Friday Night Double Features Vol. 29

 by Adam Riske and Patrick Bromley

Double Features to check out if you aren’t interested in seeing Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. I’m sorry you can’t do both.

Double Feature 1:

Adam: #1: The Wizard (1989)
Patrick: #2: Runaway Daughters (1994)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Foxfire, Troop Beverly Hills, “Just One of the Guys” music video
Patrick: Theme: Jenny Lewis Rules

Patrick: I had such a crush on Jenny Lewis as a kid, so I followed her career for many years…until I happened upon seeing Rilo Kiley one night and had no idea it was her singing until Erika told me. I never had a Nintendo, so she was the whole reason I wanted to see The Wizard when it was out. Have you seen Runaway Daughters? It was Joe Dante’s entry into Showtime’s Rebel Highway series and it’s very funny.

Adam: I had a crush on Jenny Lewis too after I saw The Wizard at age 7. I would have done some tricks on the monkey bars for her. It was a classic “Come for Nintendo, stay for Jenny Lewis” situation. I forgot she’s in Troop Beverly Hills. I need to check out Runaway Daughters. I vaguely remember Rebel Highway but never watched any of it. Holy fuck…Julie Bowen is in it?! Sorry, Jenny Lewis.

Double Feature 2:

Patrick: #1: Beowulf (2007)
Adam: #2: I Am Legend (2007)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Grindhouse, Live Free or Die Hard, American Gangster
Adam: Theme: River East By the Pier

Adam: I was going to Chicago a lot back in 2007 because family & friends were living in the city, and I was going on dates with people who mostly lived in Chicago and not the burbs. I was aggravated by how expensive it was for me to see a movie in Chicago (especially compared to how inexpensive it would be to see the same stuff alone in the suburbs). Most of the movies I saw in Chicago were either at the AMC River East or the nearby Navy Pier IMAX (including everything programmed here). I remember being beside myself when I realized my trip to see Beowulf cost me around $50 between parking and the ticket. I didn’t even get refreshments! I paired it with I Am Legend because that was the movie where I finally had enough and drew the line about seeing movies in the city that I could’ve seen closer to home. On the bright side, I saw Grindhouse at a Thursday night preview the day before it opened in wide release. I was sure it was going to be a huge hit based on how enthusiastic the packed crowd was that night. Are you a Beowulf fan?

Patrick: I remember liking Beowulf when I saw it in IMAX 3D in 2007 because it was the first movie I had ever seen in that kind of format. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it since. Obviously this Zemeckis run I’ve been on lately has me wanting to revisit it but I have no idea if it will hold up without the gimmicks. It’s probably not worth $50.

Double Feature 3:

Adam: #1: American Splendor (2003)
Patrick: #2: I’m Not There (2007)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Marie Antoinette, Ed Wood, The Social Network
Patrick: Theme: Unconventional Biopics

Patrick: I remember thinking American Splendor was just ok when I saw it back in 2003, but then when Erika and I did our ‘03 rewatch a couple of years back I was pretty blown away by it. Not sure what my problem was the first time. I like all these movies a whole lot so I think this would be a pretty good night at the movies.

Adam: I’m due for a revisit of American Splendor for its 20th anniversary this year (I remember liking it) so pairing it with I’m Not There (which I haven’t seen) sounds like a good plan. The trailer block is amazing. Cool theme too.

Double Feature 4:

Patrick: #1: Sneakers (1992)
Adam: #2: The Pelican Brief (1993)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Michael, Rat Race, In Good Company
Adam: Theme: Movies Featuring Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" on the Soundtrack

Adam: I saw Sneakers last year for the first time and didn’t love it, so I booked another movie I don’t love and a theme I’m not excited about. I like some of Aretha Franklin’s music, but “Chain of Fools” isn’t my jam in part because of the scene in Michael where John Travolta dances to it. This could also be known as the “Decisions Adam Made Because He Doesn’t Always Think He Deserves to Be Happy” double feature. I don’t think it will fit on the marquee, but I’ll get to work early and see if I can make it happen.

Patrick: I never want to laugh at your pain but this made me LOL. I find all of these movies watchable but would probably put Sneakers at the top of the pile.

Double Feature 5:

Adam: #1: Splendor in the Grass (1961)
Patrick: #2: Stay Hungry (1976)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Come September, Midnight Express, The Searchers
Patrick: Theme: Best New Star of the Year (Actor) Golden Globe

Patrick: Never seen either one! This would be the best way to experience two new-to-me movies. I love the idea that Arnold Schwarzenegger got a Golden Globe for Stay Hungry.

Adam: Splendor in the Grass leaves HBO Max this month so I might watch it soon. I dig the pairing of Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood. I’ve never seen Stay Hungry either. Arnold deserves all the Golden Globes. I signed up for his daily newsletter which seemed like a good idea at the time but then it became a thing I dread seeing the alert for every day.

