Mr. Mom | S2E4

Today, we go back to 1983 to explore how a John Hughes-penned classic captured the era’s shifting family dynamics and remains a fan favorite today with Mr. Mom!

I’m joined by returning guest, Craig Cohen, of The G.O.A.T. - a Brian De Palma Fan Podcast. Originally from the east coast, Craig now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and 2 Yorkies, Frida and Frankie Ramone. In his free time, he enjoys podcasting, reading and listening to and creating music. You can check out Craig's work: https://flow.page/mrcraigcohen

Please get in touch to tell me what you think - [e-mail]

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Episode Transcript

(00:10):
Thank you.
Meet dad.
He's a real man.
Got a beer seven o'clock in the morning.
Scotch an all out go-getter.
But when his job pulledthe plug on him, I'm fine.
You son,
they threw a switch.

(00:32):
Okay, good luck.
And he became the lead of the house.
It sure looks like he got a terrific deal.
Honey, if you call, I'm not here, I'llbe at the gym or at the game club.
Exercise and relaxation.

(00:53):
Good.
Home cooking.
Arts and crafts.
Kenny, don't paint your sister.
And fun and games with the neighbors.
Are these any good?
Got two pair.
They got plenty.
That's when he was forcedto face the bare facts.
His new job is a mother, Michael Keaton.

(01:14):
Where does Bobby keep the extra diapers?
And Terry guards in Mr.
Mop, a mother of a comedy.

Katie (01:37):
Hello.
Hello, I'm Katie and welcome toRetro Made Your Pop Culture Rewind.
Today we go back to 1983 to explorehow a John Hughes Pen Classic captured
the eras shifting family dynamicsand remains a favorite today with Mr.
Mom.

(01:58):
I am very happy to have areturning guest with me today.
Craig Cohen from The Goat,a Brian DePalma fan podcast.

Craig (02:05):
Yep.

Katie (02:06):
thank you so much for joining me on season two of Retro Made.

Craig (02:10):
Oh, thank you for having me.
And congrats on season two and yeah,I had a blast last time I was here,
so I'm looking forward to today.

Katie (02:16):
Thank you.
Well tell us what's new withyou in the podcasting world.
What do you got goingon with Brian de Palmer?

Craig (02:23):
Oh yeah, the goat chugs along.
I took of the fall offand we sort of did a.
Relaunch in at the beginning of theyear, and we continue to explore and
celebrate the filmography of America'sgreatest director Brian De Palma.
and as you listen to this, I'm gonna bestarting a series of solo episodes, which
should be pretty interesting becausetypically I'm not a solo podcaster,

(02:47):
so it will be a nice experiment.
So, if you're into films at all or you'renot familiar with Brian de Palmer, give
the show a, a listen every episode Ilet my guest pick a movie and then a
scene from that movie to help illustratewhy De Palmer is as great as he is.

Katie (03:02):
That's great.
I highly recommend, and I'mlooking forward to these solo ones.

Craig (03:07):
Yeah, it should be

Katie (03:08):
Yeah.

Craig (03:08):
be neat.
I'm going to kind of focus on themovies that nobody wants to talk about.

Katie (03:14):
I, I, I have been there, Craig.
I'm like, well, I, I don'tknow if I wanna ask somebody
to do this, so I'll just do it.
Yep.

Craig (03:21):
Yeah.
No, and it is good.
It's a nice sort ofdifferent way to podcasting

Katie (03:26):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
So listeners, if you're new to the show,we cover eighties and nineties movies.
Each season has the theme.
This season is John Hughes and weset the stage for the time that
the movie was released by openingthe time capsule from that time.
And there's a new spin,pun intended this season.
So we're gonna do that.

(03:47):
I'm gonna spin this wheel and seewhat category we land on and see
if we can trip up, Craig, or maybehe's an expert in 1983, we shall see.
Okay.
Alright.
Can you see

Craig (04:00):
I

Katie (04:00):
our, our, our wheel of retro made?

Craig (04:03):
Yes.

Katie (04:04):
Let's see what we, let's see what we get here.

Craig (04:08):
Oh, this is cool.
Oh, so close to stars and scandals.

Katie (04:13):
Pages of the past.
We'll do a few,
Which 1983 Children's Magazine knownfor its vibrant illustrations and
engaging stories was popular amongyoung readers, particularly in the uk.
I guess

Craig (04:28):
shit.

