July 20, 2017

EP. 3 — E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

In the early 1980s, Steven Spielberg embarked on a mission to tell the story of his parents’ divorce through the lens of a wrinkly alien puppet with skeletal crab fingers and the voice of an old lady dying of emphysema. After being rejected by one studio for being “too Disney” (the early 80s were a time when Hollywood would give a hard pass to the words “Spielberg” and “Disney”), Spielberg finally got to bring his vision to life in 1982 with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The story of a young boy befriended a stranded alien sack of drooping flesh went on to become the number one movie of all time (a record that was not broken until Jurassic Park hit theaters eleven years later), and E.T. became one of the most beloved children’s characters despite the fact that E.T. scares the absolute shit out of most children.

In this week’s episode, Abe and Tom are joined by Cracked stand-up and podcasting guru Alex Schmidt as they discuss all the whimsy, technical know-how, and armless children that went into making E.T. an instant classic. Along the way, they discuss how E.T. almost ate fistfuls of M&Ms, how Elliott was nearly scolded at school by Principal Indiana Jones, and how E.T. is apparently a plant. Like, a house plant. From outer space.

Recent Episodes

November 30, 2017

John Hughes month concludes on Cracked Movie Club! By 1989, John Hughes was closing out a decade of wild success with teen comedies and had been steadily branching out into more adult-oriented fare, most of which starred John Candy. Hughes kept that train rolling with Uncle Buck, starring Candy as the titular uncle who has to care for his brother’s kids after a family tragedy. Out of the surprisingly few films of which Candy was the star, Uncle Buck was the most successful, and its production inspired John Hughes to create Home Alone, which isn’t bad for a movie most of you probably haven’t seen.

On this week’s episode, Tom is joined by Cracked’s David Bell and The Bechdel Cast’s Jamie Loftus as they discuss how the movie was almost not filmed in Hughes’ home state of Illinois, whether or not Uncle Buck is in the mob, and why every teen in Winnetka is goth.

November 23, 2017

John Hughes month continues on Cracked Movie Club! There’s no better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than by watching John Hughes’ 1987 film Planes, Train and Automobiles, his first adult-centered feature after a string of teen angst hits. Although not a big hit when it was released, the movie has gone on to be arguably Hughes’ best liked film, as well as one of the best liked films of its two stars, Steve Martin and John Candy (Candy’s terrible mustache notwithstanding).

On this week’s episode, Tom is joined by Cracked’s Michael Swaim and comedian Matt Braunger as they discuss how John Hughes’ classic road trip movie became an unspoken classic, how the film’s stars managed to perform a near 200 page screenplay without committing any major felonies, and whether or not John Candy’s character is actually a vampire.

November 16, 2017

John Hughes month continues on Cracked Movie Club! In 1986, John Hughes was on a roll that had suddenly transformed him from a screenwriter of adult-oriented comedies to the king of teen angst movies. He kept that train rolling with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a movie he pitched and wrote in a week about a high school senior who skips school for the day and takes his girlfriend and his wet blanket best friend on a series of hijinks through Chicago. Meanwhile, they are pursued by the villainous Principal Rooney, who is played by a real-life child predator, which ups the stakes somewhat.

On this week’s episode, Tom is joined by Cracked’s Alex Schmidt and Katie Goldin as they discuss Hughes’ incredible ability to churn out quality films in such a short period of time, the unexpectedly brilliant casting of a 29 year old man to play Ferris’ put-upon best friend Cameron, and whether or not Ferris is a figment of Cameron’s imagination or is perhaps God Himself.