During the 2012 election cycle, Pauly Shore went to Washington to take the temperature on American and Her Problems. His resulting comedy special, PAULY SHORE'S PAULY-TICS (2012), accidentally foreshadows some of the bad vibes of the years to come. PLUS: We chart one Oscar blogger's evolution from #StillWithHer to MAGA. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

In the penultimate episode of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, "K&R Part 3," Aaron Sorkin wrestles with the memory of Bill Maher being cancelled after 9/11, and asks why a just and merciful god even needs you to pray to Him. Aaron Sorkin is saving some of his best stuff for last! PLUS: Checking in on the God's Not Dead franchise and the comedy career of Chris Cillizza. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/109920511

Tony Buba chronicled the decline of his hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania in a series of acclaimed documentaries that elevated him to national notoriety. But in the extraordinary documentary/fiction hybrid LIGHTNING OVER BRADDOCK: A RUST BOWL FANTASY (1988), he asks what it means when his success is tied to so many people's poverty. Tony Buba's films are hard to find on streaming, so why not just get this Blu-Ray? You'll be glad you did -...

As STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP continues its slow descent, Aaron Sorkin continues to drift away from TV sketch-comedy and back to what he knows. Episode 20, "K&R Part 2," sees the gang lashing out at journalism while also making a tortured defense of... the White House Press Secretary? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/548-studio-sucky-109590201

In Barry Levinson and David Mamet's WAG THE DOG (1997), a political spin-doctor teams with a movie producer to fake a war and save an incumbent president. You've heard of manufacturing consent, but to what extent can Hollywood and Washington manufacture reality? We're joined by Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison of the American Prestige podcast to discuss. Check out American Prestige - https://www.americanprestigepod.com/ Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week -...

Tom's brother is still held hostage in Afghanistan, Jordan is still in the hospital, and Matt & Harriet are still arguing about religion in episode 19 of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, "K&R Part 1." But this is all a mere appetizer to us FINALLY getting around to reading Aaron Sorkin's instantly-legendary op-ed about how the Democrats should run Mitt Romney. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/446-studio-sucky-109103776

It's a politics-only episode, because we've got a big subject: it's time to say goodbye to your favorite American president, Joe Biden. We welcome back Branko Marcetic to tally #46's success and failures, and do a vibe-check on the Democratic Party following the ouster of its standard-bearer. PLUS: Branko reports on the Republican National Convention. "Joe Biden Wanted This" by Branko Marcetic - https://jacobin.com/2024/07/biden-2024-dropout-gaza-legacy "How Joe Biden Became a Steadfast...

Banned in 16 countries! So sickening it can only be real! In this special documentary episode Will goes on a journey through the history of the Mondo movie, from MONDO CANE to FACES OF DEATH and beyond. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/544-history-of-108683201

In 2005, the Clinton family's own foundation created a DVD compilation of times when Bill and Hillary brought the funny. We discuss A TIME TO LAUGH: THE CLINTONS' HUMOR (2005), and glean a little bit of insight into how the former First Family view themselves. PLUS: From an assassination attempt of the former U.S. president to a coup attempt on the current one, we've got a lot of news to catch up on. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

What do you do when you're stuck in that limbo period before your poorly-rated show has been cancelled? For Aaron Sorkin, you work through your feelings in your art. This week we discuss Episode 18 of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, "Breaking News." PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/542-studio-sucky-108277667

Social media has been full of smiling genocidiers lately, so it's a good time to revisit THE ACT OF KILLING (2012). Joshua Oppenheimer's experimental documentary about the legacy of the Indonesian mass killings asks: What would it take to prick a mass murderer's conscience? And how does violence linger in the human soul? PLUS: So, have you heard about this guy Joe Biden? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "The 'Liberal World Order' Was...

In Akira Kurosawa's KAGEMUSHA (1980), a lowly thief is recruited to impersonate a feudal warlord, and he almost gets away with it. This mighty epic gives us opportunity to ponder the role of illusion in maintaining power, and whether or not a lie will always be exposed. PLUS: Recapping the U.K. election, and hey, have you heard about this Joe Biden character? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF OUR ONGOING "STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP" SERIES ON PATREON - Join us there for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus It's Studio 60 vs the unions in Episode 17 ("The Disaster Show") of Aaron Sorkin's STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP. We're pleased to welcome Will Menaker (of Chapo Trap House and Movie Mindset fame) to help us make sense of Sorkin's perspective on organized labor. PLUS: So have you heard about Joe Biden? You've heard of...