Katie (04:29):
it was here too,

Craig (04:30):
I was

Katie (04:30):
but good guess

Craig (04:33):
Yeah, but it's not

Katie (04:35):
it's not.

Craig (04:36):
Okay.

Katie (04:37):
I think that came slightly later.

Craig (04:39):
Okay.
Goodness.
I, I highlights is all Ihad loaded and ready to go.

Katie (04:44):
Well, UK listeners told me if you remember the Look and Learn magazine.
Does that sound familiarto you at all, Craig?

Craig (04:51):
at all.

Katie (04:52):
Right.
Well, maybe this one.
Okay.
Witch 1983 Children'sFantasy Novel by Roll Doll.
Features a young boy and his Norwegiangrandmother battling a Society
of witches who despise children.

Craig (05:08):
Oh, is it called The Witches.

Katie (05:10):
It is.
Yeah.

Craig (05:11):
they turn that into a movie, right?

Katie (05:13):
Yep.

Craig (05:14):
yeah.

Katie (05:14):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (05:15):
Okay.
With like Angela, her name?

Katie (05:18):
Angelica Houston.

Craig (05:20):
Houston.
Yeah.

Katie (05:21):
I love it.
It's great.
All right, let's, let'sdo another category.

Craig (05:30):
Yep.

Katie (05:31):
Ken.
Can Craig, can Craig comeout to play is our category.
What?
1983 Gadget, which featured a smalljoystick controller and a cartridge
system was an affordable alternativeto larger video game consoles
offering a portable gaming experience.

Craig (05:53):
Okay, so this is, is interesting because I'm trying to
remember when certain things came out.
I mean, the obvious answerit now, your question didn't
say, this is when it debuted.
Right.

Katie (06:05):
No, not necessarily.

Craig (06:06):
I think the obvious answer is the Atari 2,600.

Katie (06:10):
You are correct, Craig,

Craig (06:12):
Alright.

Katie (06:13):
I, I am shocked you even got the 2,600.

Craig (06:16):
Oh, well, I, I'm old.

Katie (06:20):
Because it says technically, like according to my research, it
was the Atari 2,600, or the Atari7,800, although released earlier,
continued to be popular in 1983.
So it says,

Craig (06:33):
Yeah, I, I think, I think you said affordable too,

Katie (06:38):
mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.

Craig (06:39):
so that's why I went with the 2,600 if memory serves.
That was sort of like, I think what reallygot Atari into lot more homes the fact
that there was like an affordable version.
I think like maybe likethe graphics or whatever.
I mean, we're talking about eight bit orwhatever, but, so it wasn't like crazy.

(07:00):
But, but I think it just didn't haveas much horsepower as that other, that

Katie (07:03):
Got it.
Okay.

Craig (07:04):
I'm glad I got that.

Katie (07:05):
Yeah.

Craig (07:06):
I

Katie (07:06):
Well,

Craig (07:07):
when the, when the Nintendo NES system debuted.

Katie (07:11):
80, I think 83 was way too early for it.
I would've, yeah.

Craig (07:15):
And then there was another system, which I don't know if you are, you know,
ColecoVision was another like Compe,like Atari competitor and I don't know
if there was some kind of legal issues.
Around ColecoVision.
They may or may not, and do my researchhere because I didn't know you were

(07:35):
gonna ask me this, but they may ormay not have been like using games.
They didn't have the rights to use

Katie (07:41):
it.
Okay.

Craig (07:42):
that.
But either way, ColecoVision, likeif you look at probably like hardcore
gaming circles that probably are peoplethat collect the ColecoVision and,
and the and then there was another onecalled, I think in television there

Katie (07:54):
Oh my God, I've never even heard of these.
Wow.
Okay.
Wow.
That's cool.
Well, you're, you seemstrong in this category.
Let me see which popular toy from1983 often associated with a small
plastic soldier, an adventure theme.
Leading to a series of action figures,comic books, and even a TV series.

Craig (08:15):
Oh, that's GI Joe.

Katie (08:17):
What's the tagline?

Craig (08:19):
Real American hero.

Katie (08:20):
Yeah.

Craig (08:20):
Yeah.
No, I

Katie (08:21):
Joe.

