1999: The Podcast

Actor Val Kilmer died on April 1st of this year, after a long battle with throat cancer. He was 65. Kilmer's film career began in the 1980s with iconic turns in the likes of Top Gun and Real Genius, but it was in the 1990s where be became an icon in a decade known primarily one dominated by iconoclasts, starting with his portrayal of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors, and including memorable bit roles in movies like True Romance, replacing Michael Keaton as Batman in Batman Forever, and what man consider his greatest role as Doc Holiday opposite Kurt Russell's Wyatt Earp in Tombstone. Kilmer was an avid documentarian of his own life and was rarely without his camcorder. His own video tapes were repurposed to tell the story of his life and career in the moving and insightful documentary Val, directed by Ting Poo and Leo Scott, which captures a man who seems to know his time is almost up reflecting on the lessons of a life extraordinarily lived. That film formed the basis of this conversation between John and Julia discussing the strange life and career of this remarkable actor.

Sweet and Lowdown opened on December 3rd in just 3 theaters and taking in an impressive 31,562 dollar per screen average Written and directed by Woody Allen, it stars Sean Penn as fictional jazz guitar legend Emmet Ray alongside Samantha Morton and Uma Thurman, Brad Garrett, John Waters, Anthony LaPaglia, and Brian Markinson, among others. Sweet and Lowdown was a welcome end to what many saw as a mid-90s slump for Allen, who had released a string of movies who that had been received with mixed or sometimes scathing reviews, like 1995's Mighty Aphrodite, 1996's Everyone Says I Love You, 1997's Deconstructing Harry, and 1998's Celebrity. It's also difficult to not see in light of revelations of Allen's darker behaviors throughout his career, to say nothing of Penn. But it can also sweet and charming, and its jazz-age nostalgia is as hard to resist as Morton's acclaimed, Oscar-nominated silent performance. Joining John and Julia to talk through Sweet and Lowdown's ups and downs is actor, writer, and director Liz Whitmere, who has some thoughts on toxic behavior in the entertainment industry. Liz is on Bluesky @lizwhitmere

57th on the 1999 box office chart, For Love of the Game marked director Raimi's first foray into big-budget, mass-market filmmaking (which would ultimately pave the way for being handed the enormous task of finally bringing Spiderman to the screen in 2002) But love and baseball was very different territory for Raimi, and his inexperience in the realm of pop movie making (as well as in directing romance) proved to be a hindrance. For Love of the Game is, unofficially, the third and final entry in Kevin Costner's baseball trilogy, following 1989's Field of Dreams and 1988's Bull Durham. The film tries to balance its dual nature as a romance and a straight sports movie, and while it occasionally hits the mark, most critics agreed: For Love of the Game is pretty great when it's about the game, and not so great when it's about the love. But it's baseball season, and this was by far 1999's biggest baseball-themed movie, so we asked friend of the show - and White Sox diehard - Jacki Krestel to help us call some balls and strikes on this one!

There were no movies starring the late Gene Hackman that were released in the US in 1999, but two of his films released in the US in 1998 – Tony Scott's Enemy of the State and Robert Benton's Twilight – were released in Europe in 1999. So because plenty has been said about the former, we are taking a look today at the latter. Directed by Kramer and Kramer writer and director Robert Benton and written by Benton and novelist Richard Russo, who also teamed up with star Paul Newman on 1994's adaptation of Russo's Nobody's Fool, Twilight stars Newman with a supporting cast of Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, James Garner, Stockard Channing, Reese Witherspoon, Margo Martindale, John Spencer, Live Shrieber, the dying body of M. Emmet Walsh, and Giancarlo Esposito. Twilight was a box office failure and was met with a lukewarm reception by critics, but it is a very good case study in the question as to whether or not some actors - like Hackman - could be good in absolutely anything.

The End of the Affair was released on Dec 3, 1999 in just 7 theaters so that it could bait some Oscars and then going wide on January 21. It would ultimately bring in just shy of 11 million dollars on 23 million dollar budget, though it did open with an astonishing $28,000 per screen average, so maybe a wider initial release would have been wise. The End of the Affair was the second 1999 film in 11 months (after January's psychological thriller In Dream) from auteur Neil Jordan, best known for 1992's Oscar winning film The Crying Game as well as 1994's Interview with the Vampire. It was also the second sweeping period romance in just a couple years for star Ralph Fiennes after The English Patient, leading to many critics and audiences drawing comparisons between the two films. It was also the one film for which 1999's busiest woman, Julianne Moore, was nominated for an Oscar, despite her equal performances in A Map of the World, An Ideal Husband, and Magnolia. Joining John and Julia to talk about this second (incredibly horny) adaptation of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair is film critic, writer, and podcaster Kristin Battestella (I Think Therefore I Review) Kristin is on Bluesky @thereforereview

