Episodes

  • Clocking Hours to Cover the Cost – The Wild Life
    Jun 24 2025

    Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smithrevisit The Wild Life, a film about kids chasing parties and independence, but always punching the clock to afford it.

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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Paint it Any Color You Want – Some Kind of Wonderful
    Jun 16 2025

    It’s still you using me — and a father trying to steer a son’s life. JIm Groom and Michael Branson Smith dive into Some Kind of Wonderful's confrontations about control, expectation, and self-worth.

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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • The Sharing Makes It Real – Say Anything...
    Jun 9 2025

    Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith unpack Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything…, examining the complicated ties between Diane, her father, and Lloyd — and what happens when loyalty, love, and trust collide.

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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • The Games Adults Play – Pauline at the Beach
    Jun 2 2025

    Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith unpack Eric Rohmer’s sly and sun-drenched Pauline at the Beach, a film where love is a game, truth is optional, and every adult is chasing the freedom they only claim to understand.

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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Dads are for Fixing Things – Taken
    May 20 2025

    Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith dive into Taken (2008), the ultimate dad fantasy: what if you had a very particular set of skills and would burn a country down to save your daughter.

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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Hostage Family, Savage OTHER – Not Without My Daughter
    May 12 2025

    Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith dig into the 1991 Sally Field vehicle Not Without My Daughter — a film that’s half thriller, half imperialist fever dream, and 100% propaganda.

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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • The Things You Do For Your Kids – The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom
    May 5 2025

    Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith untangle the world of Texas cheerleading ambition, suburban pecking orders, and one mom’s deadly plan to climb the social ladder.

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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Cha Cha Heels and Broken Homes – Female Trouble
    Apr 28 2025

    Jim Groom and Michael Branson Smith unspool John Waters’ trash masterpiece, where delinquent desires, crumbling families, and gaudy kitsch rule.

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    1 hr and 4 mins