Why This Movie?

After a brief hiatus, Why This Movie? is back! We welcome our first return guest, Candice Fanning, here to talk about 1959's Some Like It Hot. In this conversation, we cover VHS, Tony Curtis's Mid-Atlantic (or is it British?) accent, and how Marilyn Monroe remains one of the great misunderstood figures in popular culture.

In 1985, Universal released a time travel comedy called Back to the Future. Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Robert Zemeckis, this film sees Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) accidentally wind up in his hometown thirty years in the past.

Before helping his friend Dr. Emmett Brown with an experiment that sends him back in time, Marty lives a life that isn’t exactly inspired. Besides the bright spot of his girlfriend, his dad’s a loser, his mom has let herself go, and he has no reason to believe in himself.

Once Marty lands in 1955 and gets in the way of fate by inadvertently interrupting the first time his parents meet, he has to make sure they meet and fall in love before he heads back to the future. Or else he will cease to exist and there will be no future.

Carpe diem.

On the occasion of Valentine's Day, we dive into 2017's romantic, devastating, and unforgettable Call Me By Your Name. We talk about Italy, the 1980s, the chemistry between Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer, and how sad movies are a safe place to process one's feelings.

It's been less than two years since Paul Reubens passed away, taking the indelible character of Pee-Wee Herman with him. In this conversation, we talk about the last movie Reubens made as Pee-Wee Herman and how this character has something to say about being oneself in a sometimes scary world.

Celebrate Groundhog Day with this conversation on Groundhog Day (1993). In this episode, we look at the deeper meaning behind what has been hailed by religious leaders as "the most spiritual film of all time."

Guest and fellow filmmaker Justin van Voorhis defends and celebrates Batman Forever, explaining its unique role in dealing with grief in his personal history.

In 1993, the landscape of filmmaking and visual effects changed forever with the release of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. My guest Matthew Rand was 8 years old at the time, which made him part of the movie's target audience. Hear about the time his grandmother took him to see it in a now defunct shopping mall, and how even an enormous blockbuster like Jurassic Park can have a lasting personal resonance with an audience member.

Guest Nicole Sorrentino explains how a hyper-fixation with Val Kilmer led to her falling in love with the 1985 comedy Real Genius and how this movie, with its loving representation of neuro-divergent characters, continues to be a safe space for her.

Ah, Paris. Guest Maria Munoz speaks about her love for the old city and how Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris reminds her of the enchanted moments she has experienced there.