Beyond the Mat is a movie that appears NOWHERE in the 1999 box office charts, mainly because it only screened once in 1999 in Los Angeles on October 22, thanks in no small part to Vince McMahon fuckery (though it did get a limited release in March of 2000). Beyond the Mat was directed by Barry Blaustein, an accomplished comedy screenwriter, and it features the real-life stories of wrestling legends Terry Funk, Mick Foley, and Jake the Snake Roberts, Though it wasn't a commercial hit, it received a mostly favorable critical response, and has gone on to become a beloved documentary, especially among wrestling fans. Joining John and Julia to discuss it is Ross Benes, author of the upcoming book 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted our Bizarre Times. His book will be available everywhere in April. You can learn more about Ross and his work on his website: www.rossbenes.com

The 145th highest-grossing movie of the year, Dick was released on August 3rd and going on take 12th place at the box office. Through no fault of its own, it was thrown into a death slot, as the films that outgrossed it included juggernauts like The Phantom Menace, American Pie, Runaway Bride, The Blair Witch Project, and a little movie that opened at the same time and took #1, The Sixth Sense, Despite a generally warm and positive critical reception Dick would go on to make just 6.3 million dollars on a 13 million dollar budget. Which is a shame, because as part commentary on the Lewinski scandal and part parody of All The President's Men, Dick has more to say than your typical teen comedy. With two very talented stars at its core - Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams - It's more Election than American Pie, and portraying the Watergate conspirators as an insane, bumbling mess actually feels relevant. You know who loves Dick? Our guest, Alex Steed, who appeared on our episode for the 1999 movie that starred that other girl from Dawson's Creek, Go. Alex is on Bluesky @alexsteed

We present to you our very first Bonus Features episode, where we do a little contextual research for an upcoming episode. To start - for absolutely no reason at all, what are you even talking about? - we take a look at some of the more interesting media concerning the former Worst President of the Last 100 Years and the famous thing he did that used to pass for a scandal until *waves hands around wildly*. Julia had to endure a lot of Nixon stuff for this one, so the least you can do is make it worth her time by listening.

Opening CONFUSINGLY on February 26th on less than a thousand screens, 200 Cigarettes was the 143rd-highest grossing movie of the year, going on to make just shy of 7 million dollars on a 6 million dollar budget. Directed by first-time director and accomplished casting director Risa Bramon Garcia, written by first-and-only time screenwriter Shana Larsen, and produced by first-time producer Betsy Beers, 200 Cigarettes was panned by critics shrugged off by audiences. But over time, due in part to its compelling cast and 80s nostalgia, it developed a cult status of sorts. And, well, it's one of only a handful of New Year's Eve films that exist, and since this is something of a bummer New Year's, we thought, well, just as the characters bury their emotions in 200 cigarettes in the film, we'd do the same with 200 Cigarettes.

It's our third Christmas special, and once again we turn to the small screen for Christmas with Hallmark Hallo of Fame's One Special Night. Airing Sunday, November 28th, 1999 on CBS, One Special Night stars James Garner and Julie Andrews, alongside Patricia Charbonneau, Stewart Bick ,Stacy Grant, and Danniel Magder. Written by the highly prolific Christmas TV movie scribe Nancey Silvers and directed by accomplished TV director and Emmy winner Roger Young, One Special Night was generally praised by critics and probably beloved by our nation's grandparents at the time. It was then, however, entirely forgotten until John accidentally stumbled upon it on the internet a couple weeks ago! So Julia and John invited film critic Audrey Fox, who recently wrote about the 25 best Hallmark Christmas movies ever, to chime in with her expert opinion! Audrey is on Twitter @theaudreyfox and Bluesky @audreyfox  

Released December 25th, Christmas Day, Julie Taymor's debut feature Titus was 187th-highest grossing movie of the year, going on to gross just about three million dollars worldwide on an 18 million dollar budget. Titus, adapted from the Shakespeare (or possibly not Shakespeare) play came on the heels of Taymor hitting the cultural spotlight with her enormous Broadway success The Lion King. Titus makes great use of her maxilamist sensibilities, given that it is Shakespeare's most violent, sensationalist play - which also explains why it is among his least-popular, and generally considered one of the worst not titled Henry VIII. With an incredible cast and eye-catching style, and with Shakespeare adaptations as popular as ever, many assumed Titus would ride a wave of critical success and award accolades to boost its box office, but it was not meant to be. Beautiful, violent, over-long, absurd, inspired, and tonally inconsistent, Titus is more a curiosity now than a classic. This week, we talked about it with film critic Carmen Paddock, who, in her own words, "specializes in changing distribution methods and cross-media adaptations, where the limitations of film, literature, music, and time are explored and exploited to reveal new sides to old narratives." Find Carmen on Bluesky @carmenchloieReleased December 25th, Christmas Day, Julie Taymor's debut feature Titus was 187th-highest grossing movie of the year, going on to gross just about three million dollars worldwide on an 18 million dollar budget. Titus, adapted from the Shakespeare (or possibly not Shakespeare) play came on the heels of Taymor hitting the cultural spotlight with her enormous Broadway success The Lion King. Titus makes great use of her maxilamist sensibilities, given that it is Shakespeare's most violent, sensationalist play - which also explains why it is among his least-popular, and generally considered one of the worst not titled Henry VIII. With an incredible cast and eye-catching style, and with Shakespeare adaptations as popular as ever, many assumed Titus would ride a wave of critical success and award accolades to boost its box office, but it was not meant to be. Beautiful, violent, over-long, absurd, inspired, and tonally inconsistent, Titus is more a curiosity now than a classic. This week, we talked about it with film critic Carmen Paddock, who, in her own words, "specializes in changing distribution methods and cross-media adaptations, where the limitations of film, literature, music, and time are explored and exploited to reveal new sides to old narratives." Find Carmen on Bluesky @carmenchloie

