Throw in the Pal

Some say a villain is simply a hero ahead of schedule. Others say that morality is a compass in a maze of magnets, where the only truly righteous beings are those who set their headings by the stars. Others still have been know to say, "Huh? What?" Food for thought, and thus we three provideth a digestive bickie for thee to snack upon while contemplating yon riddle of chivalry and nefariousness upon this sacred, hallowed grounds of the Pals. Huzzah!

As Pals, a feeling has become clear to us. Movies do not hate the audience; the audience does not hate filmmakers. But podcasting feels inevitable between them. Perhaps, we think, this is the way of the world: it will hunt you down and throw you in just for being who you are. And so, this week, join Marcenstein, Tomenstein and Frank as they discuss the revivification of a shambling beast that has laid dormant for many years, with the Pals feeling for a pulse to determine if "IT'S ALIVE!" or DOA.

Are you a horror icon? Here's a checklist to find out: - Are you now or have you ever worn a mask made of your victims' skin? - Do teenagers having intercourse near moonlit lakes make you murderous with rage? - Has the queer community inexplicably claimed you as an aspirational figure? - Have you recently begun to suspect that you are essentially immortal? - Does blood make you climax? If the answer to all of these is yes, you're either-- sorry to say -- one of the Pals, or -- congratulations! -- a horror icon! Maybe we talk about you in this episode? Only one way to find out!

Isn't it what we all crave? A glamorous gal, a stunning seniorita, an unparalleled Persephonic partner of pulchritudinous personage?Well you'd best get set for this episode all about a Pretty Woman, and the pretty cool men (who aren't afraid to show off their sensitive side) who might just be head-over-heels or hawk-over-tuah for this happy go lucky hullabaloo of a motion picture. Get yourself into gear and rub yourself til it hurts for Gere and Roberts in this charming, possibly dated tale of finding love in a hopeless place.

If you think it's hard to find a way in to understanding legendary entertainment-based families, let us weigh in with our SnS discussion this episode, where we get to weighin' the way in which this particular family left a big impact. No, it's not the Muffets, sitting on their tuffets with their curds and whey in front of their faces, or one of the legendary families of the Three Kingdoms Era in China, when Cao Cao was leading Wei into battle... No, it's just like... the Wayans. You idiot.

The pals get swingin' for the very first time to discuss Baz Luhrmann's 2022 film Elvis, to resolve once and for all if it truly ain't nothin' but a "Pal-Dog". Strong language warning

The pals are launched back together to chat Dexter Fletcher's 2019 Rocketman, the Elton John biopic that asks if Saturday Night's Pal-right for Fighting! Strong language warning.

This week, the Pals are all about c-words: Complexly crafted chatterbox cinema, in Guy Ritchie's 2019 gangster flick The Gentlemen, a film with some truly ap-pal-ling language. Strong language warning

Four Pals and a Blonde walk into a podcast studio, then proceed to have a chinwag over who gentlemen prefer in Andrew Dominick’s 2022 fictionalised rundown of the life of Marilyn (“Pal-rilyn” to her friends) Monroe.

Limerick! Kilkenny! Dublin! Just some of the places that get no mention at all in the Pal’s emerald elegy about Belfast (2021), Kenneth Branagh’s coming-of-age tale where the Troubles are slow, but the Pals-fast!

Back with a vengeance, the Pals skulk the seedy streets of Gotham in Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022), seeking justice and scouring for clues to help solve the Riddler’s im-pal-netrable web of chicanery!

This week, witches leave the Pals in stitches when discussing James Wan’s The Conjuring (2013), a haunted house tale based on true events that kicked off a major franchise and is sure to get your pal-ses racing!

In a shocking turn of events, this week the Pals find that one of their members misunderstood the assignment, making their conversation about Sian Heder’s Oscar-winning CODA (2021) an uproariously, unforgetta-pal experience.

“Meow what do we have here?” is something you might ask about this week’s long-anticipated pal-wow over Tom Hooper’s Cats (2019), a maligned adaptation of the broadway musical that one of the Pals has a surprising take on…

You’ve heard of the mystical Book of the Dead, but today the Pals are riffing off the top of their heads, as Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy (1999) is excavated, unwrapped and exhumed with more care than went into building the Great Pal-rymid of Giza!

This week, the Pals’ knives are out for one another, as their discussion of Glass Onion (2022) proves to be the most divisive thus far, begging the questioning, “What the heck are we all shouting a-Pal-t?!”

A 30-some-years later sequel to a beloved ‘80s film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) has started pinging on the Pals’ P.K.E. Meter, and now they’re in the studio ghostin’ fools and bustin’ moves, patiently waiting for someone to ask, “Who you gonna Pall?”

A 30-some-years later sequel to a beloved ‘80s film (again!), this week the Pals are grounded by Top Gun: Maverick (2022), a true American movie, emblazoned with a Stars and Stripes face tattoo, with red, white and blue pumping through its clogged arteries, and our podcast heroes flying by the seat of their Pal-nts!

“Multi-verses and Butt-plugs” is not just the title of Tom’s unpublished memoir, but also the subheading for this week’s chaotic tango with Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), the surprise hit of last year that leaves one of the Pals in tears, a couple of them scratching their heads and our listeners begging that we try not to talk Pal(l) at once!

What does red mean to you? Is it love or hatred, passion or bloodshed? Or, does it just mean that you’re red-y for a new episode of Throw in the Pal, where our titular Pals take on the ruby-red-riddled American Beauty (1999), an infamous and much-beloved classic, to see if the bloom is still on the rose or if it’s Pal-tals have withered.