Craig (08:21):
was, you have no idea for a 9-year-old.
Kid 1983, what a big deal Joe was.
We bought the comics, we had thefigures, and you could really see
which figures were most popularbecause the joints would loosen.

(08:43):
So you'd pick 'em up and like theirarms and legs would just flop.

Katie (08:47):
yeah, yeah, yeah.

Craig (08:48):
kid every kid's like storm shadow and snake eyes
would be just like worn to heck.
And then of course the, you know,the, the, the animated show,
which was just like a juggernaut.
Yeah.
No, I mean, that was, that was anamazing, amazing time to be a 9-year-old.

Katie (09:11):
Yeah, I guess I, I'm a household of all girls, so we had zero GI Joes
in our home, but cousins, I'm, I'mvaguely familiar with the GI Joe.
Yeah.
Let's do another category.

Craig (09:23):
Yeah.

Katie (09:29):
Commercial countdown is our category.
Some of 'em are so easy.
We'll do a couple maybe, which beveragecompany's 1983 commercial featured
the tagline just for the taste of it,promoting their new sugar free soda.

Craig (09:46):
Oh, that's, that's Coke, right?

Katie (09:49):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (09:50):
All

Katie (09:50):
That's it's Diet Coke.
Yep.

Craig (09:52):
That's wild that they introduced Diet Coke in 1983, and then that's not
too far removed from like new Coke.
Um.

Katie (10:02):
Coke was later in the eighties.
You're right.

Craig (10:05):
But that was also sugar based.
But it's,

Katie (10:07):
yeah.

Craig (10:07):
surprising to me that, that I, you know, I don't really remember
the introduction of Diet Coke.
Like me, I always remember Diet Cokebeing an option, but we also didn't
drink soda a lot when I was a kid.
That was one of those things where therewasn't soda in the house, like there,
you know, so if you, if and when youdid drink it, it was a special occasion.
And then also obviously you'renot gonna be ordering a diet Coke

Katie (10:30):
I did.
I, so I, it is funny,I, diet Coke is my jam.
I don't buy soda currently.
I was literally like,I think addicted to it.
So if it's here, I will drink it.
But there are certain things certaintimes when a fountain, especially
a fountain, diet Coke sounds good.

Craig (10:47):
oh yeah.
No, no, a hundred percent.
There is no comparison betweena canned or a bottled soda and,
and the fountain variety like.
Peak fountain soda waslike prime, McDonald's,

Katie (10:59):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (11:00):
Coke on tap.
Yeah, no, absolutely no.
And as a soda drinker, like whenwe drink soda now, like we either
have Pepsi zero or Coke zero in the

Katie (11:09):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (11:10):
I was never really a big fan of the mix of sugar when you're eating
a hamburger or anything like that,

Katie (11:16):
Yeah,

Craig (11:17):
Yeah, no, it's just surprising because I guess that makes sense
because what, in 85 and back to thefuture, like Marty orders the Pepsi.
What the Pepsi free?

Katie (11:26):
I don't remember.

Craig (11:27):
So I guess that was the start of the whole diet soda trend.
Like where like people were like,wait, there's a ton of sugar
in this stuff we're drinking.

Katie (11:37):
I prefer the taste of it and yeah, when I was in 83, I
probably was not drinking Diet Coke.
I was like a toddler.
But,

Craig (11:44):
They didn't put it in your bottle.

Katie (11:47):
but when, when I was very young, I don't remember
having soda in the house either.
And it was a treat.
And honestly, I think it was Shasta brand.
But then when I was like in thenineties, we had a fridge downstairs
for soda and beer and after school everyday I would go get a Coke, I'd pour
it in a glass and use a straw also.

(12:08):
'cause I needed, I needed,I needed the diet Coke.
And then I, I tell the story topeople and they look at me funny.
But there is something to theway that places mix the syrup.
There's something to McDonald'swhy it supposedly tastes better.
It has something to do with thediameter of the straw and their,
their they over it's stronger syrupbecause it is meant to accommodate,

(12:33):
accommodate for the ice melting.
Mm-hmm.

Craig (12:36):
I kind of feel like I watched like a 10 minute YouTube video
McDonald's fountain soda at, atsome point in the last couple years.
yeah.
Wild, wild.
And it's funny, like they havethese freestyle machines now,

Katie (12:51):
Oh yeah.
Yeah.

