by Adam Riske and Patrick Bromley
Double Feature 1:
Adam: #1: Trading Places (1983)
Patrick: #2: Brewster’s Millions (1985)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Oscar
Patrick: Theme: Comedies That Feel Old
Patrick: I wish I could articulate this theme a little better (or a little less on-the-nose). I thought Trading Places (one of my favorite 1983 movies!) and Brewster’s Millions would pair well because they both a) star two of the biggest and funniest Black comedians of the early ‘80s; b) are very much about capitalism and greed in the decade of Reagan; and c) both feel like Ernst Lubitsch movies from the late ‘30s or ‘40s. The trailers don’t work with all of those qualifiers, but I’m not as concerned with those. The double is good enough as it stands.
Adam: Nice. I’m planning on watching Trading Places before F This Movie Fest. It’s a movie I’ve seen parts of over time on television but not sure I ever have in its entirety. I’d like to go to this double feature also to get an opportunity to see Brewster’s Millions for the first time. I always confuse it with The Toy since I was a 1-year-old in 1983 so films from that year are discoveries for me in most cases as opposed to movies I have distinct memories about. I like the theme and trailers especially. Oscar is fun and underrated.
Double Feature 2:
Patrick: #1: Private School (1983)
Adam: #2: Baby It’s You (1983)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Streamers, Birdy, Vision Quest
Adam: Theme: Private Joker Origins
Adam: Reel talk: I didn’t like Matthew Modine much when I was a kid but in the past 10 years or so I’ve grown to really like him. The movie that sort of unlocked my fandom of him was Vision Quest and it was cemented by Married to the Mob. I was excited to pair your headliner (Phoebe Cates!) with Baby It’s You (which I didn’t know had Modine and was pleasantly surprised when he popped up) since I watched it recently and really enjoyed it. Isn’t Rosanna Arquette the best?
Patrick: Rosanna Arquette is the absolute best, maybe tied only with Patricia. I don’t know if I’m there with Modine yet, but you bringing up Married to the Mob reminds me of how much I love him in that movie so maybe I’m closer to getting there than I thought. Private School is not great but I have a fondness for ‘80s sex comedies so I’ve seen it too many times. I like this double because we get to have our dessert first.
Double Feature 3:
Patrick: #2: Poltergeist (1982)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Sixteen Candles, Jaws, Gremlins
Patrick: Theme: Hard PG
Patrick: I miss the early 1980s, when a PG could have been an R. Probably could’ve gone with “Steven Spielberg Presents” too, with the exception of Sixteen Candles, which my sisters and brother and I were so excited to watch one Saturday afternoon after we got home from a shopping trip but then there were boobs in the first 10 minutes and my mom made us turn it off. It would be years before I would actually see it.
Adam: I love this theme since it zeroes in something that gave me a lot of anxiety as a young movie fan - the scarrrrrryyyy PG movie. Jaws especially felt dangerous when I was little. Poltergeist still feels dangerous to me. I’m so relieved when they throw that television out of their hotel room at the end.
Double Feature 4:
Patrick: #1: Revenge of the Ninja (1983)
Adam: #2: Hercules (1983)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: 10 to Midnight, Young Warriors, Treasure of the Four Crowns
Adam: Theme: Cannon 1983
Adam: I really wanted to make this an eBay related theme but then I remembered I didn’t bid $1.20 on a 35mm print of Revenge of the Ninja…it was Enter the Ninja! I honestly can’t remember if I’ve seen either, but I know I’ve seen at least one of them. Which is better? I paired it with Hercules because both have a larger-than-life vibe to them where the ones in the trailer block feel more grounded by comparison.
Patrick: You know I would be first in line for this one. I probably like Revenge better than Enter, but they’re both super fun and I love them both. I wanted to program Revenge of the Ninja for F This Movie Fest but it’s not available to stream anywhere, which is a lot of hogwash. Now all I want to do is watch Cannon movies.
Double Feature 5:
Patrick: #2: Flashdance (1983)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Rock & Rule, Pirates of Penzance, Yentl
Patrick: Theme: ‘83 Musicals
Patrick: Eddie and the Cruisers is another movie that I wanted to program for FTMF that isn’t available to stream. Boo. I don’t think I’m a big Flashdance guy but I could see this being a fun double just for all the great music included.
