminated immediately. His friend, Max Schumacher (William Holden), who is also the news division President, allows Howard a chance to make things right the following night, but he only makes things worse. But since Schumacher just learned his news division has been neutered, he lets Howard say his peace. Unfortunately, at least for the network suits, Beale's broadcast creates a huge ratings spike, so the executives decide to exploit it. Eventually, UBS' programming chief Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) reaches out to Schumacher with an offer to help develop Howard's new show, which he refuses, but decides to accept another of her offers. As you can expect, things explode in a spectacular fashion in an unapologetic evisceration of the backroom dealings that happen in television networks with regard to programming and news! Also starring Robert Duvall, Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty, John Carpenter, and Jordan Charney!

Our second film in our "Kids are capable of the darndest things" pairing is also from 1986, but didn't have anywhere hear the impact our first film did, due to an unforeseen real-life disaster. Directed by Harry Winer, "Space Camp" came out within a year after the shuttle Challenger disaster, and audiences just weren't ready for what was actually a very sweet film. Zack (Tom Skerritt) and Andie (Kate Capshaw) are a married couple, with him being part of the control room crew and her being a pilot who's hoping to be chosen for an upcoming shuttle mission. Unfortunately, Andie is passed over and left to be one of the leaders of NASA's Space Camp (a real thing btw). There, she is assigned Kathryn (Lea Thompson), Tish (Kelly Preston), Rudy (Larry B. Scott), Kevin (Tate Donovan) and Max (Joaquin Phoenix in his first-ever role) as her crew. Despite Andie's best efforts, the kids just can't seem to get alone, with Rudy being overly-enthusiastic, Kathryn being too serious, Kevin being a jerk, Tish seeming to be an airhead, and Max being too young. But when the six are accidentally launched into space during an engine test, things get a lot more serious in their attempts to get back to Earth! Also starring Barry Primus, Terry O'Quinn, and Mitchell Anderson! Plus, the guys announce the pairing of broadcast news-related films that marks the end of their list from last August!

Jeff says this pairing is entitled "Kids are capable of the darndest things" and it features two films about young people going above and beyond what even their adult counterparts would be expected to do. First up, directed by Sydney J. Furie, 1986's "Iron Eagle" tells the story of Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick), an Air Force brat and son of Colonel Ted Masters (Tim Thomerson), a decorated fighter pilot. After Col. Masters is shot down on a trumped-up charge of violating a small middle-eastern country's airspace, he's tried and sentenced to death. Doug enlists the help of retired Colonel Charled "Chappy" Sinclair (Louis Gossett Jr.), along with his friends Reggie (Larry B. Scott), Tony (Jerry Levine), Milo (Robbie Rist), and Joenie (Shawnee Smith). His friends having grown up on the base, know just how to distract the adults in order to get what they need to set up a two-man rescue of Doug's father. The film was made with no cooperation from the U.S. Armed Forces, and came out just months before another, more successful, fight pilot film, but more than paid for its production and has gained a significant fanbase over the years since its release on home video! Also starring David Suchet, Caroline Lagerfelt, Melora Hardin, Chino 'Fats' Williams, and Michael Alldredge!

The second film in our Dudley Moore pairing comes just two years after our first, but it cemented Moore's status as a Hollywood superstar! For writer/director Stephen Gordon, this was his first feature film, and his last, as he died in 1982. But 1981's "Arthur" would go on to produce four Academy Award nominations and two wins, for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Original Song! The film stars Moore as Arthur Bach, a spoiled rich New Yorker who's never really grown up (largely because he's never had to). The film opens with Arthur being driven around the city by his chauffeur, Bitterman (Ted Ross), and Arthur stops to pick up a hooker named Gloria (Anne DeSalvo) for dinner and a night of friendly debauchery. In the morning, Gloria is tersely turned out by his butler, Mr. Hobson (Sir John Gielgud, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this role). Arthur then goes to meet his father, Stanford Bach (Thomas Barbour) who informs him that Arthur must agree to the marriage he's arrange for him, to Susan Johnson (Jill Eikenberry), or be cut off from his $750 million dollar trust fund. Arthur reluctantly agrees, and seems resigned to his fate, until he meets a beautiful young shoplifter named Linda Marolla (Liza Minnelli). From there, it's a romantic comedy with a surprising sense of heart and the Oscar-winning song, "The Best That You Can Do," by Christopher Cross that seems to sum up all the emotion of the film. Also starring Geraldine Fitzgerald, Barney Martin, and Stephen Elliott! And, the gents talk about what two films they'll be looking at next for what Jeff is calling his "Kids are capable of the darnedest things!" pairing!

It's been almost seven months since Buddy, Chad, and Jeff started their list of pairings that were supposed to get them through to the 500th episode. But thanks to too many very famous actors passing away, there are still three pairings left on the list! Fortunately, the fates have allowed the trio to return to it, starting with this week's film! This pairing features two films that made Dudley Moore a well-known name in the United States (he was already well-known in the UK)! First up, directed by the masterful Blake Edwards, 1979's "10" is a story about a famous songwriter hitting his mid-life crisis! George Webber (Moore) is turning 42 and not handling it well. He's in a shaky relationship with singer Samantha Taylor (Julie Andrews) and is squabbling with his lyricist Hugh (Robert Webber). One day, while out driving, he catches a glimpse of a beautiful young woman in a wedding dress and becomes completely smitten! Eventually, he discovers that her name is Jenny Hanley (Bo Derek) and she's just married her boyfriend of two years, David (Sam J. Jones). He also learns that her father, Dr. Miles (James Noble) is a dentist, so he makes an appointment where, while getting six cavities filled, he learns that Jenny has gone to Mexico for her honeymoon. High on the painkillers the dentist prescribes him, he hops on a plane and finds himself at the same resort with the newlyweds. Will he find a way to realize his fantasy? If so, will the real thing turn out to be as great as his fantasy? Watch the film and find out! Also starring Dee Wallace, Max Showalter, and Brian Dennehy!