Double Feature 6:

Patrick: #1: Relentless (1989)
Adam: #2: The Chamber (1996)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Rhinestone, All of Me, Juliet Naked
Adam: Theme: Written by Phil Alden Robinson But Don’t Tell Anyone

Adam: Writer-Director Phil Alden Robinson would like you to think he’s just the Field of Dreams-Sneakers-The Sum of All Fears guy, but did you know he wrote or co-wrote a bunch of other movies; some under pseudonyms like Jack T.D. Robinson and Chris Reese? He also co-wrote Ghost Dad, but I left that off the trailer block to spite Bill Cosby. Is Relentless good? It has an interesting cast. I hope it’s sleazy because The Chamber is pretty gross.

Patrick: Confession: I’ve never seen either one of these movies. I’ve seen all the trailer movies but not the headliners! (Second confession: I enjoy Rhinestone.) I’ve wanted to see Relentless for a long time because it was Bill Lustig’s major studio shot, and The Chamber is the only one of that ‘90s/early 2000s Grisham run that I still haven’t seen. I can’t believe how many of those movies starred Gene Hackman.

Double Feature 7:

Adam: #1: Hard Target (1993)
Patrick: #2: The Last Stand (2013)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Stoker, Maximum Risk, Double Team
Patrick: Theme: The Hollywood Debut

Patrick: It’s an obvious theme, but how great would a double feature of these two movies be? And why doesn’t JCVD get so much more credit for bringing all of these great Hong Kong action filmmakers to America? Is it because, with the exception of Hard Target, the movies aren’t always great? So what! It’s amazing! Now I really want to do this double.

Adam: This is perfection. No notes. P.S. Maximum Risk is sneaky good. We should pick this double feature for the next Friday Night Double Feature podcast we do.

Double Feature 8:

Patrick: #1: Romeo is Bleeding (1993)
Adam: #2: Whispers in the Dark (1992)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: The Hard Way, Jungle Fever, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle
Adam: Theme: Early Sciorras

Adam: First, I’m excited to finally see Romeo is Bleeding, which I’ve heard for years is worth seeking out. Second, I’m sad for what happened to Annabella Sciorra’s career and want to dedicate a night to showcase how awesome she is. I booked Whispers in the Dark second because that movie’s insane and would be so much fun to watch with a crowd.

Patrick: I’ve never actually seen Whispers in the Dark, though I was with Doug when he was gifted an enormous vinyl poster for it at JB’s garage sale in the ‘90s. Does that count? I’m with you on Annabella Sciorra. I was always happy to see her show up in stuff and hearing about all the bad shit that went down for her broke my heart. She deserved better. Romeo is Bleeding features supporting turns from both Will Patton AND Michael Wincott so go ahead and “you rented this” now.

Double Feature 9:

Adam: #1: Pat and Mike (1952)
Patrick: #2: Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Patrick: Trailers/Shorts: Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man, Tango & Cash, Freebie and the Bean
Patrick: Theme: “And” movies

Patrick: I’ve never seen Pat and Mike and know next to nothing about it, so I want to go in as blind as possible but I did just revisit Buck and the Preacher and that movie is so good! My predisposition towards buddy movies means I’m going to like almost any movie with an ‘and’ in the title so I’m 100% in on this marathon.

Adam: I booked Pat and Mike because I stumbled across the trailer once when the New Beverly played it and it’s one of the greatest things ever. Aldo Ray is hosting the trailer and he’s like “Who woulda thought a guy like me would wind up in the motion picture business?!” I’m excited to see both that and Buck and the Preacher for the first time. Great theme and trailer block too, bud!

Double Feature 10:

Patrick: #1: The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (1989)
Adam: #2: Stepfather 2: Make Room for Daddy (1989)
Adam: Trailers/Shorts: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child, special guest Lloyd Kaufman for a Q&A between movies
Adam: Theme: '89 Horror Colons

Adam: There were a lot of exploitation type movies with colon titles in 1989! I found enough that were just horror movies to fill out a full evening of entertainment. I’m not a Troma guy myself so I booked Stepfather 2 to keep me from pacing in the lobby. I might be most excited for the trailer block this time. We could totally get Lloyd Kaufman to show up to this, right?

Patrick: Sorry to do this to you. We can swap it out for Nightmare 5 (Hopkins bump!) and keep the theme if you want! I don’t want to send you out to the lobby. But, yes, I like to think that Lloyd Kaufman is a regular patron of the Linderground Cinemarink.

Adam: No need at all to swap. I’m happy to host Lloyd and skate in the rink for 90 minutes when Toxie plays.