comedy Archives - Have You SEEN This?

228 – Toys

Jen and Tim grit their teeth through Barry Levinson’s oppressively whimsical passion project that literally no one liked, Toys. Also, take a drink every time we use a variant of the word “whimsy,” but please drink responsibly!

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Roger Ebert penned a more measured analysis of the film back in 1992:

There’s a curious residue of dissatisfaction after “Toys” is over. It opened so well and promised so much that we’re confused: Is that all there is?

Listen to Tim’s favorite song from the movie, “Happy Workers” sung by Tori Amos.

See the (in)famous Toys teaser trailer on YouTube.

Does it tickle you when Tim gets a real wild hair about a movie? Check out our collection of episodes with the succinct title Tim Hated It!

201 – Earth Girls Are Easy

Rule 1: be Jeff Goldblum. Rule 2: don’t not be Jeff Goldblum.

Jen and Tim debate just how much he actually likes movie musicals during their discussion of a mutual fave, the musical comedy Earth Girls Are Easy.

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According to her own website, writer and actress Julie Brown is currently working on Earth Girls Are Easy…the musical version! Maybe even Tim will deign to see it!

Vanity Fair covered Angelyne in 2022, post-Hollywood Reporter exposé. According to the article, the producers of the Angelyne miniseries paid their subject for her life rights, although she declined a producer credit.

For more Julian Temple, enjoy the longform music video he directed for David Bowie, Jazzin’ For Blue Jean.

189 – The Carry On Films

31 films when a lesser series would have gone limp!

Tim and Jen seek aid from wacky funster Bitter Karella to explain a film series as British as lousy weather and inedible food: the Carry On series! Also, Tim positively bursts with Carry On-related research.

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The Carry On series is so popular that you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to documentaries about them. A Perfect Carry On Documentary is relatively lighthearted, but for more dirt, start with What’s a Carry On? – The Story of the Carry On Films and 40th Anniversary Reunion and finish (ooh-err!) with the incredibly bleak Carry On Darkly. The latter two delve into the financial straits and personal problems of many of the most beloved cast members from the series.

The fittingly-titled Cor, Blimey! telefilm dramatizes the affair between Sid James and Barbara Windsor, set against notable Carry On moments of the ’60s and ’70s.

If you’re not familiar with the canon and want to sample the world of Carry On for yourself, stop by the Internet Archive. Be warned, though: if you’re as susceptible to broad comedy as Tim seems to be, you might end up Carry On-pilled too! Cor blimey!

188 – Halloween Bonus: Shudder’s Ghoul Log

For best results, stare at this still image for a full hour.

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Jen and Tim do a deep dive into the canned pumpkin pie filling that is Shudder’s Ghoul Log! Are we serious with this shit? You tell us! However, all of the usual outlets appear to trick-or-treat it with the same gravitas afforded to, say, the latest Terrifier installment. To wit:

Comicbook.com anticipates the Night of the Ghoul Log:

“While some fans might be disappointed that this year hasn’t embraced a specific horror property, it still marks a great way to capture the atmosphere of Halloween night.” – Patrick Cavanaugh

All Hallows Geek covers Tippett Studios’s Mad God edition of the Ghoul Log

SlashFilm on the Trick ‘r Treat-themed edition:

“It’s charming, but it’s also a bit distracting. If you want the Ghoul Log to serve as background filler – as I do – this isn’t the way to go, as the constant interruptions will pull you away from whatever it is you’re doing.” – Chris Evangelista

Comicbook.com dutifully announces the 2023 edition (the kitty appears at approximately 4:30, for Shudder subscribers who value their time)

If you want more of spooky, narratively inert movies about menacing plant life, check out our free episode on Friedkin’s The Guardian!

186 – Ghost Stories

Spooky psychological horror from one of the modern British greats

Jen is pleasantly surprised when Tim suggests a horror movie that’s actually pretty good: the eerie anthology with a twist, Ghost Stories (2017). Also, Tim gives an impromptu lecture on the deeper meaning of American zombie movies. (He also seizes an opportunity to wedge in his love for League of Gentlemen. C’mon, that was 20 years ago!)

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Read an interview with Ghost Stories co-writer Derren Brown about his new stage show. He also confesses that he used to be a cape guy (“a bit intense, and a bit socially maladroit,” according to the article). No surprise there! He also has a YouTube channel if you would like to see him hypnotize people into giving him their wallets.

Need another spooky fix? Try our free episode on another slept-on horror anthology 50 States of Fright!

185 – The Frighteners

Tim and Jen look at Peter Jackson’s transition from splatter king to mainstream whizbang effects filmmaker, The Frighteners.

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Check out part one of The Frighteners blooper reel! Part two may be viewed here. Damn, that’s a lot of blooperin’, Doc!

In 2018, Germain Lussier wrote a positive reappraisal of the film for Gizmodo.

Lussier does not appear to be alone in liking the film, since a recent post from MSN claims that Universal intends to remake The Frighteners. Maybe we’ll get that franchise after all!

If you can’t get enough of movies that are ‘spiritually’ about Ghostbusters, check out our review of Return of the Ghostbusters.

184 – Clifford

Pure evil or sublime comedy? The two are closer than you might think.

Jen and Tim come to a tenuous agreement about a once universally loathed Martin Short comedy, Clifford. Also, Tim punches down ruthlessly on a twenty pound miniature pinscher [who could lose a little weight].

Reggie, an asshole minpin — This dog is an asshole.

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The Slate article about Martin Short that riled everyone up may be found here, but if you want to skip right to the synchronized swimming sketch from SNL, you can watch it on Vimeo.

The Vulture oral history of the making, the release, and the eventual cult fandom around Clifford is as exhaustive a history of the film as one may be expected to tolerate.

DNA specialists identified the Boy in the Box as Joseph Augustus Zarelli, 65 years after his death (be careful if you search for info on the case; the police distributed postmortem photos shortly after he was found in an attempt to generate leads).

Tim is beside himself that Clifford is not this movie.

While Clifford is the exception, why not check out one of our several other episodes about traumatizing children? Or look at this awful little kid from Woodchipper Massacre?

183 – Perversions of Science

Tim and Jen head back to the pre-prestige-TV cable well with a failed spinoff of Tales From the Crypt called Perversions of Science. Throughout, you can really tell that your hosts would rather be watching a certain Canadian/German co-production.

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Jen was slightly off when she said that HBO has existed since “the mid-to-late 70s”—it launched in 1972.

Mic mentions the Dan Quayle/Murphy Brown kerfuffle in this article about depictions of abortion on American television. And then there’s Maude!

In 1992, Vanity Fair covered the speculation around the circumstances of the death of Hitler’s niece. (Jen thinks he did it.)

If you love Skinemax Farscape as much as we do, listen to our Lexx episode!

181 – Shakes the Clown

“But…” cries the patient, “I am the writer and the director!”

Jen and Tim quibble over Bobcat Goldthwait’s directorial debut, the seedy comic tale of Shakes the Clown. Also, Jen drops some hard truths about Robin Williams.

Patton Oswalt tells his story about the world’s worst party clown to Conan O’Brien.

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Apropos of nothing, apparently the children’s show Little Clowns of Happytown was developed by Chuck Lorre, the guy who went on to runaway success with a bunch of sitcoms that Jen hates with every fiber of her being.

Can’t get enough clownin’? Listen to our episode about the Terrifier franchise!

Tag: comedy