Girl, Interrupted was the 70th-highest grossing movie of 1999, released in a very limited run just before Christmas to make it eligible for awards season. It would ultimately go on to earn $48 million worldwide on a $40 million budget. Directed and co-written by Copland director James Mangold from the memoir "Girl, Interrupted" by Susanna Kaysen, the film was a longtime dream project for star Winona Ryder, who fought hard for years to get it made. It was presented as obvious Oscar bait, but the film had a mixed response from audiences and critics, who found it uneven and lacking a narrative core. Still, Girl, Interrupted earned universal praise for its performances, including the breakthrough one from Angeline Jolie, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as the sociopathic Lisa. It was also praised for what at the time was an unusually nuanced and sensitive portrayal of mental health disorders. But how has Girl, Interrupted aged? Was it too ahead of its time, or is it too of its time to stand on its own today? John and Julia welcomed Film Twitter superstar Jane Altoids for her take. Jane is on Twitter @staticbluebat

If there was a surprise critical and commercial failure for the year, it was Forman's highly anticipated, Oscar-baiting Andy Kauffman biopic, Man on the Moon. Among other things, Man on the Moon was touted as a second chance for Carrey to nab a best actor Oscar, following what had roundly been seen as an epic snub for his denial of the award for The Truman Show.  It had a lot going for it - an exploration of the tragic and mysterious life of an obscure but beloved cultural figure, directed by the Oscar-winning director of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus. Forman had just come off the critical and commercial success of The People Vs. Larry Flynt, written as well by Alexander and Karaszewski, who, with that film and 1994's Ed Wood had developed a reputation as having cracked the elusive biopic formula, which they described as the “anti-biopic". Unfortunately, while it did earn his his second consecutive Golden Globe, Man on the Moon was shut out from the Oscars, and the film seemed to find some way to disappoint basically everyone, even those who loved it. This week, we invited cultural critic and giant Man on the Moon fan Sean Malin to talk about Carrey, Kaufman, and that most uneven of genres, the biopic. Sean is on Twitter @cinemalins

Payback was something of a surprise - and largely forgotten - minor hit, riding mostly on the coattails of Mel Gibson at the height of his popularity and box office appeal, having come off a string of hits, including 1994's Maverick, 1995's Oscar-winning Braveheart, 1996's Ransom, and 1997's Conspiracy Theory, as well as the prestige of Brian Helgeland, who had just won an avalanche awards, including the Oscar, for writing LA Confidential as well as the aforementioned Conspiracy Theory. But the production of Payback also opened a window to some of the personal and professional issues surrounding Gibson that would become increasingly apparent in the years leading up to his career crash in the mid-2000s. Unhappy with the direction of the film Helgeland wrote and director, Gibson had Helgeland fired and reworked and reshot much of the movie, adding Kristofferson's character to the story and changing much of the tone and arc of the main character Porter. As a result, Payback is actually two movies - the theatrically-released Gibson vision released in 1999 and the Helgeland cut, released on Blu-ray 7 years later, officially titled Payback: Straight Up. We had writer and Payback superfan Jim Woods on to talk about both! You can find out everything you need to know about Jim on his website: Jim Woods Writes

It's a big September 1999 episode, featuring the one and only Dan Colón! In September, we head into the final quarter of the year and welcome some landmark moments in pop culture, with the arrivals of: Freaks and Geeks! The Sega Dreamcast! Tony Hawk's Pro Skater! The West Wing! Chill Factor! (?) the finale to the Costner Baseball Trilogy! and music from Guster and The Magnetic Fields! Plus Chris Cornell, Martin Lawrence, earthquakes, Y2K, and more! Find Dan on Twitter @DanColon

Spike Lee's Summer of Sam should have been the perfect 1999 movie. After Lee's breakthrough 1989 film Do the Right Thing, he was on a roll in the 90s, giving us 1990s' Mo Better Blues, 1991's Jungle Fever, 1992's Malcolm X, 1994's Crooklyn, 1995's Clockers, 1996's Get on the Bus, and 1998's He Got Game. And so a gritty, Scorsese-esque New York crime like Summer of Sam headlined by the rising star Brody and Leguizamo at his most popular seemed like a no-brainer. And maybe because its nearly two and a half hour run time just didn't appeal to audiences in the middle of summer, for some reason SoS (which served as a near-perfect metaphor for the anxiety of pre-Y2K America) just never caught on with critics or at the box office. But has our equally volatile (and true crime obsessed) 2024 America made the film newly relevant? And where does it stand in Spike Lee's oeuvre? To discuss, John welcomed back film and culture writer and frequent guest Julia Sirmons to the show.  

