The Recasting Couch Movie Podcast

WE ARE LIVE FROM PHILLY PODFEST FOR OUR 100TH-ish EPISODE!!!   Well, really last week, but either way it was a great fucking time. For The Recasting Couch's 100th-ish episode and live debut we recast Independence Day from Tattooed Mom (@tmoms). We somehow keep the podcast to less than an hour (or not, depending on how long our intro segment is), but we were super psyched to take the show live and a good time was had by all. Some highlights include Mike pegging the crowd with hard candy, me doing a speech in the style of Al Pacino (apparently), and a touch of mutiny from the crowd.    This was the biggest movie on the planet (or off of it?....) in 1996. Starring Will Smith at his absolute Will Smithiest. Jeff Goldblum just blumin' it up. Judd Hirsch just being Judd. It's the rare movie where everyone involved hits their stride at the same time. Bill Pullman actually comes off as a halfway decent actor. There's something magical about this movie and we attempt to recreate it in front of all y'all.    Thanks for the continued support everyone! The live show was so much fun that we would love to try to do it again sometime. If you know of a venue that hosts pods or a festival you think our show would work at, let us know! Slide into our DM's on twitter @recastingpod or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. We could also use some iTunes reviews if you have the time for it. It unfortunately has a disproportionately large effect on how people discover podcasts.0   On a side note, I'm currently watching the movie for next week, and I can't wait for this episode. Goddamn I love this movie.    Oh, and on a side, side note. Thanks to Obie Media for recording the show. The audio is amazing and they were really great to work with!

Road. House.   This has been a long time in the making. We planned on doing it earlier and then it left streaming. Now that it's back, we are ready to fulfill our destiny. I reveal that I have never seen this before. Mike constantly ridicules me. You know. Our standard shit. But we are back in the studio, and we recorded this only a few hours before the super fun live show for the Philly Pod Fest, so we are in rare form.   Road House is the documentary about the life of Patrick Swayze if he never became an actor. Co-starring Sam Elliott and Kelly Lynch, this movie is just fucking fun. A totally ridiculous plot, followed by a completely over the top villain (Ben Gazzara), and an incredibly lax police department. It's a recipe for awesomeness.  How would you rather die? Throat ripped out or a polar bear falling on you in slow motion? It's a tough call. Honestly, I couldn't even decide which one is a funnier way to die. The magic claw of throat ripping is funny in a different way. Polar bear is some classic comedy shit. I think I go polar bear only if I'd be guaranteed some wacky sound effects as it happens. Otherwise it would just feel like a tree falling in the woods, you know what I mean? Me neither.   Thank you to everyone who came out to Philly Podcast Festival (@phillypodfest)! We had so much fun that we're thinking about trying to organize another live pod. If that sounds like something you'd want to go to, hit us up publicly on twitter @recastingpod or privately by email us at recastingpod@gmail.com         Shout out also to Tattooed Mom (@Tmoms) for hosting us (and the festival at large) and Obie Media for recording the show. That episode will drop next week. 

This week we've got our Jerry Mac sequel! The fucking Frankenstein episode as I like to call it. Well, then I guess that makes me Dr. Frankenstein and the podcast is my monster? I don't know. I'm not good with metaphors. Or podcasts. Or writing blogs for that matter. Why are you here again? Anyway, we finally get down to recasting this mother, and let's just say we have some fun with it. I make some really good picks that Mike vetos, and we go with his crappy picks (just kidding...kind of…).    Thank you for lending your ears to the show! We love all of you individually and intensely. In fact, we're standing outside of your window right now. If you love us even a fraction as much as we love you, go on to iTunes/stitcher/spotify, etc. and leave us a top quality rating. It really helps get the word out about the show. Or I guess you could do it the old fashioned way and actually tell a few of your friends to listen. That works too. We'd love to hear from you and discuss movies/picks/or, you know, life...man, so hit us up on twitter @recastingpod. If you would like a more...intimate conversation, slide into our emails at recastingpod@gmail.com   BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY WE'LL BE AT TATTOOED MOM ON SOUTH STREET FOR PHILLY PODFEST NEXT WEEKEND! Our show starts at 6:30, but the shows begin at 12:30. I'm almost certainly going to the Nintendo Power Time Podcast, but check out the schedule and decide for yourself. Get there early, because we are going to be packing the place out. We're going to play games with the audience, we'll be throwing out candy, we may have some other giveaways if it gets done in time. it's going to be great. Come by and say hi, or fondle us in a stranger-apppropriate way. Let's get weird. Until next week.

What up Recasting Couch fans! We've got a hot one this week. It's actually so hot, we couldn't legally give you the whole episode at one time. So this week we are bringing to you part 1 of Jerry Maguire. After doing our usual intro, we got off on celebrating Tom Cruise's entire catalog. The episode completely got away from us in the best possible way, so enjoy.    As you may imagine, we really enjoyed this movie. It's somehow way more than the sum of its parts. It's Renee Zellwegger's first big movie. Bonnie Hunt fills in as the skeptical sister with her usual zest, and Jonathan Lipniki makes is grand opening and grand closing here. The movie really has it all. Oh, and Cuba Gooding Jr. does some stuff that may or may not have ended in him getting an Oscar.    Thanks for listening everyone! Our downloads keep on growing every month and that's all because you continue to spread the word about the pod. Also, shout out to all of our new PodCoin listeners.   Your homework this week is to tell three more of your friends to check it out. If you have a free moment, go on iTunes and leave us a rating, that also helps spread the word. If you want to chat with us, we are all over twitter and instagram @recastingpod. You can also email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. DON'T FORGET PHILLY PODCAST FESTIVAL! JULY 27TH, 6:30 AT TATTOOED MOM ON SOUTH STREET! It's going to be so much fun. We're going to be hanging out all day and once we're up we're going to be recasting Independence Day. You've got plenty of forewarning so start getting your picks ready because we're going to be heading into the crowd to get some of your picks. 

Oh boy, we have a fun topic this week.  We are talking movie conspiracies.  This episode contains conspiracies about movies, in movies and by movie people.  This was a fun one to record but there were so many that we didn't get too in depth about any of them.  Consider this a primer for episodes in the future where we take one or two of the topics discussed on this episode and go deep.  But this week we just review nearly 2 dozen different conspiracies around movies.  This is always a fun topic to discuss but if you are not careful, you could lose half a day following the internet rabbit hole into these theories.  Which I have done, on more than one occasion.  I find the batshit crazy things that people think fascinating.  Seeing it through the Hollywood lens was really fun.  The things that people believe and the connections they make are frightening.  I love movies, even to the point of obsession sometimes but I never have thought of connecting a movie to a real life event or tying multiple movies together in some strange universe.  Maybe I don't have enough time on my hands.   Welcome to all of the new listeners.  We have seen a significant uptick in the past month and we greatly appreciate you being here.  Also, for all of you podcast addicts, don't forget to check out Podcoin.  It's the podcast app that pays you to listen.  In my opinion, the coolest feature is that you can donate your earnings to charity.  So get out there and listen for the good of others. If you ever want to reach out with picks or suggestions for the show you can find us at therecastingcouch.com, recastingpod@gmail.com or @recastingpod on Twitter and Instagram.   So, get out the tin foil, make a hat and enjoy the show.

Sometimes, you've got to stop fucking around with the curveball, and just give em the heater. Well that's what we've got for you this week. Major League is the movie that we've recast this week. This screwball comedy about a group of outcasts striving to win the pennant with the hapless Cleveland Indians is an absolute joy to watch. The huge ensemble cast (that took us forever to get through) is led by Tom Berenger as Jake Taylor, the has-been catcher with balky knees, whose hoping his return to the majors is enough to rekindle his lost relationship with Lynn (Rene Russo). The rest of the rag-tag team is rounded out by Charlie Sheen as the bad-boy closing pitcher with a million-dollar arm, and ten cent corneas. Dennis Haysbert as the voodoo priest who can't hit a curveball, Corben Bernsen as the prima-donna with no heart, and Wesley Snipes as a fast-talking, fast-running (and not much else) new guy. They are anchored by the incomparable Coach Lou Brown (James Gammon), and they plan on ruining the new owner's attempt to get them to fail their way out of their stadium contract and move the team to Miami.    This is just a fun freaking movie. We were supposed to recast a different movie, but I saw this on streaming, and I knew we just had to audible and choose it. It's a perfect spring/summer movie to get you amped up to go outside and enjoy America's Pastime. Mike, who is not a fan of this movie, even enjoyed the rewatch and I finally think I may have turned him on it. The recasting runs a bit long because there are just so many damn characters, but we end up with a pretty decent cast.    As always, we appreciate everyone listening and helping spread the word about the show. Our numbers have been steadily climbing and we want to keep that trend up, so please tell a friend, co-worker, family member, or anyone else who you think would be interested in hearing about Ackmans both large and small. Find us online @recastingpod, or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. Be sure to mark your calendars for Philly Pod Fest. We'll be doing a live show at Tattooed Mom on South Street, so go to the Philly Pod Fest website for more details. 