Craig (12:52):
Which are cool.
But the trick to those freestyle machines,if you ever find yourself in front
of one, run a cycle of water throughit prior to making your selections.
Because what's gonna happen is if theperson before you did like lemon lime
or something, that remnants of thatare still gonna be in the pipeline.

Katie (13:13):
Of course.
Yeah.

Craig (13:14):
blast of water before you start your selection.
And then the freestyle machine won'ttaste as weird as it sometimes does.

Katie (13:21):
Mm-hmm.
It's a good call, good call.
I also vague memory from childhood.
We would go to Kansas City, I.
Which was probably like threehours from where we lived.
And so we would go to likea, a Royals game and I would
order a Diet Coke at the game,

Craig (13:38):
Yeah.

Katie (13:39):
it tasted better there.
I think there's something in thewater at CAN in Kansas City because
also worlds and oceans of fun.
I just remember their diet Coke tastingsignificantly better than anywhere else.
And I don't know if it's like morechlorinated water or something,
but if anybody lives in KansasCity, please let me know.

Craig (14:00):
yeah.

Katie (14:01):
All right, let's maybe do one more, Craig, and then we'll get into the movie.

Craig (14:05):
Now this is cool.
This is fun.

Katie (14:07):
Oh, we already did that one.
Come on.

Craig (14:09):
Oh.
Yeah, we did.

Katie (14:10):
Yeah, there's 12 categories, so I don't know.

Craig (14:14):
know.
What are the odds?

Katie (14:15):
Oh my God.
Same what?
Come on.

Craig (14:22):
Now if it goes to commercials, right?
Was that Commercials was the last one.
Oh my goodness.

Katie (14:29):
Okay.
That's the third time that we've come on.
Can Craig come out to play?
Can we get another category?
These are always fun.

Craig (14:40):
Oh, okay.

Katie (14:41):
VHS Vault is the category.
Craig, do you have any, before Igive you any hints, do you have any
inclinations for what the top fiverentals movie rentals in 1983 were?

Craig (14:57):
I'm gonna say in that top five have to have Rocky three.

Katie (15:05):
I would've guessed that too.
It's not.

Craig (15:08):
Okay.
Well, you know what the, the wild

Katie (15:10):
It's probably 'cause it took a little longer for it to come.
Like at that time it would take, becausethat probably came out in the end of 82

Craig (15:19):
Yeah.

Katie (15:20):
in the theater.

Craig (15:21):
three poster in

Katie (15:23):
Yeah.
Uhhuh.

Craig (15:24):
O Okay.
Goodness.
I'm trying to think of movieslike from 19, like ET maybe, but

Katie (15:30):
some.

Craig (15:31):
still in theaters.

Katie (15:33):
Yeah.

Craig (15:33):
Yeah,

Katie (15:34):
it was 81, wasn't it?

Craig (15:35):
yeah.
But no, no joke.
We had a, the, I might have told thisstory last season we had a theater
in the town I lived in before.
So downtown we had a, dual screen theater.

Katie (15:45):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (15:46):
was like, you know, go to the left for for one boob, go to
the right for the other, and therewas a 14 month run ET had like

Katie (15:55):
Wow.

Craig (15:56):
locked down and they

Katie (15:58):
a year.
Wow.

Craig (15:59):
like what was in theater two.

Katie (16:00):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (16:01):
I.

Katie (16:01):
wild.

Craig (16:02):
So et had a, a, a long run.
Whoa.
It has to be a Star Wars movie, right?

Katie (16:08):
These are these, honestly I'm kind of surprised, so I'll get,
I'll start with the, the hints.
The first one I think you'll get,

Craig (16:13):
Mm-hmm.

Katie (16:14):
1982 action comedy film features a tough cop teaming up with a wisecracking
convict to catch a pair of cop killers

Craig (16:21):
Oh, 48

Katie (16:22):
Yeah, that became the top video rental.
That was the number one.

Craig (16:26):
you know what's funny about that?
I, I had that movie in the backof my head because when VHS came
out, it was a rental market.
They,

Katie (16:36):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (16:36):
were not, you were not supposed to buy them.
So, I remember one ofmy brother's friends.
His mom bought him VHS moviesand like had spent like $59 or
whatever on the VHS of, of 48 hours.
And it blew our mind that wewere like, wait a minute, you
own this, you're not renting it.
also the prices were just crazy.