Late August is often called the Dog Days of Summer and...boy, did the end of August 1999 every live up that reputation! August 16-31 was something of a drag. After a summer filled with huge moments in entertainment, culture, and news, suddenly, for a couple weeks, not much happened. But not nothing! We still got the requisite end of summer bad movie dump, featuring: Dudley Do-Right! In Too Deep! The Astronaut's Wife! and Teaching Mrs. Tingle! Plus chart-topping albums from Christina Aguilera, The (Dixie) Chicks, and Lou Bega! Plus, pop singer Vitamin C drops the album that would give us 2000's graduation anthem "Graduation (Friends Forever)"! Plus, Regis Philbin for the first time asks America, "Is that your FINAL ANSWER?" Also...East Timor begins its journey to becoming a new country! This week, John is joined by good friend of the show Julia Sirmons for the most boring two weeks (but a fun episode of) 99@25!

For an end-of-summer special, Dan Colón, of CageClub's very own The Monsters That Made Us podcast, joins John to talk about the greed, mayhem, and madness that defined Woodstock 99. The Woodstock that was just so great that it convinced everybody to never Woodstock again, 1999's 30th anniversary festival (inspired by the relative success of the 25th anniversary Woodstock 94) was...a lot of things. But mostly it was an epic disaster that somehow managed to take bad situations and terrible ideas and make them much worse. What went wrong?? Well, aside from everything, John and Dan explore some of the specific problems that sent Woodstock 99 into a fiery tailspin, and discuss why this is such and important milestone in how our culture got to where it is today.

We're nearing the end of summer, and this time we take a look back at a very entertaining first half of August, 1999. August 1-15 gave us: KISS! Prince's Yard Sale! Two guys named Putin and Netanyahu who have since faded into total obscurity Dick! The Sixth Sense! Mystery Men! Wade Boggs! Mark McGwire jacking dingdongs! The Dilberito! And your host turning 20! This week, John is joined by friend of the show Tyler Birth (with a brief appearance from his new mouse friend!) as they take a look at a little bit of Monica, Jessica, Sandra, Rita, and everything else that mamboed our way in the beginning of August!

But, to make up for it, we have the delightful and hilarious Jacki Krestel (@zombie_jacki) to join John in a walk down 1999 memory lane! July 1999 included: Macy Gray! Destiny's Child! Bree Sharp's summer novelty pop hit "David Duchovny"! The Fenway Park All-Star Game! Blair Witch, American Pie, Eyes Wide Shut, and Deep Blue Sea! The death (????) of JFK Jr! Cheatin' cheater Lance Armstrong! Terrible ghoul JK Rowling! Woodstock 99! And more Plus, join John and Jenn next week for a more in-depth look at what is universally agreed to be the best Woodstock in another summer special episode.

John and Jenn take a crack at explaining the baffling summer 2024 box office. Why did PLANER OF THE APES and FURIOSA fail where INSIDE OUT 2 succeeded? Is the summer movie season a thing of the past? And why do people seem less inclined to go to the movie theater for just ANYTHING? Covid? Prices? Capitalism? All of the above? Find out what we have to say in this special summer episode about America's increasingly, depressingly empty cinemas.

Arlington Road was 77th highest grossing movie of 1999, released 25 years ago last week on July 9th, unfortunately crowded out by some other big releases, namely American Pie, released the same day, as well as Wild Wild West, Tarzan, and The General's Daughter, all in their second weeks. Directed by acclaimed music video director Mark Pellington (Pearl Jam's "Jeremy"), with a script from future Oscar nominee Ehren Kruger. a score by David Lynch's personal composer Angelo Badalamenti, and starring two of the finest actors of their generation, Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins, Arlington Road has a lot going for it. 25 years later, it's also turned out to be one of the most prescient and relevant movies of the year. At times unbearably tense, deadly serious, and eye-rollingly goofy, it's ambitious, uneven, and incredibly entertaining. Lawyer, occasional movie producer, and writer Matt Belenky is probably the world's most biggest Arlington Road fan (prove us wrong!), so John and Jenn invited him on to look back on this very 1990s genre film. Find Matt on Twitter @JagrWatch68

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is...very funny. It's also absurd, obscene, and one of the best movie musicals not called Moulin Rouge of the last few decades. The humor of the show and the movie, though, has always been too things - edgy (bordering on shocking) and timely. South Park the series has produced some of the smartest, most incisive satire anywhere in its 25 years of existence, but that kind of humor doesn't always age well? So how does this movie hold up in that regard? We asked someone who loved it at the time - John's friend George Freitag - if he would still rave to strangers about it at Denny's like he did 23 years ago. Blame Canada, join La Resistance, and save Terrence and Phillip as we talk about South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, a title that refers solely to the the fact that the movie is bigger and longer than an episode of the show and did not have to be edited for television! Find George on Twitter if it still exists @georgefreitag

This week, we're covering the second two weeks of June, 1999 (16-30), perhaps the most teenage-boy two weeks of the year. This week: Cartoons rule as SOUTH PARK and TARZAN both arrive in cinemas (setting up an epic Best Original Song Oscar duel!) Adam Sandler's massive hit BIG DADDY is also released. SMOOTH is released as a single and refuses to go away ever! Tony Hawk lands a 900 for the first time ever! Weird Al spoiler-bitches the ENTIRE plot of THE PHANTOM MENACE Stephen King gets hit by a car And more! This week, John is joined by special guest Matt Romano, co-host of RETURN OF THE POD!

