191. Showgirls (1995)
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
Content warning: Showgirls depicts sexual violence as a central theme, and this is discussed in the podcast. The podcast tackles Paul Verhoeven's misunderstood masterpiece Showgirls (1995), and celebration the singularity of Elizabeth Berkley's incredible performance as Nomi Malone, the eternal cowboy of America. And then we bring Sex Month to a close by doling out some expert sex advice. Next week (May 1, 2026): The Devil Wears Prada (2006)! Watch Matt's video essay about Paul Verhoeven: Time stamps: 00:10:17 — History segment: The career of Paul Verhoeven;...
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190. Hellraiser (1987)
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
Matt and Laci dive deep into Hellraiser (1987). Matt, a long-time fan of the movie, and Laci, a first-time viewer, discuss the film's production history and the life and philosophy of its creator, Clive Barker. They explore Barker's background, including his early work in theater, his time as a male escort, and his unique perspective on integrating explicit sexuality and body horror into his work. Two prior adaptations of his work led Barker to want to take tight control of a third adaptation, which meant he would need to direct it himself. And what an incredible feat the film is for a...
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189. Can't Hardly Wait
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
In the late '90s, there was a revival of the teen comedy, and Can't Hardly Wait stands as one of the classics of the era. The premise couldn't be simpler: It's one night at a party, the night of graduation. We follow a handful of crazy kids and see what kind of sexy trouble they get into. And it's a lot of fun! Surprisingly, this movie is rated PG-13 and is way less raunchy than we remember, so maybe not an ideal fit for Sex Month. So we try to lewd it up in our discussion for you. Next week (April 17, 2026): SEX MONTH continues with the '80s horror-sex classic Hellraiser (1987)!...
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188. Fifty Shades Of Grey
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
Laci and Matt fall into the world of Christian Grey, a mysterious and mercurial billionaire (age: 27) who enjoys flying his helicopter and tickling womens' tummies. First, the show explores author E.L. James and how her Twilight fan fiction evolved into the worldwide bestselling Fifty Shades trilogy. Then, a cultural industry grows like a weed, trying to figure out what exactly it says about our society that we love these books, ya know? The 2010s is also when fandom completely seizes control of the production of its favorite intellectual properties. Author E.L. James was not...
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187. Sideways
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
Laci and Matt take a trip to Santa Barbara County, California, for a glass (or 12!) of wine with their favorite pinot-slurping pals: Miles (Paul Giamatti), Jack (Thomas Haden Church), Maya (Virginia Madsen), Stephanie (Sandra Oh), and a friendly flock of ostriches. That's right, people, we spent the week with Sideways (2004), Alexander Payne's hilarious look at two codependent losers who have one of cinema's all-time great friendships. Next week (April 3, 2026): 1-Week Rental's official SEX MONTH begins with a podcast about Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015)! Time stamps: ...
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186. Nothing But Trouble (1991)
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
It's one of the most unpleasant movies we've ever covered: Nothing But Trouble, starring Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, John Candy, and Dan Aykroyd, who also wrote and directed the picture. Like a comedy version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (but less funny), it's a movie that's difficult to put into words, or even comprehend. But one way to understand it is to think of it like Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell taking a country drive into New Jersey and facing way more justice than they would in the real world. Next week (March 27, 2026): Sideways (2004)! Time stamps: 00:05:35...
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Marty Supreme | Sinners | Bugonia (Oscars Special - Part 2)
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
1WR continues helping you prepare for Hollywood's Biggest Night(TM), as Laci and Matt stir the pot and catch up on awards season before going deep on Marty Supreme. Then, Matt is joined by his friend Caleb Hogan to discuss Sinners, and the show closes with a conversation about Bugonia with returning guest Cinema Coconut. Next week (March 20, 2026): Nothing But Trouble, where Dan Ackroyd plays dual roles: a judge with a penis for a nose and also a big diaper baby. Time stamps: 00:15:30 — Marty Supreme 00:50:45 — Sinners (with Caleb Hogan) 01:22:55 — Bugonia...