Hello TRC fans, we are back with a new episode.  This week, we are joined by our friend from the Medium Popcorn podcast, comedian and podcaster Brandon Collins as we recast the 1996 horror classic: Scream. This cast is just packed.  Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, Rose McGowen, Courtney Cox, David Arquette and the list goes on.  The original casting was just about perfect, although Mike take issue with one cast member in particular.  Our guest, who picked this movie, explains the special impact this movie had on his life and shows off a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the movie and the fun facts that surround it. All in all, we really liked this movie.  It felt like the convergence of the right people, with the right script and right director at the right time.  Surprisingly, it really holds up. That being said, I think that we put together a fun cast that I would pay to see try this movie.   Thanks for listening everyone. Our numbers are showing that you all are doing your jobs and telling friends, but it's not over yet! We need you to keep spreading the word, and we'll keep delivering this A+++ content (no guarantees). Mark your calendars now because we are doing our first live podcast for Philly Pod Fest on July 27th at Tattooed Mom on South Street. Admission is free, and we're super excited for it, and we're expecting a pretty packed house. So come out and support all of the podcasts (but mostly ours), and get some cheap drinks. Here's a pro tip, when you are at Tattooed Mom, ask for a “Mom Chip” and if you show that chip when you order a drink, you'll get $1 off. If you have any questions about the fest, email us at recastingpod@gmail.com, or reach out to us on twitter @recastingpod. See ya next week!

This week we recast Limitless.  We had mixed feelings about this one.  It feels like it could have been more fun.  Other than DiNero phoning it in, the rest of the performances are passable but the story just doesn't add up.  Bradley Cooper, who is Mr. Likeable, was not likeable at all in this movie.  The part was just poorly written.  There are no sympathetic characters for the audience to relate to.  There is no one to root for.   Ultimately, we thought that this was a good concept, wasted.  We explore some ideas on how to improve the story but a lot of the issues are things that needed to be removed, not added.  The tone of the movie was just off.    We still had fun talking about it.    Don't for get to subscribe, rate and review wherever you are listening.  Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @RecastingPod.  Help us get to 2000 followers.  #Lebowski2000

In 2005, there was a movie that came along that changed everything we thought we knew about comic book movies. That film was Batman Begins...and Sin City...and V for Vendetta...and Fantastic Four...and CONSTANTINE! Based on the Hellblazer comic from DC, John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is some sort of exorcist that is loosely tied to the church who acts as a mercenary in the invisible fight between good and evil. Although the lines between good and evil may not be as solid as you thought…   Ultimately, this was a pretty fun movie to rewatch. Keanu plays his lovable, flawed, down-on-his-luck hero oh so well. I'm not historically a Rachel Weisz fan, but she does a fine job as Angela/Isabel Dodson, a cop who is using John to get to the bottom of her twin sister's murder/suicide. Shia LeBoeuf does a great job as the quintessential sidekick. Tilda Swinton plays Gabriel, the half-angel that is looking to bring an end to the war, one way or another. Gavin Rossdale surprisingly steals the show as Balthazar the half-demon who is trying to facilitate the invasion of earth by the son of Satan. Now, we don't meet the son of Satan, but we do meet the Prince of Darkness himself, played by none other that Peter Stormare. Add to that some fun characters played by Djimon Hounsou and Pruitt Taylor Vince, and this movie has all of the ingredients for a solid film, and it gets there. But just barely. I don't know what could have been done differently, but this ended up being a C+, when it could have been an A.   Our twitter has been blowing up, so check us out @recastingpod (same for insta, and our email recastingpod@gmail.com). Keep chatting us up, keep sending us your picks, keep suggesting movies for us to recast and be sure to get your friends to follow, because we are gaining speed towards our Big #Lebowski2000 countdown. You get us to 2000 twitter followers, and we'll give you a White-Russian soaked deep dive on one of the greatest comedies of all time. See you next week.   Link to IMDB   Link to Amazon

Ronin. Ronin, Ronin, Ronin… How we had such high expectations for rewatching this car chase/heist movie. This movie nowhere near achieves the sum of its parts. The parts are impressive. A lot of people who are great in a lot of things. Many we've even fawned over before, but not this time. There is zero chemistry between anyone in this movie except for Robert DeNiro and the always fun Jean Reno. There is a forced romance angle with Bobby D and Natascha McElhone who has a quiet disconnect the entire movie. Sean Bean is okay, I guess, although he isn't given a ton to work with. His character was really poorly conceptualized, or perhaps not developed enough to make his storyline make any sense at all. Stellan Skarsgård mails it in, Jonathan Pryce is woefully miscast as an IRA terrorist, although Michael Lonsdale chews some nice scenery as Jean Pierre, it's just too little too late at that point.. The whole thing just didn't work, and it's too bad. In addition to the forced romance angle, the whole Ronin story didn't even really apply to the movie itself, and even the car chase scenes ,that it's known for, fell flat. So, naturally Mike and I do what we always do when faced with a movie that we really didn't like all that much. We roast the hell out of it. Lots of laughs in this episode, so make sure you check it out.   You all are the absolute best, thank you for listening! We've gotten a really nice upswing in listeners and interactions on social media (@recastingpod wherever it matters), and it's all because you are spreading the word about the show.   We also have an exciting announcement, we have just been booked for the Philadelphia Podcast Festival! Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 27th at Tattooed Mom on South Street in Philly. We've been dying to do a live pod, and this is going to be an epic one, so make sure you come out! It's 100% free, and Tattooed Mom is a killer spot with reasonably priced drinks. Make sure you come see us after the show, we'd love to bullshit with you. See you then!    

This week we bring you The Fifth Element.  This is just a fun sci-fi movie that still holds up.  One of Chris' favorites, we explore a new cast. From Google: In the 23rd century, a New York City cabbie, Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), finds the fate of the world in his hands when Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) falls into his cab. As the embodiment of the fifth element, Leeloo needs to combine with the other four to keep the approaching Great Evil from destroying the world. Together with Father Vito Cornelius (Ian Holm) and zany broadcaster Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker), Dallas must race against time and the wicked industrialist Zorg (Gary Oldman) to save humanity.   This movie was really fun to recast.  Not that this movie needs any changes but that's why were here so you get a new cast.  By the way, keep upthe good work.  We have seen an increase in interest in the podcast and we can only blame that on our fans.  Keep spreading the word and playing the game.    You can reach us on Twitter on @RecastingPod, at our website, TheRecastingCouch.com or email us at RecastingPod@gmail.com  

This week's recast is The Running Man. To quote wikipedia, this 1987 science fiction action film, “...is very loosely based on the 1982 novel of the same title written by Stephen King and published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.” It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards, a soldier who is made the fall guy for a government sanctioned massacre. Maria Conchita Alonso does some damage in her breakout role as Amber Mendez, while the rest of this movie is packed with a whole lot of 80's nostalgia, including Jim Brown, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, and Richard Dawson Richard Dawsoning all over this movie.   To be honest, we recorded this two weeks ago, and I don't remember much about what we said, but I do remember laughing our balls off, so I guarantee this one is going to be a good time. I do remember a minimal amount of Arnold impressions, so… you're welcome. This movie just kicks ass and is classic 80's cheese.   As always, we love each and everyone one of you. We want to spread that love far and wide, so tell people to download the show so we can just spray all of our love all over them. Ok….that got weird there for a moment. Anyway, we've recently hit a huge all-time download milestone, and I honestly never would have guessed we would have ever gotten this far. Although that's mostly because I don't think either Mike or I thought we could go this long without grabbing each other's throats.   We're looking for some ideas for something special for our 100th recast, so hit us up on Twitter @recastingpod, also on instagram @recastingpod, or email us a recastingpod@gmail.com. If you really, really, REALLLLLY want to help us out, then make sure you tell friends about the show and leave us a killer rating on whatever platform you download podcasts. It helps bump us up in the suggestion lists, so more people can find the show, and satisfies our fragile, little egos when the numbers go up. I feel like I may have said too much… I'm going to mercifully end this now. Until next week.   Chris   Link to IMDB   Link to Amazon