Adam: This is probably the double feature I would go to first since I haven’t seen either of these movies but have wanted to for a long time (especially Eddie and the Cruisers). I watched a “Remember 1983” pop culture video on YouTube a few days ago and man was 1983 a great year for music! I’m glad we have that represented in this double feature. The Cinemarink is going to be so crowded afterwards with people roller skating!
Double Feature 6:
Patrick: #1: Scarface (1983)
Adam: #2: Sudden Impact (1983)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Uncommon Valor, Christine, Gorky Park
Adam: Theme: 1983 Winter Break
Adam: For a few months, I’ve had an idea in my back pocket of suggesting a podcast focusing on the films released during winter break/the holiday season of a random year. Kind of a throwback to when you didn’t have school and came back in January having seen a handful of new movies. It’s tough to follow Scarface (it’s so good and it’s a lot of movie) but I would 100% get a ticket immediately if it was paired with some Clint. P.S. One of my family members has tried for years to get me to watch Gorky Park and I’m like “Can I watch Gordy and Jurassic Park instead?”
Patrick: I’ve never seen Gorky Park, but I love this double and these trailers. I totally agree that Scarface is hard to pair (it’s what those in the biz call a FULL MEAL) but you came up with a fantastic double. Also, I’m down to do that Winter Break show anytime.
Double Feature 7:
Patrick: #2: Summer Catch (2001)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: She’s All That, Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
Patrick: Theme: Lillard & Prinze
Patrick: It’s just so obvious, but they’re our generation’s Lemmon & Matthau.
Adam: One of my best days as a moviegoer was when I realized Freddie Prinze Jr. is the best (he’s so sincere) even if he’s not the best. Also, has anyone ever gotten a bigger con bump (in terms of becoming a beloved celebrity) than Matthew Lillard? Maybe Devon Sawa, but that’s it. I might like Freddie Prinze Jr. more than Jack Lemmon if I’m being perfectly honest.
Double Feature 8:
Patrick: #1: The Keep (1983)
Adam: #2: Mortuary (1983)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Curse of the Pink Panther, Trenchcoat, Yellowbeard
Adam: Theme: 1983 $4M Domestic Grossers
Adam: These are two movies I’ve meant to have seen for a while now but have never taken the dive (I even rented The Keep around the time of the Video Archives episode but let it lapse because I’m lazy). I’m excited about this one. I like when I can program something this hyper-specific. Have you seen either of them?
Patrick: I’ve seen both! The Keep is a disaster, but I probably like it more than Mortuary, which is still super fun because it has an early Bill Paxton performance. I’m loving these ‘83 doubles. I want to go see all of them right now.
Double Feature 9:
Patrick: #2: Doctor Detroit (1983)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Night Shift, Fading Gigolo
Patrick: Theme: Oops I’m a Pimp
Patrick: I’m so sorry that I couldn’t come up with a third movie for the trailer block, but I love that two comedies came out in 1983 with the same basic premise (and just a year after Night Shift had done the same thing). Erika and I just rewatched Risky Business and I was reminded of how much it rules. Are you a fan? Doctor Detroit kind of sucks but I like it. I can’t be fixed.
Adam: This sounds fun! I have Risky Business on my stack of 1983 movies to watch before F This Movie Fest, so I’ll let you know.
Double Feature 10:
Patrick: #1: Stroker Ace (1983)
Adam: #2: The Cannonball Run (1981)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: The Hollywood Knights, Six Pack, Tomboy
Adam: Theme: Race Car Comedies
Adam: I was happy to put this double feature together since it’s basically a delayed “Thank You” note to you for introducing me to Six Pack last Junesploitation. In return, a night of Burt Reynolds - Hal Needham car movies. As a gift to our patrons, free parking with validation for this double feature…and by that I mean for our Patreon subscribers that are going to our imaginary theater (the world renowned Linderground Cinemarink) for this legendary double feature.
Patrick: This is amazing. Two amazing Burt movies and the trailers rule. Tickets are going to sell so fast to this that the Linderground Cinemarink will be in business for another year! Thank you!!
I’m not sure which I want to watch more now but it should be Brewsters Millions because it’s likely the movie I spent the most hours of my life thinking about despite having only seen it once, in a theater in 1985. It was one of the summer movies my 11-year-old friends and I rode our bikes an hour+ to the AMC Lakes in Tempe to catch the 10:30 morning super discount showing. We talked all summer about how we would spend the money, even though none of us actually wanted to spend our money to watch that movie again. And now all I can think of is:
ReplyDeleteWho has that gold catcher’s mask and are they displaying it on their living room wall?