(16:58):
I think it was like, I don't think itwas until like Disney like probably
like around like Jurassic Parkwhen like movies actually became
affordable enough to purchase.

Katie (17:09):
I remember we had some, but a, the vast majority of our VHS
collection was movies taped from tv,

Craig (17:16):
Yep.

Katie (17:16):
of which Mr.
Mom was one.

Craig (17:18):
Yeah.

Katie (17:18):
Okay, so the next one, the, this 1981 Teen Comedy notorious
for its raunchy humor and setin a 1950s Florida high school.
Yeah.

Craig (17:29):
Okay.

Katie (17:30):
Mm-hmm.
Yep.

Craig (17:31):
Who you know who directed porkies?

Katie (17:34):
who

Craig (17:35):
Bob Clark, who also did a Christmas story.

Katie (17:38):
you're kidding.

Craig (17:39):
it's, it's always funny to me that well, aside from the fact that
he did Black Christmas, which is likeone of the first what Slasher films.

Katie (17:45):
Hmm.

Craig (17:45):
He also did Christmas story, but then he also did this like porkies,
which I think probably unfairly getslumped into all the sequels that

Katie (17:54):
Yeah.

Craig (17:55):
you know, more and more raunchy.
But yeah, no, that's like alwaysmy little like sort of dinner
dinner party trivia is like, Hey,do you know the guy that directed
Christmas story directed four keys?

Katie (18:05):
Well, the guy who directed First Blood also directed a weekend at Bernie's,

Craig (18:11):
It's

Katie (18:11):
so yeah.

Craig (18:12):
Yeah.

Katie (18:13):
Okay.
I think you'll get this one too.
Which 1982 science fiction filmdirected by Ridley Scott featuring
a dystopian future and a replicatehunting protagonist gained a cult
following popular video rental in 1983.

Craig (18:30):
Oh yeah, that's Blade Runner.

Katie (18:31):
Yeah.
Okay.

Craig (18:32):
1982 was f famously probably like the best summer for sci-fi.
You had Blade Runner, et et wasstill in theaters, and you had
John Carpenter as the thing.

Katie (18:42):
That's right.
Yeah.

Craig (18:44):
funny that Blade Runner is on that list because I've always
thought that like Blade Runner wasnot held in any kind of regard until
it was reassessed in the nineties.
So that's kind of interesting tosee that it bombed in theaters,
but were renting it on VHS.

Katie (19:02):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (19:20):
the theatrical cut in the nineties, you were gonna
have a really, really hard time.

Katie (19:25):
Really?

Craig (19:26):
yeah.
So, the original theatrical kind of hasthis really sort of divisive voiceover,
and there's theories that, likeHarrison Ford was against it, so he like
purposefully like the recording session.

Katie (19:42):
Mm.

Craig (19:43):
and there's people that love the voiceover and there's other
people that absolutely hate it.
Now every version of themovie's available on home video.
So it's just a matter of whichflavor you feel like watching.

Katie (19:53):
I, I'm kind of embarrassed, but I have never seen Blade Runner.

Craig (19:58):
Oh,

Katie (19:58):
Yeah.

Craig (19:59):
I, it, well, it's worth

Katie (20:00):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (20:01):
And there's Ridley Scott's final cut quote unquote.

Katie (20:04):
Okay.

Craig (20:05):
if, if and when you're gonna watch it, just watch that version.

Katie (20:08):
Okay.

Craig (20:08):
It's a great movie.
It's definitely worth watching.
It's Rutger Hower, like one of the

Katie (20:14):
Yeah,

Craig (20:15):
performances.

Katie (20:16):
heard good things and I have heard that and it really, the cult
status portion of it is kind of whatI've heard sim similar with the thing.
I guess I have seen the thing, I coveredit on my Kurt Russell and Patrick Swayze
season, but okay, there's two more.
The, this one.
This one.
I adore this movie so much.
I gotta find a way toinsert it in a season.
. Which 1982 musical film based on aBroadway play about an optimistic

(20:40):
orphan during the Great Depression.

Craig (20:43):
oh, it's, it's Annie.

Katie (20:44):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (20:46):
seeing Annie in theaters and it's, it's funny, my my dad's parents,
my grandparents on my dad's side theylived in Queens when I was a kid, we
used to go to the movies with them andwe'd go to the movies in Manhattan.

