Citizen Dame

369: Johnny Guitar (1954)

Our month of "straight movies that are totally gay" continues with the 1954 western, Johnny Guitar.
Joan Crawford stars as saloon owner Vienna in a small southwestern town. When a heist leaves a man dead, his sister Emma (Mercedes McCambridge) declares war on Vienna and local gang leader the Dancin' Kid (Scott Grady). But Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) is there to...help? This definitely totally straight western from Nicholas Ray subverts the western genre with its swapping of traditionally masculine and feminine roles, its thinly-veiled critique of McCarthyism, and the brightest red lipstick in the west.

Episode 368: Vera Cruz (1954)

Welcome to our next Pride Month episode, Vera Cruz or: Westerns Are Totally Gay! This week we discuss the 1954 Western Vera Cruz, starring Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper as best frenemies who head off to fight in the Franco-Mexican War together, just can't stop betraying each other, and spend a lot of time comparing guns.
Next up, the women get in on the queer-coded action in Johnny Guitar!

Episode 367: Point Break (1991)

Happy Pride! This Pride Month, we're talking movies that involve the love that dare not speak its name...but come really, really close. First up in our homoerotic quartet is Kathryn Bigelow's Point Break (1991), starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze as two dudes from opposite sides (one an undercover FBI agent, the other a surfer and possible criminal) who come together over their love of adrenaline and increasingly intense (but largely unspoken) passion for each other. Way fewer people would've died if these dudes had just kissed.
Next up: Westerns are totally gay, and Vera Cruz among the gayest.

366: Replicas (2019)

We bring our first Bad Movies We Love series to a close with the best - and by that we mean worst - of the bunch, 2019's Replicas. Keanu Reeves stars as William Foster, a neuroscientist working on a project to transfer the minds of recently deceased soldiers into synthetic brains. Why? Who knows! It's all about science or something! But then tragedy strikes and William, along with his twitchy but faithful sidekick Ed (Thomas Middleditch) have to try to save his family. It will make sense when you watch it. And by that we mean, it makes no sense and it's all a convoluted mess of a movie. And that's what makes it great.

Episode 365: Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Next up in our Terrible Movies We Love month is the Wachowskis' divisively weird Jupiter Ascending, starring Mila Kunis as Jupiter Jones, a Russian immigrant who discovers she's the reincarnation of the matriarch of an intergalactic family who happens to own Earth, and she's being protected by sky-rollerblading space werewolf Caine Wise (Channing Tatum). And that's just the first twenty minutes.
But is Jupiter Ascending really a terrible movie? Does it have merits as an original sci-fi epic? Does Sean Bean die?! Listen to know.
Next week, we conclude our month with Replicas, Karen's favorite film ever.

364: Hotel Artemis (2018)

This week, we continue our favorite "bad" action movies with a visit to the Hotel Artemis, a near-future dystopian flick with a convoluted plot, varying levels of quality in its action sequences, and cheesy dialogue. Plus a stacked cast that includes Sterling K. Brown, Jodie Foster, Dave Bautista, Brian Tyree Henry, Sofia Boutella, Charlie Day, Zachary Quinto, and Jeff Goldblum.
Hotel Artemis was written and directed by Drew Pearce.

Episode 363: Van Helsing (2004)

We return this week to kick off our "Terrible Movies We Love" month, which is exactly as it says on the tin. We begin with Van Helsing, Stephen Sommers' bizarre attempt to bring Universal monsters into the franchise era. Starring Hugh Jackman in the TITULAR ROLE as monster-hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, with Richard Roxburgh chewing the scenery as Count Dracula and Kate Beckinsale's inexplicable accent as Anna Valarious, Van Helsing is both one of the worst films of the 00s, and wonderfully entertaining.
Next week is Hotel Artemis, which I'm reliably informed has Jeff Goldblum in it.

362: What Happens Later (2023)

This week, the Dames are finishing up our Month of Meg with one of Meg Ryan's directorial achievements: What Happens Later.
Ryan stars alongside David Duchovny as Willa Davis and Bill Davis, two long ago lovers who unexpectedly reunite while trapped in a regional airport during a snowstorm. Over the course of one very long night, they talk about their erstwhile relationship, where they are now in life, and their hopes for the future. It's a different kind of romantic comedy but Ryan is as charming as ever, thanks in part to a disembodied Airport Voice that may or may not belong to one Tom Hanks.
We're also wrapping up this month with a special bonus F-M-K, so don't miss it.

Episode 361: In the Cut (2003)

This week, we discuss a major change of genre and focus for Meg Ryan: Jane Campion's divisive erotic thriller In the Cut (2003), in which Ryan plays a repressed English teacher who gets involved with an NYPD officer (Mark Ruffalo) investigating a brutal murder that took place in her own back garden. The film marked a break from Ryan's quirky rom-com image, and its quality is still debated more than twenty years on.
TW for discussions of sexual violence.
Next week, we close out our Meg Ryan month with What Happens Later (2023)!