This week, it's MARVEL, MARVEL, MARVEL! (now go back and read that in a Jan Brady voice)   Time Stamps: Intro : 00:00:00 Avengers End Game Discussion: 00:07:52 GPCC Marvel Panel: 01:12:26   We gave you all a week, but we are spoiling the shit out of #avengersendgame, starting now. (I mean it, like right now. I'm spoiling stuff in the rest of this post). We're doing a deep dive; reactions, revelations, libations, it's a blast. After the Endgame talk we have a recording of the Marvel Panel at the Philly Comic Con where Mike discussed the most recent Marvel movies and previews Edn Game with @realawesomepod,  @tellest and @BlacklistedPod     The vision that they've had and have been able to execute over the last 11 years is a monumental feat that basically begins and… now ends with Robert Downey Jr. They did a good job setting up the future (although, there are some really vulnerable points that they can fuck up and ruin it). I don't really know how else they could have done it, yet at the same time, I would never think to end it that way. That may be the ultimate compliment, to be honest.   If you want to argue with our Marvel takes (because, if you don't, do you even nerd, bro?) then join us on Twitter. You can find us @recastingpod. Same on insta, recastingpod@gmail.com to suggest movies for us to recast, send us feedback, mailbag questions, piping hot takes that you are afraid to reveal in public that we will absolutely, anonymously announce on the show with glee and tear apart accordingly.   You know we always appreciate people listening to the pod, and this week is no different. All we ask is that if you enjoy the pod and tell some friends (10,000 friends seems like a totally reasonable, totally arbitrary number…). Leaving us high ratings on iTunes or your podcasting app of choice also helps spread the word.    

Welcome back to the Recasting Couch everyone! We want to apologize for skipping last week, but I had an emergency work trip and Mike had 30 people coming over for Easter weekend, so unfortunately real life once again rears its ugly head.   This week we have the audio from the Movie Fixers panel Mike was on at the Great Philadelphia Comic Con. It was the very first panel as soon as the doors opened, so it was sparsely attended, but the conversations were fun and funny. First, we want to thank Kevin Gallagher (@thatnerdykev) from the @realawesomepod, who I met at the Philly Podcast Festival (stay tuned for possible news about that…) a couple years ago and invited us on the panel. Mike was also joined by Michael DeAngelo, author of the @tellest book series.   However, before the panel we discuss some recent movie news, but we avoid any Avengers: Endgame spoilers, but only because we are going to spoil the shit out of it next week. You have 7 days to see the movie before we do a deep, deep dive. We talk about the lukewarm Godzilla and Gemini Man trailers before Avengers.   At the time we were recording, John Singleton had only had a stroke and was still in the hospital. As of this post, he has since passed. We wanted to talk about his work and how influential he was on our generation specifically (plus I stan for Baby Boy). He single handedly spoke for a hugely underrepresented minority in a pivotal moment in our country's history.   RIP to a legend.   Thanks for listening, everyone! Do yourself a favor and follow us on Twitter! (@recastingpod) Or email us recastingpod@gmail.com if you want to suggest any movies for us to recast or any topics you want us to discuss.   Better yet, go on iTunes or wherever you listen to our pod and give us a 5 star rating! You have no idea how much that helps us. It also bumps us up in the suggestion algorithm so more people can discover the pod and we show up higher in the search engines so more people can discover the pod, and TELL FRIENDS SO MORE PEOPLE CAN DISCOVER THE POD!

This week we get Mike's reaction to doing his first panel at Philly Comic Con with @RealAwesomePod's @ThatNerdyKev and Mike Deangelo. We also get a short interview with Recasting Couch favorite, mother fuckin' @TheJakeBusey #GPCC2019 #PodernFamily

In anticipation of Mike's first ever panel at Philadelphia Comic Con (coincidentally it's also the first panel of the Con. Go HERE for details and tickets), we decided to chop up the movie Blade. Gotdamn is this a fun movie. Although I'm not sure either of us would call it good. The unfortunate pre-Matrix CGI leap really handicapped this movie, and it's too bad because the rest of it, from the script to the acting really holds up well. Wesley Snipes was born to play Blade, and probably still could to this day (also follow him on Twitter, because he's awesome). Stephen Dorff turns in what is easily his best performance as Deacon Frost. Kris Kristofferson brings it as the badass old guy, Whistler. Relative unknown N'Bushe Wright handles her business as Karen, and Donal Logue is forever the loveable flunky. Even with all of this, the movie is better than the sum of its parts. However, the CGI really is that bad.   This episode gets really inside. There was so much good information about the movie's production and the comic book, that will fill you with more Blade knowledge than you ever wanted. We talk about an unnecessary Pearl, we talk about how there is no substance on earth that can make blood explode, and we share a few ha-ha's along the way.   Thanks for checking the podcast out! If you like what you hear, leave us a 5 star rating on whatever platform you listen to pods, that's how the show grow's its audience. Play the recasting game along with us on Twitter (@recastingpod), Instagram (um...also @recastingpod), or send us an email with any movies you want us to recast in the future at recastingpod@gmail.com.   Also, if you are at the Con, go up to Mike and tell him how wrong he is about everything, and how much better you like my picks. You know, the truth. Catch you all next week!   Chris

This (last?) week's episode is (was?) Glore-ious. Get it? Oh man, I'm doing way too much here. Either way it was rad. We had the very funny Ricky Glore (@rickyglore) on the show to talk about the movie In & Out. Kevin Kline does some very Kevin Kline things, and absolutely crushes his role as Howard Brackett, a flamboyant English teacher in a high school in Anytown, USA (actually the fictional town of Greenleaf, Indiana), whose former pupil Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) outs him as a gay man to the surprise of the entire community, including Howard himself. Tom Selleck also stops by to drop a surprisingly good performance as Peter Malloy, a sleazy, TMZ/Inside Edition, Hollywood gossip leach who eventually convinces Howard that he's actually gay. Not that it took that much convincing because Howard is definitely gay. The ensemble cast is rounded out by Joan Cusack, who just nails it as Howard's frustrated beard bride-to-be. Debbie Reynolds, Wilfred Brimley, and Bob Newhart are just a few of the others that help create this great community that is reacting to this “earth shattering news” (for 1997).   During the show, we ponder just how well this movie holds up from a contemporary standpoint. Ricky gives us his perspective, and that of his brother that has been out of the closet for some time. Ultimately, we feel like this is certainly a positive portrayal of gay people and gay culture, but that's where it ends. Unfortunately, it was perhaps too early in the gay rights movement to allow for a more sexualized version of Howard to emerge, because the only thing they focus on in this movie is his lifestyle. We aren't exactly begging for a graphic sex scene, but it takes more than just a fondness for Streisand and pressed clothes to determine one's sexuality. However, that is apparently a decision the writer specifically made in order to gently ease the larger public into the gay culture, and farbeit from us to challenge the decision, given the success of the movie, and its place in popular culture at the time. Thanks again for listening. We've got some fun stuff in the very near future. If you are going to be at Philadelphia Comic Con Friday, April 12th, check out Mike on the 1:00 panel for improving movies. If you are a die-hard TRC listener, then you may be familiar with the subject matter. If you get a chance, leave us a 5-star rating on your podcast app of choice. This helps spread the word so more people can discover the show and join the recasting craze. If you want to chat about recasting or movies in general, find us on twitter @recastingpod . If you have any movies you'd like us to recast or any mailbag questions, email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. You all are the friggin' best. Stay gold Pony Boy.

This must be your lucky day, because you've just rolled Snake Eyes.   Believe it or not, this is better than the actual dialogue in the 1998 pulp, noir, cheesefest that is one of the Cage-iest of Nicolas Cage movies that there is. Brian De Palma directed and wrote the film, although it would have benefited from maybe another 17 writers being brought in. But for how flimsy the script was, the direction was actually pretty good, and ultimately this was a very enjoyable rewatch.   It's famous for its long intricate tracking shots, the first of which is known as one of the best in film history (even if the rest of the movie doesn't hold up to the lofty expectations the opening sets). The problem is the imagery is not exactly subtle. White is for the Angel, Red is for the Devil, literal blood money, etc. Not to mention, there's a long closing scene that ended up on the cutting room floor, but was still referenced several times throughout the movie.   The acting is pretty good here. Gary Sinise has a nice speech at the end. Carla Gugino does a good job riding the line between determined whistleblower and damsel in distress. Kevin Dunn, Mike Starr, Michael Rispoli, and a TRC favorite Luis Guzman put in top notch That Guy performances, which help really pull this movie together. The flaws are glaring, but if you can get by them, this movie is just fun.   Thanks for tuning in, everyone! Twitter is really starting to pop off, so find us there @recastingpod. We're slowly growing our Instagram feed, so get in now on the ground floor, also @recastingpod. If you have a movie you'd like us to recast, or if you want to give us any feedback, email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. Our numbers have been rising steadily and it's because you all are spreading the word, so tell a friend and leave us a 5 star rating to help us grow the show. See you next week!