Disney's Tarzan was, as the 6th-highest grossing movie of the year, a big hit. But it also had a giant budget. Made for $130 million, it grossed $171 million domestically and $448 million worldwide.  Tarzan did well with critics, as well. It was nominated for more than 2 dozen different awards, and won the Oscar and Golden Globe for best original song, Phil Collins' “You'll Be in My Heart”.  It holds a an 89 percent Rotten Tomatoes score with more than 100 reviews, and 79 Metacritic score with 27 reviews, putting it right in the middle of the pack of the so-called Disney Renaissance films. But, oddly, this de facto grand finale of the Disney hand-drawn era just doesn't loom as large as the like of The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, or even Hercules. It will, however, always be in the heart (get it?) of our guest, artist and senior editor at IDW, Heather Antos. She joins John and Joey to talk about why Tarzan is great and deserves its seat in the Disney pantheon. Heather is on Twitter @HeatherAntos

Meteorological summer has arrived, and it brings the sounds of summer with it! We're covering the first two weeks of June, 1999 (1-15) and what a two weeks it was! This week: Things get shaggadelic (baby) as AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME conquers the box office (and THE PHANTOM MENACE)! People are just UNABLE to stop buying the new Backstreet Boys album! People are just UNABLE to stop stealing the new Backstreet Boys album as Napster launches! Dido! J-Lo! Blink-182! The son of that one president announces his long-shot bid for the presidency! And more! This week, John is joined by special guest Pete Abeyta, co-host of MIDDLE CLASS FILM CLASS! Connect with Pete on Twitter @TheRealPEEEETE

Three to Tango was the 126th-highest grossing movie of 1999, sandwiched between two movies we have covered already, Drop Dead Gorgeous at 125, and Bats at 127. It opened in 8th place (behind Bats, which it would ultimately outgross) on the very not rom-com season of October the 22nd, going on to gross 10 and a half million dollars worldwide on a 20 million dollar budget. Three to Tango - which, we can't stress enough, features no tango or dancing of any kind - was written by Aline Brosch McKenna, who would go on to write romcoms like 27 Dresses and Laws of Attraction in addition to the likes of Morning Glory, Cruella, The Devil Wears Prada, and We Bought a Zoo, along with Rodney Patrick Vaccaro, who did not go on to write those things Starring Matthew Perry, Neve Campbell, Dylan McDermott, Oliver Platt, John C. McGinley, Bob Balaban, Deborah Rush, Kelly Rowan, and (appropriately) Sue for Swingers Patrick van Horn, Three to Tango has a stellar cast, but it was not one of the highest grossing romcoms of the year. She's All That, however, was. So we invited the writer of that movie, R. Lee Fleming Jr., to talk to us about Three to Tango. Lee is on twitter @QualityShorts

It's the second half of May, 1999 - the 16th through the 31st - and the most anticipated event of the year finally arrives as Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace finally opens on May 19th, taking in $68 million on its opening weekend. This week: We'll explain why $68 million is a lot more than it sounds like! Moby! LEN! The Backstreet Boys! The end of Home Improvement! Slobodan Milosevic faces justice! Susan Lucci! And more! This week, John is joined by special guest, the host of Pop Culture Reflections! Connect with Justin on Twitter @PopCultRefPod

Never Been Kissed was the 43-rd highest grossing movie of the year, just edging out last week's Forces of Nature (though proving far more profitable) at the box office. Never Been Kissed opened April 9th, pitting it against The Matrix in its second week, but still managed to post an impressive second place finish for the week, taking in 14 million dollars. This is largely thanks to the overwhelming popularity of star Drew Barrymore, coming off consecutive romantic hits in 1998 with Ever After and The Wedding Singer. It's a strange movie with an, um, uncomfortable premise. It's part farce, part tragedy, part love story (all of which tends to be true of Shakespeare's plays, from which it draws its narrative template). Never Been Kissed also became a huge home video hit, watched a rewatched by its target demo for years after, as Barrymore's "Josie Grosie" became an Elder Gen-X/Millennial folk hero. This week, John and Jenn welcome comedians, podcasters, and, as of recently, authors Trae Crowder and Corey Ryan Forrester to talk about high school trauma, inappropriate relationships, the ethics of the 1990s, and Drew. Trae is on Twitter @traecrowder Corey is on Twitter @coreyrforrester