It's Studio 60 vs the unions in Episode 17 ("The Disaster Show") of Aaron Sorkin's STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP. We're pleased to welcome Will Menaker (of Chapo Trap House and Movie Mindset fame) to help us make sense of Sorkin's perspective on organized labor. PLUS: So have you heard about Joe Biden? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/539-studio-sucky-107416666

Government and big tech are in cahoots to reshape America, and the only man who can stop it is Elon Musk. That's more-or-less the thesis of THE TWITTER FILES (2023), a movie that plumbs new depths even in the right-wing movie ecosystem. PLUS: The first Biden/Trump debate and state of the Canadian Liberal Party. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Democrats Need to Try Something Radical: Hire Christopher Nolan" by Matt Robison -...

As we drift further and further into STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, we find a show that is quickly losing touch with its original premise of saving comedy, and transforming into a workplace soap opera with a lot of sexual harassment. We discuss episodes 14 ("The Harriet Dinner Part II") and 15 ("The Friday Night Slaughter"). PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/536-studio-sucky-106899255

You can go looking for the zeitgeist, but only the zeitgeist can find you. That's what the makers of countless pieces of failed Oscar bait have learned. In this special episode, we run through some of the most legendary failed Oscar bait of the last 25 years and speculate why they didn't catch anything. PLUS: presidential libraries, the Obama Foundation, and an autobiographical novel from an unlikely Hollywood star. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week -...

We know you've waited a whole week since our last episode on STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, anxiously looking forward to any update on the Macau Deal. Your wish is our command. We discuss Episodes 12 ("Monday") and 13 ("The Harriet Dinner, Part 1") - more than halfway through, folks! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/534-studio-sucky-106403874

When our politicians fail us, can journalism save us? We revisit George Clooney's GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK (2005), about Edward R. Murrow's battle with Joseph McCarthy, and get a lesson in how the liberal imagination remembers the Red Scare. PLUS: the rise of A.I. in the arts, and the state of the centre-left in Europe. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Liberals, I Do Despise" by Adolph Reed Jr. -...

We continue our long journey through the dark heart of Aaron Sorkin's STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP. Jordan gets pregnant, Harriet is inducted into the Falstaff Society, Matt & Danny create the most Epic Christmas TV broadcast ever, and Aaron Sorkin confirms once and for all that Santa isn't real in Episode 10 ("B-12") and Episode 11 ("The Christmas Show"). PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/532-studio-sucky-106000756

During the Trump presidency, #TheResistance had a powerful figurehead, and his name was (the late) Mr. Rogers. We discuss the Tom Hanks-led #nicecore landmark A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD (2019), the strengths and limitations of Fred Rogers as a Trump-era political symbol, and what this movie fails to understand about him. PLUS: What's eating David Frum about the recent Mexican election? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Can...

Growing up in Iran under the shadow of American imperialism, filmmaker Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa felt an unlikely personal connection with American cinema - specifically, the films of Jerry Lewis. In her documentary JERRY AND ME (2012) she explores Lewis as a symbol of America and a universal archetype for outsiders... but also runs into the limits of Lewis as a person. PLUS: We consider the legacy of Morgan Spurlock. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/430-reading-in-105570192

Our journey through America's second-greatest law-and-order franchise continues with WALKING TALL: THE PAYBACK (2007), a direct-to-video adventure with Kevin Sorbo. We discuss how the rural Dirty Harry was reimagined (or not) for the late Bush era. PLUS: Randall Emmett, Kevin Spacey, the death of cinema, and of course, Donald Trump's guilty verdict. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

The troops fight abroad, and sketch comedians fight on the home front. In our latest dispatch from the universe of Aaron Sorkin's STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, we ponder the author's tortured relationship with everything from advertising to gender to Woody Allen via "The Nevada Day" Parts 1 & 2 and "The Option Period." PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/528-studio-sucky-105072974

In the feature-film adaptation of John le Carré's TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (2011), Cold War-era Britain doesn't look that much different from behind the Iron Curtain - visually, at least. We discuss the challenges of compressing an intricate novel into a two-hour movie, and try to situate le Carré politically. PLUS: Taking the temperature of the snap British election, and a fond farewell to a B-movie titan.