Ah, my metaphorical mohawk is spikey and brutal right now. SLC Punk reignited the Rude Boy in me and I am ready to fucking rock. I'm want to tattoo middle fingers on my face and tell the whole world to kiss my ass. Of course, I definitely won't do that because I've completely Bought In. But I feel it deep down in my poser soul.   SLC Punk is a 1998 indy film written and directed by James Merendino and starring actors who would go on to bigger things (Matthew Lillard, Devon Sawa, Jason Segal, Christopher McDonald), as well as ones that will live forever in these singular roles (Michael A. Goorjian, Annabeth Gish, Til Schweiger). Honestly, these one-off actors make this movie feel more real. Like they are real people who existed within this niche scene.   Needless to say, the soundtrack for this movie kicks all kinds of ass. Make sure you download the episode now, because if we're ever going to get sued, it's this one. But fuck it, that's what being punk rock is all about. Fuck the man, fuck the system, fuck conformity, fuck the government.   Once you come off of your anarchist high, hit us up on twitter @recastingpod and tell us what classic punk songs I should have played instead of the ones I did. Leave us a 5 star rating on any app you download our show for no other reason than we told you to, but also because this show is awesome. Finally, we may be anarchists, but we want to make sure your voice is heard, so email us at recastingpod@gmail.com with any movies you want us to recast or guests you want us to try to get on the show. We've got some fun stuff planned for the near future.   Snoogans,   Chris

Gattaca is the movie that we recast this week, and hold on to your butts. This episode has no business being as funny as it is. We don't know where it came from, and if we recorded this episode 50 times we couldn't replicate this. It's a hell of a way to celebrate getting both of us back in the studio.   Now in full disclosure, I thought this was a completely different movie. Turns out, neither of us has seen this movie before. This is the kind of quality, in depth, research and preparation that you all have come to expect from this very professional podcast.   Gattaca stars Ethan Hawke, and honestly, it's kinda annoying to hear Mike go on and on about how much of a fan he is. It gets a little weird. He starts profusely thanking me for showing him an Ethan Hawke movie that he had never seen before. Frankly, I wasn't prepared for his reaction. Uma Thurman fulfills all of the requirements for this role, but doesn't really sell as “human” and imperfect as the character is supposed to be. We get interesting performances by Gore Vidal (yes, THAT Gore Vidal), Elias Koteas, and Xander Berkeley, who apparently I appreciated much more than Mike. Xander crushes this, and I will not hear arguments to the contrary. Although, some of the only real heart in this movie comes from the incomparable Ernest Borgnine, who nails his turn as the janitor boss who recognizes Hawke's character's fraud, but knows that he was a genetically deficient guy who has beat all of the odds and keeps his freaking trap shut when he realizes Hawke has infiltrated his employer to get on the launch crew for the trip to Titan. This is way more fun than it has any business period.   If you enjoy this podcast, spread the word! Tell 3 friends about the show this week. Go ahead. We'll wait….   Once you return, leave us 5 star ratings on whatever podcast app you use, and if you are even a fraction as opinionated as we are, go on twitter and yell at us @recastingpod, or send us an email at recastingpod@gmail.com. You all are the fucking best. We've been having so much fun talking movie bullshit and debating your picks. Please give us more to distract us from our day jobs. Love you. Bye.   Chris

This week is a movie that was an instant classic the moment it hit theaters. Although, you probably just remember it as the pie-fucking movie. If that doesn't narrow it down enough for you...then what kind of media are you regularly consuming? The movie I'm talking about is, of course, American Pie. I do want to apologize for the sound quality. I was having some broadband issues over the weekend, and after numerous false-starts, we were lucky to even be able to record. But I'm glad we did, because talking about this movie was a lot of fun. As a junior in high school when this movie came out, it hit me in a way that was all too real at that time. Watching it again all these years later, it immediately put me in a time machine and took me back to 1999. This might be the biggest nostalgia bomb for me of all of the movies we've recast. Mike's had a few, but this one is a little later and was absolutely EVERYWHERE when I was a senior, and everyone had their eye on prom.   The story of American Pie centers around four high school seniors and their quest to turn from Boyz II Men. Casting Director Joseph Middleton absolutely knocked this out of the park. He took a chance on casting a complete unknown as the lead (Jason Biggs, who may have given his best screen performance in his debut), reintroduced us to someone we haven't seen in a while (Thomas Ian Nicholas), discovered a multiple diamonds in the rough (Eddie Kaye Thomas, Natasha Lyonne, Seann William Scott, and Alyson Hannigan), and provided us with endless fodder with one of the worst actors on the planet (Chris Klein). He also brought in a couple of comedy veterans to bring it all together in Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge. Also Tara Reid is in the movie.   Thanks so much for listening, everyone! Our downloads have been growing quite a bit and it's all thanks to you! Keep on telling friends about the show, go on iTunes (or whatever podcast app you use) and leave us 5 star ratings to help get more people exposed to the show. If you want to chat with us about movies, casting, or any other bullshit, you can find us on Twitter @recastingpod. We are starting to put up polls and other content relating to the show. You can find us on instagram also at recastingpod. There isn't much content there yet, but we're going to start posting clips from the show that makes them easy to share. If you have any suggestions for movies or topics you'd like us to cover in the future, email us at recastingpod@gmail.com.   That's it for this week, so remember, if you are going to fuck a pie, definitely make sure it cools off first.   Chris  

This week we chase Amy. However, we weren't comfortable breaking the seal on the Kevin Smith cannon alone, so we invited fellow View Askewniverse junkie, @jeffleach to help us out. And goddamnit if we weren't happy we did. I'm going to drop a *SPOILER ALERT* right here… ...because this movie was pretty terrible. I am absolutely shocked that this was a unanimous decision. Mike has been suggesting this movie forever, and I was certain that he was going to cape for it, but that does not happen. When Jeff and I first started talking about him coming on the pod, he was excited because he hadn't seen the movie before and he was looking forward to it. His faith was misplaced. That's not to say that there is nothing redeemable about this movie. Jason Lee was his scene-stealing self. Joey Lauren Adams plays the Manic Pixie (Lesbian) Dream Girl well, although we aren't exactly in agreement as to how well. Ben Affleck provides more douche chills than Vanilla Ice. Random Question: How do you make a Clerks 2, a Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 2, almost make a Mallrats series, but don't have a single plan for a Hooper X follow up? What does Kevin Smith have against this fine Nubian brother? Do you think that people give a fuck that Dante Hicks is now working at a fast food place instead of a 7-11? Sorry, I get a little worked up sometimes. We go completely off the rails in the best possible way this episode. Hit us up on twitter @recastingpod to talk about just how great this episode was. Email us at recastingpod@gmail.com with any movies you want us to recast, or if you have any feedback. Last, but certainly not least, leave us a 5-star rating on iTunes or whatever platform you use to consume pods, because it helps people discover our show. That way we can get so popular that you can actually be like “I totally liked them before it was cool”, and we'll have documentation to confirm that.   Link to IMDB Link to Amazon

Ba da, DA DA! If you know that sound, then you know what movie we are recasting this week. On this episode, we discuss all things Bond. We debate what makes a good Bond and whether or not Pierce Brosnan effectively carries the torch. GoldenEye has some ups and downs. It suffers from a really mediocre script. Had that been better, I think that more could have been done with Famke Janssen and Sean Bean's performances. Alan Cumming also does a lot with a little in his hacker nerd role.   They were all willing to throw everything into these roles, and they were given less than nothing to work with. I also think that's what dooms Pierce throughout his entire Bond experience. Give him just one decent script and let him work. GoldenEye was clearly the best story of the Brosnan Bond movies, but the dialogue was still awful. Thankfully we have the introduction of Dame Judy Dench as M for the first time, and the Daniel Craig Bond movies wisely continued to use her for the same role.   If you have a spare moment, we would really appreciate a rating on iTunes or whatever service you use to listen to podcasts, because it helps spread the word and refers more people to listen to the pod. And give us a Connery rating or a Roger Moore rating, but not a Timothy Dalton rating. If you are bored and want to talk about our Bond opinions, look us up on twitter @recastingpod, or if you want to send us private notes of praise, email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. You can also suggest movies you want us to recast in future episodes, or suggest random people we should try to get on the show.   Link to IMDB Link to Amazon