Forces of Nature was the 44th highest-grossing movie of 1999, opening at #1 at the box office on March 19th and taking in 17 million dollars in its first week, going on to make 94 million worldwide on a budget of (somehow) 75 million dollars. Starring Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck at a time when both actors' stars were at a high point and one of just a few features directed by accomplished television director Bronwen Hughes, Forces of Nature was the follow-up to her 1996 adaptation of Harriet the Spy, and written by Family Ties writing alum Marc Lawrence, who also wrote 1999's The Out-of-Towners and would go on to reteam with star Sandra Bullock for Miss Congeniality 1 and 2 as well as Two Weeks Notice with Hugh Grant. Forces of Nature has a weird and very 1999 visual aesthetic that flies in the face of rom-com tradition, and it dares to at least try something unique and different instead of adhering to genre conventions. It's a stranger, surprising movie. But is it a good one? You can find Julia and her work on her website, juliasirmons.com

Four special guests share their fond memories of the movie that (re)started it all: Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace. This is followed by a rerelease of our Phantom Menace episode, the second in the podcast's history, with Brian Silliman and Matt Romano from the podcast RETURN OF THE POD: A Star Wars Podcast. Enjoy. And may the Force be with you, always.

We have hit May 1999! This is one of the biggest months of the year, and we haven't even gotten to its biggest event yet! But in the first two weeks of May 1999, we got: Duel of the Fates! Robbie Williams! The Mummy! The premiere of SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon! Prestige Star Wars counter-programming! And more! This week, John is joined by a special guest - author Chris Morgan, who has written a book about the Nickelodeon 90s that is currently available, and whose next book, 99 Episodes that Defined the 90s will be available soon! (Sooner than September, anyway) Chris is on Twitter @ChrisXMorgan

We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our eighth installment, April 21-30 1999! In the last ten days of April we got: The premiere of WWF Smackdown on UPN! Jay Leno goes HD! The Dawson's Creek soundtrack! Aerosmith! Election! eXistenZ! Idle Hands! And some other fun diversions, including the horror that was pan and scan movies! CageClub icon Mike Manzi joins John for a short look at the end of one of 1999's worst months, and the Star Wars content yet to come!

Blast from the Past was 75th highest-grossing movie of 1999, opening at #4 at the box office on Valentine's Day weekend and going on to take in $40 million worldwide on a $35 million budget. The first of two 1999 collaborations between director Hugh Wilson and star Brendan Fraser, Blast from the Past included a stellar supporting cast, including Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek, Dave Foley, Nathan Fillion, Joey Slotnick, and the legendary Jennifer Lewis. Critics were pretty even split on it - partly because it was inevitably compared to 1998's Pleasantville - and none were especially effusive in their praise, but it went on to find a charmed audience on home video and has emerged as the quintessential "hidden gem" in the years since. One if its fans is actor Samm Levine, who graced the small screen in 1999 in the beloved (and prematurely canceled) television series Freaks and Geeks. He joined John and Jenn to talk Walken, swing dance, and his most famous creation, the beloved character Zoot Suit Ryan.

We're taking a slightly different approach to this one, covering 20 days of April 1999 instead of 15, and, frankly, we're focusing mostly on the 20th, because that's when the Columbine massacre occurred. Columbine was not the first school shooting, but it was - at the time - the most unthinkable one in terms of scope and scale. 25 years later, it has become significantly less unthinkable, as so many instances of gun-based mass murders in schools have occurred in the meantime that it's difficult to name them all. But Columbine is also a hotbed of misconceptions and misinformation, and since Jenn works in true crime and John works in a high school they couldn't not talk about it. But they do sandwich their thoughts on this horrific tragedy with SOME fun, including John's rant on Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine and a brief chat about Tal Bachman's "She's So High". Here is the essay John references in the episode: Retrospective: 20 Years Later, "Bowling for Columbine" is a Disgrace to Documentary Filmmaking  

Pushing Tin was the 135th-highest grossing film of the year, grossing 8.4 million dollars on a 33 million dollar budget, opening April the 23rd, 1999 as the #4 movie at the Box Office behind The Matrix, Life, and Never Been Kissed. Directed by Four Weddings and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco director Mike Newell and written by Cheers co-creators Les and Glen Charles, Pushing Tin felt like a sure thing, especially given its very of-the-moment core cast of John Cusack, Cate Blanchett, Billy Bob Thornton, and Angelina Jolie. But it never left the runway (get it) with audiences or critics. What went wrong? And is Pushing Tin a forgotten gem, or was everyone right about it 25 years ago? This week, John and Jenn are joined by comedian Joe Kwaczala to talk about this weird, uneven, confused, and very pre-9/11 romcom-dramedy thing! You can find Joe on most of the socials @joekjoek

We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our sixth installment, March 16-31 1999! In the second half of March, we got: The Oscars! Roberto Benigni jumping on chairs! Harvey Weinstein buying the Best Picture Oscar for Shakespeare in Love! The premiere of Futurama! Jack Kevorkian! Ricky Martin unleashes La Vida Loca upon an unsuspecting world! Fabio gets hit by a goose! The Melissa Virus 10 Thing I Hate About You! The Matrix! and more! John and Jenn also accidentally create a true crime podcast and wonder if they've pinpointed the moment Gwyneth Paltrow came up with GOOP.