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KPop: Demon Hunters | Train Dreams | If I Had Legs I'd Kick You | Weapons | Frankenstein | One Battle After Another (2026 Oscars Special - Part 1)
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
Hollywood's Biggest Night is almost upon us, and 1-Week Rental is gonna help you get ready by discussing the movies nominated for the biggest awards. In this, the first of our two-part series previewing the awards, Matt talks to his friends about six films: Frankenstein, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, KPop: Demon Hunters, One Battle After Another, Train Dreams, and Weapons. Next week (March 13, 2026): Part 2 of our Oscars special continues reviewing huge Oscar movies! The week after that (March 20, 2026): Nothing But Trouble, where Dan Ackroyd plays a judge with a penis for a nose, and also...
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185. True Lies
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
Laci and Matt go through True Lies (1994), James Cameron's "normal" movie. The most expensive movie ever made at the time of its production. It could've just been a straightforward spy thriller, but instead Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to put in every action movie idea they'd ever had. And the results are glorious. Well, okay, the movie goes on for one act too long, and Jamie Lee Curtis steals the show and is then shown the door. But it's fun as heck, is what we're saying. Next week: Our Oscars previews begin, as we talk about every movie nominated for a major award....
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184. High Fidelity
1-Week Rental: A Movie Podcast
Laci and Matt pay a visit to Championship Vinyl to hang out with Rob, Barry, Dick, Laura, Ian, Marie de Salle, and all the fine folks in the music scene of that windy city we like to call Chi-Town. That's right, it's High Fidelity (2000)! It's a great music movie. It's an even greater romantic comedy. In fact, it's kind of an anti-romantic comedy, because the lesson in the end is: The most romantic thing in life is being a grown-up. Plus: Our top-five songs we want played at our funerals, AND fierce debate about whether DJs are musicians and if a singer's vocal chords count as an...
info_outlineIn the origin story of Michael Myers, the slasher killer from the legendary Halloween series of horror films, young Michael sees his sister….. Wait, what? Oh, this is Dennis the Menace? In which a little slingshot punk from the 1950s rides around on a tricycle in 1993 and torments an innocent old man? And you're telling me it’s not about Michael Myers, it was just directed by the man who originally played Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s Halloween (Nick “The Shape” Castle)? Gotcha. I see where the confusion started.
Unregardless, here is our long-awaited discussion of the 1993 Dennis the Menace starring Walter Mathau as Mr. Wilson and Christopher Lloyd as a hobo killer who rides the rails and skins children alive, even though we never get to actually see that. And this was written and produced by John Hughes, during his “Let’s just do Home Alone again and again and again” period.
Laci loves it, Matt does not, so this is the two-hour therapy session that results.
Watch this episode in full: https://youtu.be/BE1cUNUfGIk
Next week: Our October Extravaganza begins with Interview with the Vampire (1994)!
Bonus video: Matt and Laci reveal their blindspots from the IMBD Top 250 movies of all time list - https://youtube.com/shorts/_wTbG4t4NEo
Out now on the Patreon: Matt, Wade, and Patrick dive deep into Nickelodeon’s Doug, discussing its history and reviewing the episodes “Doug Can’t Dance” and “Doug’s Garage Band.” https://bit.ly/3KdBuvg
Time stamps:
- 00:03:15 — We read this week's Dennis the Menace newspaper comics
- 00:11:08 — Opening thoughts on Dennis the Menace (the movie)
- 00:17:30 — History segment: The Dennis the Menace comic strip created by Hank Ketcham and its long afterlife; the 1950s Dennis the Menace sitcom; the production of the 1993 movie and John Hughes’s pivot to cranking out family movies with very similar premises
- 00:39:45 — Movie discussion
- 02:00:20 — Final thoughts and star ratings
Source:
- "Dennis the Menace and ADHD" by Matthew Smith | Psychology Today (2018) - https://bit.ly/4niObDH
Artwork by Laci Roth.
Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).
Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:
- “Your Ambition” - https://youtu.be/ZHudVTCkrQY
- “Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM
- “Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg
- “The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ
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