This week, we recast Law Abiding Citizen. We've had this on our list for quite some time, even though I had very little interest in it. However, Mike finally talked me into it, and I gotta say, I enjoyed it way more than I ever expected to. I had seen it before and I definitely didn't like it all that much. Now that I've given the movie its due credit, it is severely flawed. Maybe the biggest of all being the acting. Gerard Butler was actually pretty good, but that's about it. Jamie Foxx might be one of the most Jekyll and Hyde actors ever. If he's not into the project, then it really shows on screen. Unfortunately, this was one of those movies. Even some of our favorite That Guys, Colm Meaney and Bruce McGill mail it in a bit. Some of the other That Guys do bring more to the screen, as I'll throw Annie Corley and Richard Portnow a little love. And poor Leslie Bibb, she was completely out of her depth with that character, but that wasn't her fault. She should never have been cast in the first place.   For the first time in TRC history, we are fairly confident we were able to come up with a better cast than the movie itself. It's a new high in hubris for us, so naturally something very bad is likely to happen to us soon. But not too soon! We have a very special guest who will be joining us in a few weeks, so keep an eye out for that. We are so incredibly psyched for it, but I'm not naming the name until the episode is in the can. Needless to say, it's going to be an all-timer.   As always, we love all of you beautiful listeners. If you have a few spare minutes, and want to help spread the word about the pod, go on iTunes or your podcast app of choice and leave us a positive review. That helps bump us up the lists and allow more people to discover the pod. Every little bit helps, even a like or retweet, so find us on twitter @recastingpod. We'd love to hear your picks or suggestions of movies for us to recast in the future. If you want to chat privately, our DM's are always open, or you can email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. We'll catch you all next week!   Link to IMDB   Link to Amazon

Once again, I find myself distracted while I try to write this blog. This time, it's the really bad Rent network TV special. Oh boy, is it bad. I guess that's what happens when the whole cast weren't even born when the show was written.   I should tell you, I should tell you that this week's episode is the final installment of the TRC Roundtable series. We reach into the mailbag and we have some fun answering some questions from our friends on twitter. We couldn't get to all of them, and we may be saving one or two for a special occasion. Regardless, we want to shout out our pod buddies that sent some questions in. Go out and follow all of these beautiful, beautiful people.   @ContrarianPrime @Podcast_WhatIf @MovieReviewsIn @MonsterClosetpc @imdbjourney @filmmakerspod @eilfmovies @raptorspodcast @WWTTPodcast   We talk about a manbun that no longer exists, “one movie for the rest of your life”, James Cameron's mastery of half of his craft, and the worst accents of all time. This is not a definitive list, but it's a starter set. Some of these are absolutely brutal, and if we have to be subjected to them, you do as well. This may be the end of this series of roundtable episodes, but we are thinking about doing a mid-year series as well, so if there's any topic you'd like to hear us discuss, then find us on twitter @recastingpod. Our DM's are always open. If you don't do the twitter thing, then email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. We could also use some positive reviews on your podcast app of choice, so drop a quick one, so we can get more people exposed to the pod. We are also planning the next round of movies we are going to recast, so don't hesitate to suggest one of your favorites.

Round three of our Roundtable series is this week's episode and we finally talk about a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. It's a topic that has been a staple of our conversations since our inception, and it's just plain fun to talk about. This week, we announce our first annual The Recasting Couch “That Guy” Hall of Fame. Also known as the Harry Dean Stanton Memorial “That Guy” Hall of Fame.   During this week's episode, we are finally confronted with having to define the term “That Guy”. We talk about some of our all-time favorite That Guys, and we come up with a final list of our inaugural class of the TRCTGHoF. If there were ever a time to bust out the IMDB for an episode, this is the one, because even we couldn't survive the episode without it. Occasionally, I feel sometimes we get too deep into our own little world and we are only talking to ourselves. Well, this episode is the embodiment of that.   Of course, the list is incomplete. That's where you all come in. But you can't just nominate “that guy from that thing”. You better bring the heat. We don't mess around when it comes to That Guys. We celebrate character actors on this show, and you better give them the proper respect. Hit us up on Twitter @recastingpod and send us some of your picks for the second class of inductees. We're trying to get a grass roots campaign to have Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith) help us recast Chasing Amy, so bug him if you have a free moment. We're also fielding requests for movies to recast over the next few months, so either slide into our DM's or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. Also, drop us a positive rating on iTunes or the podcast app of your choice. Thanks for listening, we love you all, and want to make out with you.

Welcome back to the second installment of The Recasting Couch Roundtable series. Last year, we tackled all of the reboots and remakes and how Hollywood is running out of ideas. This week, we talk about the classic movies that could never be made today. We go on a little bit of a tear to start this one off, but once we settle in we have some fun discussing some of our absolute favorites and how they couldn't get remade today without drastically changing it. Which is probably a good thing. Many of these movies are perfect as they are and are still incredibly rewatchable to this day.   Some of the reasons for not being able to make these movies are good, and we're happy to see society progressing, but others might be more of an example of regression. Some of the reasons just have to do with the state of the industry and how certain types of movies don't get made anymore. At least not theatrically, Netflix may be keeping the mid-budget comedy alive for now.   Hopefully you're enjoying these roundtable episodes as much as we are. If so, send us some feedback at recastingpod@gmail.com. We're thinking about sprinkling some of these episodes throughout the year because there were so many topics we want to take on, and we don't want to have to wait another 11 months to cover them. Let us know if you want more of them by going on twitter and finding us @recastingpod. Also, please leave us a rating on iTunes, or wherever you consume your casts. That helps bump us up the recommendation list and helps other people discover the show. We're also putting together our movie list for next month, so if you have any favorites that you want us to recast, let us know!

We're back with another installment of The Recasting Couch Two Man Roundtable series! We've got some fun topics planned for this year. This week is breaking down the Best Picture race at the 1995 Oscars. It came down to Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Forrest Gump was the victor that night, and we break each of the movies down and talk about the acting, directing, writing, casting, and music to try to determine if the correct call was made by the academy. Not an easy call with three bonafide all-time movies, and one that might be in the conversation if it had a little more staying power.   Before we get to that we talk generally about the movies of 1994 (remember, these movies came out in ‘94 in order to be eligible for the ‘95 awards). We go down the massive, massive list of movies that came out that year, and talk about a few notable ones. At some point I think I counted 38 films from that year that I've seen. It's a murderer's row. Check this list out if you don't believe me. After perusing the list, Mike and I each make a selection to add to the Best Picture race to replace the sorest of thumbs sticking out on the nominee list to see if we can maybe make an argument for winning it all. It's during this time where Mike drops a pretty scorching hot take about a movie that is universally loved. This is one episode you don't want to miss!   As always, we love and appreciate our listeners, and we want more of them! Go tell your friends about the podcast and start playing the game to help spread the word. If you have a moment, go to iTunes and leave us a review (or whatever your preferred podcast consumption vehicle may be). That also bumps us up the rankings and allows more people to discover the show. If you want to participate in the conversation, hop on twitter and find us @recastingpod or you can email us at recastingpod@gmail.com.