Katie (21:01):
Ooh.
Cool.

Craig (21:02):
this was like the theaters that had 2000

Katie (21:06):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (21:07):
I mean, like thinking about movie theaters now, like
you're lucky if you have 75 seats.
Like these were like theaters fromlike the, what, the 1920s or whatever.
So we saw Annie in a 2000 seattheater, but we were right in the
front because it was probably sold out.
So I have vivid memories of watchingAnnie, like where you're looking up and
the screen is 40 feet tall or whatever.

(21:29):
Wild.
Wild.
Yeah.
Yeah.

Katie (21:31):
that would be so cool to watch a movie in a theater like that.
Not, I don't think I'd be, I wouldwanna be in the front row, but yeah.

Craig (21:38):
No, it's wild.
Yeah, I, I think if you everhave the chance to go to like
Hollywood, like the Chinese Theater,

Katie (21:44):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (21:45):
theater is a similar experience.
They're like, theatersjust hit different back

Katie (21:50):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I'm in.

Craig (21:52):
the, the seats are so much better now.

Katie (21:54):
Yeah.
I don't go very often for itto matter, but I'm envisioning
you, you talking about this.
What I'm en envisioning in myhead is the scene of them in Annie
going to a movie in New York.
Okay, the last one, numberfive, rental for 83.
It is a 1982 horror anthology filminspired by the works of Stephen

(22:17):
King and directed by George A.
Romero.

Craig (22:20):
Creep show.

Katie (22:21):
Never seen it.
I I never would've guessed that.
Yeah.

Craig (22:25):
Oh, creep show.
It's oh my goodness.
Yeah.
It's, it's, it's awesome.
There is a great segment in creepshow with Ted Danon and Leslie
Nielsen, it's funny because you'reso used to Leslie Nielsen being like.
The wacky Frank Drebin

Katie (22:43):
Yeah.

Craig (22:43):
Naked Gun or the Pilot, you know, the airplane.

Katie (22:46):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (22:47):
but yeah.
Oh, creep show is so great.
There's another one with Adrian Barbo.
Oh.

Katie (22:52):
Oh,

Craig (22:52):
it's

Katie (22:53):
okay.

Craig (22:53):
a fun, it's like, it's campy horror,

Katie (22:56):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (22:57):
of like the, the best horror.
my goodness.
Yeah.
Creep show.
That's, that's great.
I can totally understand why that'sone of the top rentals of the year.

Katie (23:05):
Yeah.
All right, you guys.
That was the time capsule we went.
Yeah.
Good.
Now before we get into Mr.
Mom, because my seasonis all about John Hughes.
I was curious if you had anything toshare you know, were you a kid when you
realized that he was the master behinda lot of these movies, or did it take
you a while, or what's your history?

Craig (23:27):
Well, absolutely.
I think probably saw a vacationfirst, I think most people that
lived at probably 16 candles or theBreakfast Club are sort of there,
John Hughes, center of the universe.
And then it's like you kindof spring off from there.
It's then like, oh, you make, youconnect the dots to weird science or you

(23:49):
connect the, the dots back to vacation.
Yeah, no, I mean, John Hughes, he wasdefinitely a name you were aware of
and you were kind of aware also of likewhat kind of movie you could expect?
Mm-hmm.

Katie (24:04):
Cool.
And why did you choose Mr.
Mom?

Craig (24:09):
Just because it, it's so funny.
When I went back to watch thislast night, I hadn't watched it in
probably 20 plus years, and amazinghow I remembered every single beat.
So I mean, it is just amovie we watched a lot.
It was probably on cable alot when I was, was a kid.

(24:30):
And I was just like, well, you know what?
I haven't seen Mr.
Mom in a long time.
But it's a, like I said, it's a movieI knew I basically knew by heart.
So I was like, oh, that, that'llbe a fun one to talk about.
And it's also funny too, becausethere's people like that, you know,
Michael Keaton is such an interestingactor because like for, for a

(24:50):
lot of people that know him from.
Batman.
It's, it like blows their mindwhen they go back and see all of
the pre Batman stuff that he did.
And, and it, it's interestingbecause for me, like Michael Keaton
was the perfect Bruce Wayne for me.

