Femcel Filmcast

For the final episode of the MPDG season, the femcels discuss the 2004 sci-fi romance Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (dir. by Michel Gondry) and reiterate that Clementine is NOT a concept, Joel! Topics include Los Angeles Plays Itself, MaXXXine, Inside Out, and Rick and Morty. We also make fun of Sam Levinson a little. Bjork, Immanuel Kant, and Bella’s brother make guest appearances [NOT CLICKBAIT].

As the 4th episode of the MPDG season, your favorite femcels discuss the 2010 rom-com, action film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Topics include Jojo Siwa's unborn child triage of Teddie and Freddie and Eddie, the modern indie-slut generation of Scott Pilgrims, some age-gap discourse, and the Power of the Gorilla Grip -- and Self-Respect too, I guess.

NOTE: this episode was recorded on May 13 and released on June 21.  We're sooooo back. For the long awaited third installment of the MPDG season, your femcels have returned to chat about the 2009 rom (?) com (?) film (500) Days of Summer, directed by Marc Webb and written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. We’ll get into on-campus developments at UCLA, the Ottessa Moshfegh literary universe, Challengers, Timothee Chalamet's heritage, Los Angeles architectural history, and good ol’ situationship discourse.

For the first film of the MPDG season, your favorite femcels discuss the 2004 rom-com-drama film Garden State, written and directed by Zach Braff and starring Braff himself and Natalie Portman. Topics include voting, femcel’s political alignments, matcha vape, Zach Braff’s fraternity origins, white hipsters, and whether or not Braff's fantasy girl can be salvaged.

Yes… the rumors are true… the femcels are BACK with the first episode of our 4th season on the most loved-hated character trope in film history: the manic pixie dream girl! In this ep, we bravely face the trope's (film blog) origins, gritty critiques, and evolution as well as the relevance of its modern application – if any. Discussion topics include Larry David’s age, Carrie Fisher auto-fiction, the tortured mind of a film critic, and the Noted MDPG magnet Zach Braff. 

For the last installation of our horror season, your favorite femcels take on another double feature for you needy listeners. In this episode, we discuss Ti West’s 2022 horror films X and its prequel Pearl. Listen to hear some musings on technicolor, hagsploitation, and the success rate of showing 1930s porn on the first date. From f*cking on a scarecrow to introducing friends to the family crocodile, get ready to discover your inner X factor on this episode…

Put on your flower crowns and zip up your bear suits…cause today the femcels are reviewing Ari Aster’s 2019 horror film “Midsommar!” As they take a cinematic trip to Sweden (with the worst men you’ve ever met), they discuss Aster’s unique filmography, the history of the folk horror genre, and the economic foundation of the post-horror movement. When they aren’t making fun of Christian’s inability to light a birthday candle, they also gate-keep the final girl label and analyze eugenics’ undeniable influence on the horror genre. Digressions may include Halloween festivities at lesbian bars and Elon Musk’s humiliation kink. 

In this episode, your favorite femcels discuss the 1978 indie horror classic Halloween (dir. John Carpenter.) Topics include the slasher rules as detailed by Randy in the 1996 slasher Scream with a closer look at the sex = death rite, revisiting the concept of the “final girl,” the use of the American suburbia, and the ways in which mentally ill serial killers are PURE EVIL!

The femcels are back for part two of Carol Clover’s 1992 film theory book "Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film." In this episode, they break down the evolution of the r*pe revenge genre and its modern iterations (I Spit On Your Grave, The Accused, Promising Young Woman), the assaultive and reactive gazes, and the S&M relationship between director and viewer, all the while exploring why we -- as the audience -- love to watch things that torture us (spoiler alert: it gets terribly Freudian.)

In honor of October and S3’s theme, the femcels take a retrospective look at the first half of Carol Clover’s 1992 film theory book "Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film." They discuss the similarities between slashers and classic folklore, the appeal of horror cinema to white male audiences, and how the final girl evolved during the genre’s golden (or bloodiest) age. Along the way, they unpack how transphobic film tropes found their home in slashers and discover that Freud’s bullshi*t is inescapable. Stay tuned to hear if Laurie and Michael have an intimate, queer relationship, and whether or not you need to shave your Terrible Place before a final girl enters it.