This week we recast the adaptation of the Dan Brown novel, The DaVinci Code. A really good book that was turned into a pretty good movie. Directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, and Audrey Tautou, this movie's got pretty much everything you want in a big blockbuster, including huge box office sales and poor critical reception. Mike and I continue to ponder Rotten Tomatoes scores that don't seem to reflect reality. The scores were so low, but the movie made so much money that they made two more! Either most of the people who went hate-watched the movie, or it was a bit better than the score would reflect.   On the podcast, we debate not only the merits of Rotten Tomatoes, but the casting of Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. I personally think he's miscast here, and Mike can't see passed his Hanks-love to admit it. One thing we both agree upon, however, is the strength of the performance of the auxiliary characters. Jean Reno, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and Paul Bettany round out this cast beautifully. No surprise this movie was cast by the gold standard of casting directors, Jane Jenkins and Janet Hirschenson. We also shout out the screenplay writer, although not by name, so I wanted to make sure we had it here, Akiva Goldsman. We both read this book, and it's pretty dense with the history and symbology, and we think Akiva absolutely killed it. Somehow finding a way to condense all of it into a pretty tight 2-hour flick that leaves us feeling the same way we did when we red the book.   Thanks for listening everyone! Once again, if you would like to chat about our picks, or submit your own, track us down on twitter and speak your mind (@recastingpod). If you want to send us feedback or request movies for us to recast in the future, email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. Make sure you tell some friends about the show, and start playing the recasting game amongst yourselves! Especially if you're at a party with a bunch of people hanging around, it's a great way to get a conversation going. If you get a chance, leave us a 5 star rating on iTunes. That helps spread the word about the show and bumps us up in the podcast listings.   Link to IMDB Link to Amazon

This week we recast Bad Santa, which….wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. This foul-mouthed little chucklehead of a movie somehow hit on a lot of right notes, but also missed drastically on others. To be honest, neither of us were looking forward to this. Bad Santa has been done to death, but it's literally the only contemporary Christmas movie available on the streaming services. We had the same problem last year when we recast The Santa Clause, although that is way better of a Christmas movie than Bad Santa. Even just the name of this movie bugs me. It's just stating the obvious, and it feels like no real thought or creativity was used in coming up with it, and that's kind of what the tone of the movie is. It just exists. There aren't any highs or lows, it just sits in the pocket and is weird and vulgar for 90 minutes.   The movie stars Billy Bob Thornton (as himself), a brilliant performance by Tony Cox, a woefully miscast Lauren Graham (though no fault of hers), and a breakout role for Brett Kelly as The Kid. There's just something really off putting about this movie, and I guess that was done on purpose? If I had to describe Bad Santa in one word, it would be sticky. Like when you go to pick something up and you can already see all the hair and dirt sticking to it, and you are just disgusted right off the bat. Yet somehow, I ended up enjoying this movie more than I expected to. That might say more about me than it does about the movie, to be honest.   We want to hear what you have to say, because we were pretty split about this movie. Go on twitter and yell at us (@recastingpod). This is the very last call for mailbag questions, so email us at recastingpod@gmail.com if there's anything you've been dying to hear our take on. Also, be sure to leave us a rating on whatever podcasting service you prefer. Ratings, as well as telling friends about the show is the absolute best way of helping us grow, or perhaps more accurately, infect more listeners.   Link to IMDB   Link to Amazon

Oh man, do we have a huge pile of shit ready for you this week (but I mean that in the best way possible This is a nice piece of shit) Who gots the lighta?   Swordfish is the absolute trainwreck that we are recasting this week. Holy hell. This may be the greatest “on paper” casting that fell to total dogshit that we've ever recast (Armageddon notwithstanding). Which would explain why Mike was so good at recasting this. It speaks to him on a purely shitty level that I frankly do not understand. I mean, am I misreading this? Does John Travolta, Huge Ackman, Halle Berry, and Don Cheadle not sound like a great cast for pretty much any movie? I think I might be. Although we've already recast movies with these actors in individual roles and have fellated them to completion. It's gotta be the script. Mike touches upon this in the episode, and it's the only reasonable explanation left as to why this movie is nearly completely unenjoyable.   Nonetheless we are going to talk about it from start to finish and go into fine detail as to why this movie blows goats.   If you want us to talk about movies that do not perform oral sex on farm animals, please email us at recastingpod@gmail.com and offer suggestions on what movies you want us to recast next. We usually stick to movies that are streaming, but if you're on the Naughty List (fuck the Nice List), then we just might make an exception. It's also last call to send us questions for our mailbag episode of the round table series, or to suggest topics for our round table series (although at this point, it's got to be a really good one). We are also available @recastingpod on twitter. Our DM's are always open, you know what to do…   Link to IMDB   Link to Amazon

So I'm supposed to write a blog about our latest episode where we recast Galaxy Quest. But that's incredibly hard when I've got Chappelle's Show playing in the background. I could write about Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver anchoring this meta sci-fi classic, but I'm too busy learning about the time Eddie Murphy's older brother kicked Rick James in the chest. Something, something, Enrico Colantoni absolutely owns this role and you can see the rest of the alien actors following his lead. Whatever, I'm catching up on Wayne Brady doing his best Alonzo Harris impression. Anyone who has been listening lately will appreciate us picking a Sam Rockwell movie where he's almost inconsequential, even though we try to cast him in everything. Although, there are some people whose lives are irrevocably changed by playing a tiny part in an insanely popular cult sci-fi classic. But don't take our word for it. Justin Long and Rainn Wilson make their cinematic debuts, which kind of feels right. What also feels right is the late, great Alan Rickman being a little too convincing as a classically trained actor who resents the fact that they never got the big drama part they were looking for, and ended up in sci-fi, repeating your nauseating catch phrase every day. This movie kicks ass and we try to do it some justice in the recast. Thanks for listening everyone! We appreciate all of you, and we want to hear from you! Find us on twitter @recastingpod, or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. If you like the podcast, tell a friend. If you LIKE like the podcast, tell 5 friends. Actually, we don't need that qualifier. You don't have to commit to LIKE liking the podcast in order to tell 5 friends. I'm sorry for imposing that on you. Life is hard enough without your favorite podcast forcing you to define your relationship. I'll try to do better next time. Now if you'll excuse me, I will return to my stories of Prince breaking fools down on the basketball court.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is an ode to video games, but it barely references any specifically. It's weird, but it makes the movie feel more “real” in its unique universe. This movie's outsized budget (85-90 million) doesn't necessarily show up on the screen, but I say that not trying to take anything away from the movie, which we both really enjoyed talking about and recasting. Edgar Wright does a fine job directing, and Michael Cera is adorable and a total dick at the same time. It didn't make our jobs easy. It's a fine line he walks. More than anything, this movie is a great ensemble piece. Kieran Culkin, Alison Pill, and Jason Schwartzman all provide some really fun auxiliary performances.   In addition to video games, music is a huge part of the experience. Beck wrote all of the music for the Sex Bob-ombs, and you can tell he put some love into it. They totally rock. Broken Social Scene, Nigel Godrich (Radiohead Producer), and Dan the Automator all contribute to this killer soundtrack. Although that might explain where a lot of that 90 million went… Tune in for a fun one.   We want to thank everyone for listening, and a special shout out to all of our new listeners. We like to talk a whole lot of garbage on Twitter, so hit us up @recastingpod, and we want to hear your hottest takes. Time is running out to submit a subject for our Recasting Couch Roundtable series, so if there's anything you want to see us research and run our yaps about, you can send us an email at recastingpod@gmail.com. We've also been guesting on some of our friend's pods, so check out our episodes on @jayandbobminute, @davemadeaminute and @looselybom. Catch you all next week!   Link to IMDB Link to Amazon

After what feels like an eternity, we are finally able to recast The Birdcage. A movie the two of us absolutely love (yes, in that way). The Birdcage tells the story of Armand Goldman, played by Robin Williams, and his life partner Albert, (Nathan Lane), as they deal with the engagement of Armand's (highly unlikely) biological son, Val (Dan Futterman). Unfortunately, the woman he's marrying is the daughter of a very conservative Senator Keeley (Gene Hackman), and his clueless wife (Dianne Wiest). Hilarity ensues when Barbara's (Calista Flockhart) parents drop in for an impromptu visit as a way to dodge a political scandal, creating another one in the process.   It probably comes at no surprise, that we kiss this movie's ass (figuratively), for the entire pod. I mean, it's a pretty bulletproof cast. You need to get down to the 6th or 7th billed actor before even starting to see some flaws. I complain that the 118 minute movie is too short and ends abruptly, and regardless of how #onbrand that would be for me, I stand by it. If they just ended the movie at the drag show, and picked up a sequel about the wedding planning and how they would try to hide it from the media, it would have been a hit. But nobody asked me…   Speaking of asking me, we are planning on having one of our roundtable episodes be us answering questions from our audience. If you have any questions, or any topics you want us to tackle in greater depth, then hit us up on twitter @recastingpod, or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com.   Chris   P.S. I somehow was going to go this entire blog without mentioning Hank Azaria stealing the show as Agador Spartacus. Just watch this and bask in his brilliance.   Link to Amazon Link to IMDB