(25:10):
I thought he looked thepart and he acted the part.
And I think one thing that a lotof superhero movies after Batman
sort of fell into was like getting.
The exact actor you'd expect for the film.
And sometimes it would be like, alot of times you're not getting the
person with the acting chops for it.

(25:31):
You're getting somebody who'smore like maybe physical or, and
nowadays it's like Chris Evans canjust go to the gym for 12 weeks and
get in like Captain America shape.
But like back then, you weren'tlike, they would just build all his
muscles into the suit and that was it.

Katie (25:47):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (25:48):
yeah, no, it, so it was kind of the idea to be able to also talk about,
you know, Michael Keaton before beforeBatman, but also now isn't Michael
Keaton going by his, his, his birth name?

Katie (26:01):
Which is what?

Craig (26:03):
Michael Douglas?

Katie (26:04):
What?
No way.

Craig (26:07):
Yeah.

Katie (26:08):
I did not know that.
Why would any, why that, that there'sa very famous Michael Douglas.
Why would he do

Craig (26:14):
he changed his name, I guess when he started.
You know, acting as agent's like, well,obviously you can't your real name.
And I guess now he's at a point in hislife where he is like, you know what?
I want my, I want my name back.
I kind of feel like I read aboutit in the last couple months.
Like

Katie (26:30):
that?
I can't believe.
Well, this, you heard it here first.
You guys on retro made I did notknow that, but I, I was wowed by it.
I was like, wow.
He looks so young

Craig (26:40):
Well, this
First lead lead role.
I think

Katie (26:44):
you're right.

Craig (26:44):
what, like night?
Was it night shift?

Katie (26:47):
Knight something, but he wasn't the top build on that.
This was his first?

Craig (26:51):
yeah, that was like a dual,

Katie (26:53):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (26:53):
Him and Henry Winkler, I think.

Katie (26:55):
I haven't seen it.

Craig (26:56):
think they run I wanna say they run like a prostitution,

Katie (27:01):
Oh, really?

Craig (27:02):
It's Ron Howard.
Yeah.
I, I haven't seen thatmovie in a long time,

Katie (27:05):
Okay.

Craig (27:05):
I did read that this was like Michael Keaton's, like first like
lead, like him carrying a movie.

Katie (27:11):
Yeah, and it worked.
Speaking of which, let's get into Mr.
Mom.
It was released August 19th,1983, and then I thought
this was really interesting.
The last episode that we did was The GreatOutdoors, the Rating, the Runtime, and

(27:37):
the IMDB rating are all exactly the same.
This episode.

Craig (27:42):
amazing.

Katie (27:43):
Pg Exactly.
One hour and 31 minutes and a 6.6
IMDB.

Craig (27:49):
Yeah.
Well, I got, speaking of that one hour,31 minute, 91 minute running time.
is the ideal comedy running time.

Katie (27:59):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (28:00):
You'll never change my opinion on that.
as much as I love a lotof comedies from the.
You know, the Judd Apatowera, they're all bloated.
You know, when a, when a comedy getsto the two hour mark, you really
have to be delivering the laughs.
For me, the sweet spot forcomedy, 91 minutes all day.

(28:21):
Somebody must have felt thatbecause it's, it's amazing to me
that like Great Outdoors and Mr.
Mom are both 91 minute long, minutes long.

Katie (28:30):
It's funny, it seems both of them kind of seem longer than that
for some reason, but Yeah, a lot.
You're right.
The ones that.
Really that is kind of the, some ofthe secret sauce is an hour and a half.
Yeah.

Craig (28:43):
Yeah.
Well, what what's wild too is like howmuch story you can fit into that runtime,

Katie (28:50):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (28:50):
also as you get to the end of the movie especially with Mr.
Mom, I was waiting forparticular scene and I'm like,
wait, the movie's almost over.
And I'm like, there's six minutes left.
And like the, the moment I'mthinking of hasn't happened yet.
And then I'm like, yeah, well,'cause credits were like.
Were like 45 seconds.
Back then it was like

Katie (29:07):
Good point.

Craig (29:08):
and your credits would be like less than a minute, and

Katie (29:10):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.

Craig (29:12):
now, like you see if there's 16 minutes left, you're like, oh,
nine minutes of that is credits.

Katie (29:16):
a very good point.
So the director here Ithought was interesting.
Stan Otti,

Craig (29:23):
yeah.

