I think this is our first guest who had genuinely listened to all of our episodes before picking their own list. I’ve got several people coming on in season three who have reached out because they’re listening, and I hope that continues as the show grows.
I’ve also had listeners start to reach out to me with their Hip Pocket lists, and I can’t tell you how much that delights me. I love that you’re playing along with this thought experiment at home, and so far, no two lists are alike. This is a game that can have an infinite number of answers, and every single one of them is correct.
For this week’s episode, we had a guest on who I had been trying to schedule for the entire season. It finally worked out after we ran into each other at a comedy show, and his picks were even more eclectic than I thought they’d be. I think that’s in large part because of his partner, Becca, who has pushed him to be even more adventurous as a film viewer, something that’s good as we get older. It’s easy to retreat into old favorites and familiar standards, but film is a wilderness, and the further you get off-trail, the more exciting that sense of discovery can be.
If you know his films or you know his podcast, then you have some idea of what you’re in for, but I guarantee you don’t know the whole story. Not yet.
JOE LYNCH has directed movies, TV, and music videos for almost 20 years now. With his long-time buddy Adam Green, he was the co-creator and co-star of Holliston, a truly bizarre sitcom, and they have a long-running podcast called The Movie Crypt where they’ve talked to basically anyone who has ever made a horror film, and they also host an annual marathon to raise money for a Yorkie charity. You may have seen his movies Everly with Selma Hayek or Mayhem with Steven Yeun or Suitable Flesh with Barbara Crampton and Heather Graham. He is perpetually busy, so we were lucky to find a time for him to pick three movies to discuss.
First up is Short Time, a Dabney Coleman vehicle that doesn’t feel like any other Dabney Coleman movie. Then he picked the beautiful Wayne Wang film Smoke, starring Harvey Keitel. And finally, he takes a wild left turn to choose the disco era ensemble comedy Thank God It’s Friday.
Our response film is a big swing from one of our most flamboyant filmmakers, and I have loved it since the moment it was released, so let’s talk about Tucker: The Man and His Dream.
Finally, I decided to induct into the Hip Pocket Hall of Fame a movie that polarized audiences when it came out, and it still feels completely insane when you see it now. I get it if you don’t love Hudson Hawk, but I do.
If you’d like to support The Hip Pocket at Patreon, you can find us at https://www.patreon.com/c/DrewMcWeeny.
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The Hip Pocket is hosted by Drew McWeeny and Aundria Parker.
Craig Ceravolo is the show’s bandleader and producer.
It is a Formerly Dangerous Production.
COMING SOON
Only two episodes left in our second season, and I think we’ve got two absolute home runs for you. First up, we’ve got a guest from one of the biggest movie podcasts around. I’m sure a lot of you love Blank Check, so you’ll be excited to learn that we’ve got America’s Finest Film Critic as our next guest. And wrapping up the season is a writer/director who is about to make the weirdest film of his already delightfully weird career. He brought three very personal choices, and the result is both the longest conversation we’ve had so far and maybe the best.
We’re already gearing up to record the next season, so it won’t be long before we’ve got more episodes for you. Please remember to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you’re listening. The more you tell people about the show, the more episodes we’re going to be able to make.
And as always, The Hip Pocket, like everything you’ll find at either Formerly Dangerous or The Last ‘80s Newsletter (You’ll Ever Need), is 100% written, produced, and performed by human beings with no AI involved. Support human art and artists!
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