Oh, man. This is definitely one of my favorite episodes we've done so far. Not only are we casting the 1984 blockbuster cult classic* Ghostbusters, we also have a very special guest joining us, Jennifer Runyon (@runyon2runyon)! We've been trying to get her on for a while, and now that we've finally been able to make it happen, it couldn't have been any more fun. She tells us some amazing stories about the filming of the scene that made her career, and a secret about that scene that she found out a few decades later. Do I even need to tell people about Ghostbusters? For those who grew up under a rock (or in a fallout shelter), this movie stars Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Harold Ramis, with some fantastic character work by Rick Moranis and Annie Potts. Just listen. It's good. Really good. Although somehow I get away with telling Jennifer Runyon that I'm not a big fan of the movie (and frankly, I connected more with the cartoon and the video game than I ever did with the movie). This is an instant classic. We've still got one or two episodes of our Roundtable series up for grabs, so if you have any topics you want us to research and blab about, then email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. You can of course yell at us on twitter @recastingpod, or if you aren't the yelling type, give us some of your picks, or opinions on ours. We are great at accepting constructive criticism. However, if the criticism isn't constructive, then we will conduct a voodoo ritual and send your soul into the body of a children's doll. Wait, I've got my movies mixed up. Um..thanks for listening.   Chris   *I just made this up, but it's actually a perfect description of this movie   Link to Amazon Link to IMDB

In an attempt to cleanse the palate from a month full of murder and mayhem, we attempted to select the most innocent and earnest movie we could think of, and we landed on Sixteen Candles. This John Hughes classic was a lot of fun to talk about (not so much fun to cast…). It's first of the three huge hits starring Molly Ringwald. 1984 was Sixteen Candles, 1985 was The Breakfast Club, and 1986 was Pretty in Pink. Of the three, I think this was the best with regards to Molly. The movie also marks the second notable feature film for Anthony Michael Hall, having played Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Vacation. AMH had a certain way about him in the 80's that while he comes across as a creep, he's also kind of charming. Not a lot of people can pull that off.   The movie is a story unto itself. There are some very questionable scenes. This PG movie has nudity, explicit language, and most likely sexual assault (although it's still not clear what actually took place). If you are able to put things in historical context (which isn't necessarily easy), this movie is just really fun and is a great representation of the teenage condition. Molly is the perfect angsty teenager who is overlooked by friends, family, and society at large, and she's only looking for one thing that's special for her. What's interesting about this movie, is that the rest of the main characters are more or less forgettable. Samantha's best friend Randy (Liane Curtis) was fun, but not all that special, and the “heartthrob” Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) is completely forgettable. The only other fun characters are Samantha's little brother Mike (Justin Henry), and Long Duk Dong (Gedde Wantanabe) who completely steal the show   You listeners are the absolute best. We've hit a huge milestone recently that we are really proud of, and we couldn't have done it without all of you. We'd like to return the favor by giving the people what they want, so if you have any topics you'd like to hear us cover for the Recasting Couch Roundtable series, then please let us know and email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. Reach out to us on twitter to send us your picks or topics, or just general feedback @recastingpod.   Link to Amazon Link to IMDB

What happens when you combine voodoo, a child sized doll, and Chris Sarandon? You get Child's Play. The 1988 horror classic that was way better than it had any business being. Not that this was a critical or box office darling, it flourished in the VHS rental market. At least enough for several sequels and I believe they are planning a reboot, because Hollywood is out of ideas. I wonder if they bring back Brad Dourif. He's got a Tommy Wiseau vibe as a human, but he's a hell of a voice over guy as Chucky. We've also got the mom from Seventh Heaven (Catherine Hicks) as the innocent single mother just trying to make her boy happy. Little does she know, she's invited the spawn of satan into her house rent controlled apartment. We have a lot of fun on this episode. We meet Shaggy Chaz, discuss the travesty of Maggie Peterson (Dinah Manoff) meeting her doom so early in the movie, and I extoll the virtues of having a library card (for real, go get a library card, and then start streaming movies, tv, audiobooks and ebooks for free with Hoopla). As always, we appreciate the balls off of all of our listeners (Disclaimer: Balls not required). We're about to switch it up over the holiday season and continue our Recasting Couch Roundtable series (even though the table is no longer round). If you have any suggestions for topics that you would like us to cover, then hit us up on twitter (@recastingpod), or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. We've already gotten some great suggestions, and we're looking forward to more! Make sure to tell a friend about the pod, and if you have a few spare minutes, leave us a 5 star rating on whatever service you consume podcasts!

“Do you like Huey Lewis and the News?” We do, and that's why we recast American Psycho this week. The movie adaptation of this Bret Easton Ellis novel was Christian Bale's breakout role as Patrick Bateman; the quintessential 80's Wall Street douchebag sociopath, who's extravagant life is so empty that he has to hallucinate the brutal murders of several people in order to actually feel anything.   You can look forward to us trying to make out what is real and what isn't. I argue that this movie does not hold up well, and it has nothing to do with it being outdated. Mike shares his decade long beef with this movie, which may or may not somewhat ruin the movie for you. I also strongly implore people not to watch this movie 3 times in one week. It messes with your mind. Although, I needed a last minute Halloween costume for a party, and wearing a suit with a rain poncho over it was surprisingly effective and cheap. It didn't hurt that I was able to recite the Huey Lewis monologue verbatim. My girlfriend is keeping her distance from me as a result. Frankly, I don't blame her.   Thank you for continuing to listen to this show, although I question the sanity of those who do (of which I count myself). Share your crazy with us on twitter (@recastingpod). And while you are there, tell us your picks. We're about to embark on our Recasting Couch Roundtable series for the new year, so if there's anything you want us to bullshit about, email us at recastinpod@gmail.com. Also leave us a 5 star rating on iTunes or wherever you listen to pods (or I will kill you...although I will allow you to pick the soundtrack).

This week we cover Shutter Island.  What a fun movie to talk about.  We think that this movie is very underrated.  For the thriller genre, this is about as perfect a movie as you can make.  Everyone from DiCaprio and Ruffalo to John Carroll Lynch and Elias Koteas act their asses off. The "soundtrack" is fantastic and matches the off kilter, dark tone of the movie, expertly.   Tell us what you think of our cast @RecastingPod on Twitter.

So...Maximum Overdrive. The next in our Spooky/October/Halloween themed month. Which this may be the last of because ALL of the good Halloween movies get pulled from streaming services and move to the “premium channels”. If you aren't familiar with this film, there is the most amazing 3 minute breakdown on youtube.   This is a movie. Written and directed by Stephen King. Starring Emilio Estevez. It's bad, but there are parts that are less than bad. We talk about them. The soundtrack is pretty great. It's basically an AC/DC greatest hits album, but it works well. There's some absolutely great overacting, and the military's version of Johnny 5 going HAM. Almost all of the actors in this are either nobody's or That Guys.   All of this said, it was fun to watch an absolute schlockfest and get a little ridiculous with the casting. I would say more about this, but eh, I'm gearing up to finish Spiderman on the PS4 tonight, so I don't really have time for much else. In fact, I've already spent too much time on this. Bottom line: Maximum Overdrive is fun and definitely worth a rewatch. It's also completely terrible and doesn't deserve the attention we are giving it. Glad I could clear things up.   I want to thank you, and you, and you, and you, and you for listening. All five of you are angels and we love you very much. The rest of you can kick rocks. If you've got a problem with that then go to twitter and act like the whiny, entitled brat that you are and complain to @recastingpod, or if you are a super coward, email us at recastingpod@gmail.com, but I know you won't. However, if you have suggestions for the upcoming roundtable episodes, or movies you want us to recast, hit us up. We actually read those.   Link to IMDB Link to Amazon

You know, sometimes things don't always work out the way you planned them. Sometimes it ends up going to shit, but if you are broadcast masters like us, you just find a way to pump out unbelievable content regardless of the circumstances. The universe gifted us a last minute rescheduling, and we decided to do a Quick Cast. Which leads us to our movie this week, Stigmata. This was pretty clearly Patricia Arquette's best work, and she had some weird chemistry with Gabriel Byrne, which just works somehow. Billy Corgan provides the music (along with some very special friends that we talk about in detail during the pod), and Mike channels his inner holy spirit and crushes the games segment of the show.   This movie is about *SPOILER ALERT* a woman who is experiencing all of the afflictions of the Stigmata, and Byrne is a Vatican investigator sent to determine the legitimacy of the claim. Not only is it legit, but it's the most insane case ever recorded, and it points to a giant conspiracy within the church. Jonathan Pryce, Enrico Colantoni, and Dick Latessa all provide great characters within the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy , while Nia Long, Portia de Rossi, and Patrick Muldoon provide a heavy dose of 90's nostalgia. The recast itself may technically count as blasphemy, so this is one you don't want to miss.   Thanks for listening, everyone! We're going to be starting up our Roundtable series again this winter, so reach out to us with any suggestions for topics you want us to talk about. We would also love to hear any suggestions for future recasts that you have, or casting picks of your own that you want to share. Reach out to us @recastingpod on twitter, or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com.   Link to IMDB Link to Amazon

