We Really Like Her!

This week on FONDAVISION ... Jane Fonda doing her best Blanche DuBois in a sub-textually queer film from the writer of Funny Girl (the play and film)! Listen in as Emily and Danita navigate Tennessee Williams adaptation Period of Adjustment (1962), which features one of Jane's earliest on-screen performances. Is this black-and-white MGM picture just another silly pitstop on Jane's way to serious superstardom, or does it have some sneakily forward-thinking themes that would steer the course of her career forevermore?

After a brief hiatus, Danita and Emily are back with a new instalment of FONDAVISION! Join them as they cringe through Jane's most problematic movie yet: 1977's Fun with Dick and Jane. What was Activist Jane thinking when she made this failed satire that includes raging homophobia, transphobia, racism and misogyny? What's the Real True Hollywood Story behind those rainbow socks she wore in it? And, most importantly, where does this movie rank on the FONDAVISION scale of success?

In the second episode of WRLH!'s Jane Fonda series, Emily and Danita take cakes to the face with the challenging (and, honestly, occasionally chuckle-worthy) Monster-in-Law (2005). Was this early aughts comedy the triumphant return to cinema that Jane may have hoped it would be after 15 years? Where's the sequel starring Wanda Sykes as the scene-stealing Ruby (and only Wanda Sykes as the scene-stealing Ruby)? Has there ever been better horror girl representation than J.Lo and Jane watching A Nightmare on Elm St.? And, most importantly, what did Jane think of Jennifer's performance in Hustlers?

WE'RE BACK, BABY! Join We Really Like Her! co-hosts Emily and Danita as they kick off Fondavision — a new series dedicated to the iconic works of the one and only Jane Fonda — with the politically and erotically charged opus that is Book Club (2018).

Is it as good as they remember it was when they saw in theatres with Emily's mom and their friend Candis while drunk on rosé? Is Jane's character, Vivian, the direct descendant of Samantha Jones? And did Don Johnson (Dakota Johnson's father to Danita) fall in ~TRUE LOVE~ with Jane while shooting this movie? Find out the answers to these questions and more in the premiere of Fondavision!

Climb into our fur(s) and get cozy because we’re closing out 2019 with an extended episode dedicated to our favourite films directed by women this past decade! We’re talking everything from underrated tearjerkers (YOUR SISTER’S SISTER, anyone?) and acclaimed dramedies (LADY BIRD!) to fearless horror flicks (remember THE VOICES?) and genre-defying docs (here’s looking at you, SHIRKERS). Plus, we reveal our top movie of 2019 (it is, shockingly, unanimous!) and which gore-geous horror film we’ll be screening at Toronto’s Revue Cinema on January 30!

We Really Like Her! is produced by Emily Gagne and Danita Steinberg, edited by Danita Steinberg, with a theme song by Emily Milling.

Which hit film is heartfelt, hilarious, head-banging, and helmed by a most righteous babe of punk cinema? It’s WAYNE’S WORLD (party time, excellent)! In honour of Emily’s birthday, we’re bowing down to Penelope Spheeris’s WAY worthy 1992 comedy about friendship, “foxy” ladies, and finding success on your own terms. Let’s look straight into the camera and address important questions like, did you ever find haiku writer, secret drummer and possible Scorpio Garth Algar endlessly relatable? Also, has there ever been a more excellent faux rocker chick than - cue Gary Wright’s “Dream Weaver” - Tia Carrere’s Cassandra? And why in the hell did Mike Myers not trust Penelope’s vision for what would become one of the most iconic music moments in movie history???

We Really Like Her! is produced by Emily Gagne and Danita Steinberg, edited by Danita Steinberg, with a theme song by Emily Milling.

This week we’re taking a trip to 1960s Louisana with Toronto filmmaker Lu Asfaha! As Kasi Lemmons tours the world with her new film, HARRIET, we’re revisiting her magical debut feature, EVE’S BAYOU, a film about growing up, sisterhood and the complicated nature of memory. After lamenting the fact that Lemmons didn’t get all the calls after this truly remarkable work (which Roger Ebert dubbed best film of 1997!!) killed at the box office, we celebrate the other incredible women who helped her bring the film to life (including cinematographer Amy Vincent, actresses Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Debbi Morgan). Plus, Lu speaks to the ways Lemmons inspires her as a genre writer/director and gives us a sneak peek of her two (!!) films screening at the Regent Park Film Festival this month: DEAD END (November 20) and PALADIN (November 21). And Danita debuts her fan theory linking Eve Batiste to Danny “Redrum” Torrence!

We Really Like Her! is produced by Emily Gagne and Danita Steinberg, edited by Danita Steinberg, with a theme song by Emily Milling.

For this year’s Halloween episode, we’re digging up a forgotten favourite! Yes, it’s time to revive the conversation around director Mary Lambert and her grossly (emphasis on the GROSS!) underrated 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Follow us to the forests of Ludlow, Maine as we unearth our true feelings about the 2019 remake and the ways in which it (im)pales in comparison to Mary’s revolting and revolutionary take. We also mourn the loss of Mary’s original concept for Pet Sematary II (which would have followed Ellie Creed!) and wonder whether the Fun and Fucked Up horror film is dead, or just buried under a pile of “elevated” yet uninteresting spins on the genre.

We Really Like Her! is produced by Emily Gagne and Danita Steinberg, edited by Danita Steinberg, with a theme song by Emily Milling.

One, two, a new episode for you! We’re back from our hiatus to celebrate the 25th anniversary of NEW NIGHTMARE with dreamghoul and fellow horror lover Lindsay Traves. Join us in the boiler room as we slice and dice the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise, revisiting Heather Langenkamp’s ongoing role as Nancy Thompson. Why do we still scream for Robert Englund as literal child murderer Freddy Krueger, but hardly ever talk about Nancy, a true survivor, pyjama enthusiast, and precursor to one of the best modern final girls (calling Sidney Prescott!)? And what would a new NEW NIGHTMARE look like, especially without Nancy’s biggest fan, Wes Craven, in the picture?

We Really Like Her! is produced by Emily Gagne and Danita Steinberg, edited by Danita Steinberg, with a theme song by Emily Milling.

We're finally over our post-festival colds (okay, Emily's still coughing a bit) and ready to share our final TIFF thoughts! Settle in with a seasonal beverage (pumpkin spice cold brew, anyone?) and listen in as we reflect on all the women-directed films we saw, including new works from Kasi Lemmons (HARRIET) and Alma Har'el (HONEY BOY) as well as debut features from Aisling Chin-Yee (THE REST OF US, a.k.a. Danita's new favourite film!) and Rose Glass (SAINT MAUD). Plus, what did Movie Club think of Renée Zellweger's buzzed-about performance in JUDY? Will Beanie Feldstein be redefining teen cinema (again!) with HOW TO BUILD A GIRL? And why is Emily so obsessed with KNIVES OUT?

We Really Like Her! is produced by Emily Gagne and Danita Steinberg, edited by Danita Steinberg, and features a theme song by Emily Milling.