Mickey Blue Eyes was just the 61st-highest grossing movie of 1999. The only major US release of the weekend of August 20, 1999, Mickey Blue Eyes opened in third place while The Sixth Sense continued to dominate the box office. It would go on to make $54 million on a $75 million budget. Directed by Kids in the Hall alum Kelly Makin and written by Robert Kuhn and Adam Scheinmann, it was ostensibly a romcom vehicle for Hugh Grant and Jeanne Tripplehorn but works better as a romcom between Hugh Grant and James Caan. Critics were iffy, with most still praising Grant for carrying the movie with a pitch-perfect performance playing to all his strengths as both a comic and dramatic actor and acknowledging the fun of the premise as well as the strength of the jokes but faulting it for failing to carry those things through. Many also pointed to the fact that, upon release, Mickey Blue Eyes was already the inferior Hugh Grant movie after Notting Hill, and the inferior mob comedy after Analyze This. Joining John and Jenn to talk about it this week is writer Meghan Leigh Paulk. You can find out more about Meghan on her website.

We take a quick detour to discuss the 1999-adjacent Investigation Discovery series QUIET ON THE SET, which looks into the toxic, harmful atmosphere at Nickelodeon in the 90s and 2000s under showrunner Dan Schneider, as well as the subsequent instances of child sex abuse as detailed by DRAKE AND JOSH star Drake Bell. You can find Jenn's coverage of the documentary and some of its fallout on Distractify, including this breakdown of what's been going on with Dan Schneider of late: https://www.distractify.com/p/where-is-dan-schneider-now

This week, we take a look at one of 1999's biggest surprise hits, the 38th-highest grossing movie, which took in a very impressive $103 million on a budget of just $10 million, She's All That. She's All That opened at #1 on January 29, boosted by being nicely timed around Valentine's Day and by coming out in one of the least-competitive box office periods of the year. Directed by Robert Iscove and written by friend of the show R. Lee Fleming Jr, She's All That boasts one of the most incredibly deep casts of 1990s icons, as well as launching the career of the titular "she" Rachael Leigh Cook. It is the very definition of the nostalgic favorite, and it finds charm and humor in places not typical of the teen rom-com genre. So this week, we invited comedy writer Chase Mitchell to join us down by the broken treehouse to talk all about it, so bring your flowered hat as we see if, all these years later, this ugly duckling is still a swan. You can find Chase on Twitter @ChaseMit  

We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our fifth installment, March 1-15 1999! In the first half of March, we got: -Cher Believe-ing her way to the top of the charts! -The untimely death of the legendary Dusty Springfield -Cruel Intentions! Analyze This! The Rage: Carrie 2! -Marilyn Manson taking a tumble (but, alas, not enough of one!) -And, of course, the deaths of both Stanley Kubrick and "Joltin'" Joe DiMaggio... and more! John and Jenn also discuss KateGate (WaterKate?), Love is Blind, and tease our next episode.

Runaway Bride, the other 1999 Julia Roberts rom-com, was the 9th-highes grossing movie of the year, sandwiched between The Mummy at 8th and The Blair Witch Project at 10th. And while Runaway Bride did far worse with the critics to the vastly superior Notting Hill, its box office performance was likely boosted by two factors: unlike Notting Hill, it didn't open against Star Wars, and - more importantly - it was billed as a spiritual sequel to the movie that put Julia Roberts on the map, 1990's smash hit Pretty Woman, reuniting stars Roberts and Richard Gere and director Gary Marshall. Runaway Bride is a written-by-committee tonal, structural, and thematic mess. But it has its charms, and it boasts an insanely talented supporting cast (and a picturesque Maryland town) that keep the comedy and appeal afloat. Jenn's person Greg Pilgrim joins the show to talk about eggs, lamps, and the scientific term for a group of orioles.

We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with fourth installment, February 15-28 1999! In the second half of February, we got: -The death of Gene Siskel! -Jawbreaker! Office Space! October Sky! -OJ Simpson news! -Lauryn Hill breaking a record at the Grammys! -Eminem's "The Slim Shady LP"! and more! John and Jenn also discuss celebrity doppelgangers, The Crow, remakes/boots, Jenn's birthday, and more!

Notting Hill was the 16th-highest grossing movie of 1999, opening Memorial Day Weekend, May 28th, and in 2nd place earning $27.7 million (behind #1, The Phantom Menace, which, then in its second weekend, earned $67 million). It would go on to make $116 million domestically and $364 million worldwide on a $42 million budget. Notting Hill was the second of several successful ventures between Grant and writer (and Mr. Bean creator) Richard Curtis, following 1994's Four Weddings and a Funeral and predating 2001's Bridget Jones's Diary (which Curtis adapted from Helen Fielding's enormously popular novel) and 2003's Love Actually. It has gone on to be one of the most revered and beloved romantic comedies of all time, so to kick off our round on 1999 RomComs, we give you our longest episode ever: A love letter to great comedy, peak Hugh Grant, and the joy of close friendships. John's wife Courtney joins the show for the first time, and John and Jenn also talk to a very special guest - the iconic extra who Hugh Grant refers to affectionately as Cookie Monster in the opening voiceover.