We have a treat of a movie this week! Field of Dreams is not only known for being one of the best baseball movies of all time, but it's simply a wonderful film. Nominated for 3 awards at the 1990 Oscars (Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Music for James Horner's exquisite score). This movie's got it all. Kevin Costner doing what he does best alongside Amy Madigan who slays it as the ride-or-die hippie wife. Gaby Hoffmann makes her acting debut as the sweet and undeterrable Karin Kinsella. I could go on and on. It's filled with that guys galore (Timothy Busfield, Frank Whaley, Art LaFleur), while the heavy hitters (Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones) absolutely knock it out of the park (pun intended). Really, what's not to like about this movie? It's a small town fantasy story wrapped around the American Pastime. We grew up in a small town with a strong farming community, so we have a bit of a direct perspective. Unfortunately, it took us entirely too long to get the audio set up, so we started way late. Like, 2 hours passed my bedtime, late. So get a little rambly in the middle of the pod, but we recover to have a really strong recasting session, so either hang in there, or skip to the third segment. As always, thanks so much for listening to the show. Hit us up on twitter (@recastingpod) and tell us your picks or to send us your suggestions for future recasts. You can also always shoot us an email at recastingpod@gmail.com. Help us grow our audience by telling a friend or two, or five or thirty, or just leave us a 5 star review on iTunes or wherever you consume podcasts.   Link to IMDB Link to Amazon

We've got another heist movie on tap this week with the 1992 surprise success, Sneakers. Honestly, I can't really understand how this made as much money as it did. Robert Redford was significantly passed his prime and coasting off of his innate charisma, Dan Aykroyd provides zero comic relief, River Phoenix is a a weird spastic guy that is unlike pretty much any role he's ever played, and Sidney Poitier is a smooth muthafucker as usual. Oh, and Mary McDonnell is her usual charming self. Now, Mike may disagree, but to me this movie seemed like a waste of time for pretty much everyone involved. Ben Kingsley tries to make things interesting, but he's given absolutely nothing to work with. David Strathairn plays a blind man that is borderline cringe inducing and Donal Logue is milquetoast for the first, and maybe only time in his career. In my notes, I called this movie a “paint by numbers heist movie, and I feel like I'm watching it dry.” After some time to sit down and reflect on that, I have not changed my mind one bit. In fact, I feel galvanized. On the plus side, the music in this movie is awesome, including the Bob Dylan classic Rainy Day Women, Miles Davis Flamenco Sketches, Stan Getz's Girl From Impanema, Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools. Somehow this unbelievable soundtrack ends up being way less effective than it should be given the absolute bomb ass songs on it. We are always looking for suggestions of movies you want us to recast, or some feedback on the picks that we've made. Your opinion matters to us (even if it's likely wrong), so let us know what you are thinking on twitter @recastingpod, or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com.   Link to IMDB Link to Amazon

We've been waiting for this one for a loooooong time. Get Shorty is one of our favorites. This movie is absolutely dripping with style, thanks to a soundtrack by John Lurie, Booker T and the MG's and Us3. It is anchored by a comeback performance from John Travolta, but Danny Devito steals the show as the ultimate Hollywood turd, Martin Weir. I dare you to watch this movie and not fall madly in love with Rene Russo as a B-movie bombshell, Dennis Farina as the ultimate C-level Miami gangster, Gene Hackman as a D-level, B-movie director, and Delroy Lindo as a D-level gangster trying to be a C-level, B-movie producer. We spend most of the pod thoroughly fellating this wonderful film. The rest of the time, we are… well we fellate the film the whole time. I gotta admit, we were somewhat disappointed with the cast that we ended up with. It's not bad, but it's so hard to replicate the lightning in the bottle that this movie caught. We have some interesting picks, but ultimately we felt like we could do better. Maybe we shouldn't have recast this movie because we were too close to it. Like how a doctor is not allowed to operate on their own family members. As a result of this, we want to hear what you have to think! We got a few good ones, but we could use your help rounding out the rest of the cast. Give us your picks on twitter @recastingpod, or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com. Leaving us a 5 star rating on iTunes, or telling some friends really helps us grow the podcast, but more importantly, PLAY THE GAME! Spread the recasting vibes and find a fun way to tell all of your friends (or family, in my case) just how wrong they are. Good times are had by all.

This week we make our triumphant return from the abyss with the 1996 Farrelly Brothers classic, Kingpin. I just...I don't know. I don't know how to feel about this movie. I think that the Farrelly Bros hadn't quite figured out their unique formula of raunchy, weird, and charming that they were able to perfect with There's Something About Mary; Me, Myself, and Irene; and Stuck On You, which is ridiculously underrated. Woody Harrelson and a pre-breakdown Randy Quaid make an unlikely pair in this road trip movie that's never considered a road trip movie. Vanessa Angell is charming and very much lives up to the “TV version of Kelly LeBrock in Weird Science” legacy that it seems she was destined for.  And Bill Murray is fun to hate in his role as Big Ern.

We finally have our first theme week! We are recasting The Lost Boys, the 80's vampire classic, but we are only allowed to cast with 90's actors. Not the easiest task when you've got legends like Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, and the Two Coreys involved. In addition to that 80's royalty, Dianne Wiest is her lovable, hippie self, and Jami Gertz is at her hair-metal-video-style apex. Edward Herrmann also has his nice-guy, single dad next door vibe really working here, until it takes a bit of a turn. We are even gifted with an appearance from Mr. Bill S. Preston, Esq. himself.   The movie holds up surprisingly well, and I'm not even coming from a nostalgic point of view, as I didn't see this movie until about 10 years ago. Outside of the feathered hair, music, and lack of cell phones, everything else feels relatively contemporary. There's something about this movie that seems so...familiar. We grew up taking a trip to the beach every summer which may account for that to an extent, but this could have just as easily taken place in a midwestern town during the annual carnival or fair. During the show, the usual banter takes place, but we really dig into the semantics of what constitutes a 90's actor, and at one point I was hoisted on my own petard, which I do not appreciate. Overall, we put forth a damn good 90's cast.   As always, thanks for listening! We want to know what you think about the themed episode, so contact us on twitter (@recastingpod), Facebook (facebook.com/therecastingcouch), or email us at recastingcouch@gmail.com. Also, if you have any ideas for themed shows you'd like to see, then tell us! We're always up for a challenge!   Link to Amazon Link to IMDB

This week we are joined by Mike's hetero life mate, Ian, to recast the 80's comedy, Trading Places. This classic tackles serious social issues relating to socioeconomics and race very delicately and with great nuance.  This is no laughing matter. I'm just kidding, they make fun of everyone in a very crass and un-PC way with all of the 80's charm that you would expect.  There are a couple of cringe worthy jokes but for the most part, this was a refreshing for a movie to make jokes and not apologize about it. With fun performances from Eddie Murphy, who had barely boarded his rocket ship to stardom when this movie was released and Jamie Lee Curtis, who was trying to break out of the horror/suspense "it" girl role to Dan Akroyd, who was fully famous by this time.     Come take a list and see who we choose to recast these classic characters.  

Sorry for the late post but the universe seems to be against us this week.  Maybe it's because of how badly one of us savages this movie.   Let's just say that we are not on the same page in regards to our feelings about the quality of this movie.  One of us is extremely unkind in his assessment and the other is wrong. Take a listen and see who you agree with.

Con Air is our recast of choice this week. We have some split opinions on the quality of this movie and imagine a movie a little darker in tone. We moved heaven and earth to get this out on time, so you jerks better appreciate it.    Just kidding, we love you all. Share your picks with us on twitter @recastingpod, or facebook.com/therecastingcouch, or email us at recastingpod@gmail.com    Thanks for listening!

This week, we talk for entirely too long about Phenomenon. John Travolta plays a Joe Sixpack who gets hit by a ball of light only to get super smart and somehow learns how to bend the laws of physics. It's like The Matrix if Neo were a corn farmer, and the matrix was actually a massive brain tumor. What's interesting about this movie is that it's so dependant on just a few roles that even though the script was really strong, the casting absolutely made this movie. I mean, Travolta and Forest Whitaker as best friends doesn't exactly seem all that great on paper, but it all came together. I would say Robert Duvall's casting was probably the easiest, because he's the ultimate ride-or-die-pal and he could play the small town doctor to a tee (and does). I'm not even a Kyra Sedgwick fan, but she's charming as hell here.This movie is packed with That Guy's, from the Area 51 scientist in Independence Day to Roger Podacter from Ace Ventura.