The femcels are back with a taste of the new season... In this episode, Kristin and Bella take a special treat before their discussion of the 2022 thriller Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (dir. Halina Reijn). Topics include the virtual reality platform Second Life, a check-in with Evangelical influencers, Gen Z cringe, and the love of the who-dun-it genre. 

In this Season 2 finale, the femcels arm themselves with riding crops and cable ties for a kinky double feature of Secretary (2002) and Fifty Shades of Grey (2015). Through their analysis of two unorthodox literary adaptations, they discuss how sexual fantasies translate on screen, negotiating boundaries and containers for consent, pathologizing kink, and the presence of erotica in their own lives. Digressions may include E.L. James’ first pen name, moodboards full of galaxy print and infinity scarves, admiration for ao3, and the astonishing parallels between vampirism and being a daddy-dom. TW: SH, SA, abusive relationships

In this episode, Kristin and Bella discuss the steamy 1996 crime thriller “Bound,” directed and written by the Wachowski Sisters – Lana and Lilly (Matrix, Matrix Reloaded.) Topics include hot lesbians, film and neo-noir, femme fatales, and a revisiting of porno chic (and its antithesis: porno fear.)

In this episode, the femcels discuss the 2015 indie dramedy “Tangerine” (dir. By Sean Baker & co-written by Baker & Chris Bergoch.) Kristin and Bella explore the affairs of an informal red light district in LA, DIY filmmaking techniques, and the first trans-actresses to be nominated for – and win – film awards. Digressions may include Franz Kafka, Albert Camus (Cummus*), gay middle schoolers, and a tutorial on how to take your baby from BOSS to #BASED.

In this episode, your favorite femcels continue their discussion of sex in film with the 2014 horror film "It Follows” directed and written by David Robert Mitchell. Musings include horror tropes, the virginity rule, interviews with the director, suburbia girl fashion, the existentialism of growing up, and ending with a conversation about safe sex!

In this episode, your favorite femcels discuss the 1995 drama Doom Generation, co-produced, co-edited, written and directed by Gregg Araki. As a prominent figure of new queer cinema, Araki’s film is flashy, irreverent, gut-wrenching, and above all, full of pleasure! Listen to Kristin and Bella review hook-ups of the week, studio cuts, Araki’s audio-visual remastering, annoying college Q&A’s, sexually fluid love triangles, and the ever-present American tradition of neo-Nazism.

In this Season 2 premiere, the femcels talk about SEX! Starting from the first on-screen kiss (that we know of…), they recount the long history of shagging on the silver screen, tracking everything from stag film, to nudie-cutie, to hardcore porn. Along the way, they further unpack their relationship with the modern porn industry and run into a lot of questions as they go—was the first porno dubbed or subbed? What did Russ Meyer put on his casting call sheets? And who was Hollywood’s first gay ally? Come explore the sexy skeletons in America’s closet with two, certified fallen women who would have definitely hoed around in the 1930s…

In this special episode, the femcels put on their reddit-colored glasses and take a walk down incel lane to discuss the 1999 hit Fight Club. As Bella and Kristin take a closer look at the alt-right’s letterboxd fav, they discuss the film’s political underpinnings, late-stage capitalism, white extremist groups, and society’s plummeting testosterone levels (yay!) Cutaways may include Brad Pitt’s dick, tips on how to spot a fascist (thank you ContraPoints), and the gift that was home video subculture. Stay tuned and remember: the first rule of Fight Club is. . . to talk a fuck ton about Fight Club!

The femcels discuss a flick from the official femcel cinematic canon, namely Sofia Coppola’s 1999 film The Virgin Suicides! As they unpack their own teenage experiences with the movie, they also discuss the Lisbon sisters’ surprising legacy on social media, compare sad girl icons, and share a few choice words about the Heaven by Marc Jacobs collection. Digressions include a few big questions: does cinema teach us to perform gendered emotions? Do we consume media or does our media consume us (#deep)? And what in the fuck is a coquette? All this and more in this week’s episode…

Dust off your oversized blazers and readjust your shoulder pads, because the femcels are watching Heathers this week! In this episode, they explore the film’s sociopolitical contexts, unpack the sensationalism of teenage suicide (don’t do it!), and interrogate the legitimacy of the mean girl trope. Digressions include confusion around JD’s political compass placement, the shocking similarities between Bob’s Burgers and Succession, and Kristin’s gay awakening.