360 - French Kiss (1995)

We continue Meg Ryan month with the 1995 romantic comedy, French Kiss. For the first time, Ryan added a new job to her resume: producer.
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill) and written by Adam Brooks (Practical Magic), Meg Ryan stars as Kate, an American teacher living in Canada when her fiancé Charlie (Timothy Hutton) heads off to Paris for a medical conference and winds up breaking up with her when he meets an exotic French "goddesse." Though she is not supposed to leave the country and is terrified of flying, Kate hops on a plane to reclaim her love. But then she meets Luc Teyssier (Kevin Kline), a French vigneron and criminal who agrees to help her for his own nefarious purposes.
 

Episode 359: Joe vs. the Volcano (1990)

We kick off a month of films starring Meg Ryan with her first rom-com pairing with Tom Hanks: the existential romantic-comedy Joe vs. the Volcano, about a man who gains a new lease on life by planning to jump into a volcano. Ryan actually plays three very distinct roles in this one!
Next week: the criminally underrated French Kiss!

358 — Belle (2013)

This week we're concluding Women's History Month with the historical fiction, Belle. Amma Asante directed this 2013 film about Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsey, a young, biracial orphan in 18th century England who is raised by her uncle, Lord Mansfield, the Chief Judge who presided over an insurance fraud case that would eventually be one of the steps to ending England's slave trade. The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Penelope Wilton, Sarah Gadon, Sam Reid and Tom Felton.

Episode 357: Harriet (2019)

We carry on our Women's History Month films with Kasi Lemmons' remarkable Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet, starring Cynthia Erivo. While the film received mixed reviews on release, it is more than worth seeing it for yourself, as it explores the life and history of one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad and the psychological and generational trauma of slavery.
TW for discussions of violence.
Next up: Belle (2013), directed by Amma Asante and starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

356: The Woman King (2022)

This week we kick off a Women's History series with The Woman King, the 2022 film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Viola Davis stars as Nanisca, an Agoije warrior in the Kingdom of Dahomey, a powerful African kingdom in the 19th century. The film also stars Lashana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, John Boyega, Sheila Atim, Jordan Bolger, and Hero Fiennes Tiffin.
*Clip from The Woman King courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.

Episode 355: Sinners (2025)

We wrap up our Black History Month discussions with the most nominated film in Oscars history: Ryan Coogler's brilliant Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, to open a juke joint...only to have it invaded by vampires hungry for the blues. A searing, joyful, and blood-soaked film, Sinners really does have to be seen and heard. But we try to do justice to it.
We're taking a brief break at the start of March, but we'll be back for some Women's History Month films later on!

354: Candyman (2021)

This week, we continue our journey through some recent horror films from Black directors, we discuss Nia DaCosta's 2021 sequel to the 1992 film, Candyman.
Yahya Abdul Mateen II stars as Anthony McCoy, a Chicago artist who visits the gentrifying neighborhood of Cabrini-Green and learns about his connection to a decades-old urban legend. The film also stars Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Vanessa Williams, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Kyle Kaminsky, Brian King, Rebecca Spence, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, and Michael Hargrove, with an appearance by Tony Todd.

Episode 353: Get Out (2017)

It's Black History Month and the Dames return for a series of horror films focusing on the Black experience. We start with Jordan Peele's fantastic Get Out, starring Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, who goes home to meet his girlfriend's parents and discovers a sinister conspiracy in her white liberal enclave.
Next up: Nia DaCosta's Candyman!

Episode 352: Stand By Me (1986)

We complete our tribute to Rob Reiner with a look at his 1986 film Stand by Me. Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and Reiner was nominated for the Golden Globe and DGA awards for this adaptation of Stephen King's 1982 novella, The Body.
Wil Wheaton stars as 12-year-old Gordie Lachance, a boy in Castle Rock, Oregon in 1959. Along with his friends Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman), and Vern (Jerry O'Connell), the boys set off into the Oregon forest in search of the body of a missing boy. The film also stars Richard Dreyfuss as narrator and adult Gordie, as well as Kiefer Sutherland, Marshall Bell, Frances Lee McCain, and John Cusack.
We will deeply miss Rob Reiner. May his memory be a blessing

Episode 351: This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

We're carrying on our tribute to Rob Reiner this month with the one of the first (and certainly funniest) rockumentaries of all time: This is Spinal Tap, starring Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer as Britain's loudest and most punctual rock band. This is Spinal Tap was also Reiner's first feature film as a director.
Next week, we'll be chatting Stephen King and Stand By Me!

350: When Harry Met Sally (1989)

It's a brand new year and we're starting off with a tribute to director Rob Reiner. And what better way to kick off both than with his enduring, perfect romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star as two strangers who gradually become friends and then eventually fall in love. Written by Nora Ephron and co-starring Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby, this classic had a successful box office run in 1989 and is still just as beloved nearly 40 years later