We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our third installment, January 1-14 1999! In the first half of February, we got: -Blast from the Past! -The worst *NSYNC song! -GMO hysteria! -Stupid ideas to fix the Y2K bug! -Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?? and more! John and Jenn also discuss REM, G Love and Special Sauce (again), Valentine's Day, the rerelease of The Phantom Menace, and our next episode: Notting Hill!

Audition does not rank anywhere in the 1999 box office. This is largely because it had no theatrical release in 1999. Rather, Audition played a single screening at the Toronto International Film Festival that year, and would only go on to make a few hundred thousand dollars worldwide during its run. But it developed an enormous cult following since, and has become one of the most revered horror films of its time. And it's easy to see why - Audition is gruesome, inventive, and stunningly unique. And, also, due to circumstances beyond her control, Jenn couldn't watch it. So John did, shares his thoughts, and then they both discuss Penelope Spheeris's unreleased OZZFEST 99 documentary We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'N Roll, which might finally be released at some point in the near future, but, if not, is available in a fairly grainy Vimeo upload. It's great. So is Audition. Watch them both, if you can stomach the latter! If not, just listen to us talk about them!

We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our second installment, January 16-31 1999! In the second half of January 1999, we got: -She's All That -The release of Super Smash Bros. -The premiere of Family Guy! -The Blair Witch Project debuts at the Sundance Film Festival and more! Plus, John's conversation with She's All That writer R. Lee Fleming, Jr! John and Jenn also discuss the 1999 Golden Globes, Gwyneth Paltrow, ODB, and G. Love and Special Sauce.

A dismal critical and commercial failure that has gone on to be a genuine cult classic, Idle Hands came in at 162nd at the box office, earning less than $2 million on a $25 million budget. It probably didn't help that it was released 10 days after Columbine, and audiences maybe weren't in the mood for a high school-set slasher film. Or maybe it's that Idle Hands is a bafflingly, deliriously confused movies, with tones shifting wildly, sometimes within the same scene. But either way, it can't be accused of being lazy, and everything that makes its way to the screen is endlessly interesting (if for not always the best reasons). And it also includes some great performances, including a lot of improvised banter between Seth Green and Elden Hensen, and a tirelessly committed performance (along with some excellent physical comedy) from Devon Sawa. Plus a pre-Dark Angel Jessica Alba slinking all over the place. Joining John and Jenn this week is comedian, photographer, writer, and Idle Hands evangelist John-Michael Bond, who you can find on Twitter @BondJohnBond

It's been 25 years since 1999, and to celebrate, your favorite the only 1999 podcast is going to take a look back on the time that was twice each month, starting with January 1-5, 1999! In the first episode of a series we are calling 99@25, we cover: -The Clinton Impeachment! -The (slow) release of movies (including Varsity Blues) -The debut of The Sopranos -Jon Stewart taking over The Daily Show and much more! John and Jenn share some personal anecdotes of their younger selves at the time, and reveal their true feelings about Fatboy Slim's "Praise You", Sugar Ray, and that Val Kilmer movie At First Sight.

House on Haunted Hill was a huge failure with critics, but at 50th in the 1999 box office, and having made back its budget, it was a reasonable commercial success. It opened number one during Halloween weekend, likely finding an audience in moviegoers eager for anything spooky (and it is pretty spooky...) A remake of William Castle's 1959 film starring Vincent Price, this House on Haunted Hill was directed by William Malone with a written by Dick Beebe, who also penned Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2) with effects by the legendary Greg Nicotero and Robert Kurtzmann. With a delightfully loopy, hammy performance from Geoffrey Rush and pretty great supporting cast who all understood the assignment, House on Haunted Hill is an imperfect but genuinely enjoyable horror thrill ride. It's also a favorite of our guest Stephanie Gagnon, host of the horror book podcast Books in the Freezer, who joined us way back in Round 1 for The 6th Sense and rejoins us to talk mustaches, Chris Kattan, bad endings, and which is the best Scream movie. Check out Books in the Freezer here: https://booksinthefreezer.com/

Charles Dickens' 1846 A Christmas Carol is one of the most adapted works of all time. And his protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, has been portrayed by the likes of Jim Carrey to Bill Murray, George C. Scott to Mr. Magoo, Alastair Sim to Scrooge McDuck, and Michael Caine to Will Ferrell. And spins on A Christmas Carol have appeared in everything from Beavis and Butthead to Doctor Who. But rarely have they been as faithful as the version from 1999 starring Patrick Stewart as the miserly businessman whose life changes one fateful night after a visit from three ghosts. Starring an incredible cast including Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Dominic West, Ian McNiece, Breaking Bad's Laura Fraser, and Ted Lasso's Jeremy Swift, the TNT original movie is a jewel in the vast sea of Christmas Carol adaptations. So this Christmas, we invited our friend Alex Steed back to share in the Christmas spirit...er...ghost?...as we dig in to this wonderful version of a classic story. Merry Christmas! And, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!