Katie (29:24):
you familiar?

Craig (29:24):
No, not at all.
And it's funny, when, when thatcredit came up on the screen,
I was like, you know what?
Until just now, I've never thoughtabout who directed that movie.
It just wasn't some as a kid,you don't think about that
kind of stuff unless it's like,

Katie (29:37):
A big name that you Yeah,

Craig (29:39):
or Steven Spielberg or something.
But I was like, if you had helda gun to my head prior to sitting
down to watch this movie lastnight and asked me who directed Mr.
Mom, I, I wouldn't behere for the recording.

Katie (29:49):
I would've,

Craig (29:50):
He

Katie (29:50):
would've guessed.

Craig (29:52):
either.

Katie (29:52):
No, he doesn't.
He he also directed the 1989 movie.
She's Out of Control.
You know, which is similar enough.
But he began his career as a directorof TV commercials, so he is responsible
for the I Love New York campaign.

Craig (30:07):
Oh wow,

Katie (30:08):
Yeah.
That's who Stan is.

Craig (30:10):
That's amazing.
That, that is amazing.
And I also wonder if, and you'llprobably get into this though, like
this originally started out as likean Aaron spelling produced TV project.
So I wonder if that's kindof how he got looped in.
I don't know enough about thedevelopment, but I know that it
was originally developed as likea, a movie of the week maybe.

Katie (30:33):
Yes, a TV spinoff did come out a year later.

Craig (30:37):
Is amazing.

Katie (30:38):
yeah, all different people like Ev it's just nobody is the same from it.

Craig (30:43):
I didn't know until last night when I like started Googling
and stuff that there was, in2019 there was like another Mr.
Mom TV show with the it was, thepremise of it was the daughter from
the first movie was all grown up and,

Katie (31:00):
Oh, okay.

Craig (31:01):
to join the workforce.
And her hu it was on MG whatever MG M'S.
Streaming service was called back in 2019.
I had no memory of it

Katie (31:09):
Was anybody in it that we would know?
No,

Craig (31:12):
no, I I don't remember any names jumping out, but.

Katie (31:16):
but you're right.
So according to producer and financier,Bruce Mcna, Aaron Spelling intended this
to be a backdoor pilot for prospectivebroadcast TV series at some later point.
And apparently this was pretty commonfor networks to create a series based
on a movie, thereby maximizing theirrevenue streams from the same ip.

(31:38):
Right.
So, and there was a TV spinoff, but it,I don't, it was not successful at all.
The, the movie was that we will

Craig (31:45):
was the other thing, Katie, is the it costs what, like 5 million to make and
it grossed like over $64 million, which I,

Katie (31:52):
almost 60, yeah, almost $65 million.

Craig (31:54):
So I don't even know what the adjustment for inflation in inflation
is, but that's probably you know,half a billion dollars or something
in, 2025 numbers were dollars.
That's amazing.
So this was like, thiswas a smash, smash hit.

Katie (32:09):
And

Craig (32:10):
that they would've made a, a tried to

Katie (32:12):
that's true.
That is true.
You were curious about the director,if that came from this like TV world.

Craig (32:19):
Yeah,

Katie (32:19):
It, it wasn't, I guess so.
Stan ended up directing the filmafter John Hughes turned it down.
So they originally wanted JohnHughes to direct it 'cause he
wrote it, which we'll talk about.
But since this was a Hollywood movie,you know, it was set in Detroit
and I did note that immediately.
I was like, oh, it's not in Chicago.
Hmm.
Therefore it was filmed inHollywood and John Hughes.

(32:43):
Does movies only in Chicago.
He likes to film in Chicagoand not in Hollywood.
And then guess who wasoriginally after that happened?
Before they landed on Stan?
Guess who they asked after JohnHughes turned it down to direct

Craig (33:02):
Hmm.
I wanna say maybe like a, likea John Landis or somebody.

Katie (33:07):
Ted iff.

Craig (33:09):
Oh my goodness.
We, we were just

Katie (33:10):
We were just talking

Craig (33:11):
First Blood, so he was known as the comedy guy before he made like one of
the greatest action dramas of all time.

Katie (33:18):
and he, and then later, 'cause that was in, what, 82 and
then weekend at Bernie's was, what isthat late eighties or, I don't know.

Craig (33:25):
maybe 86, 87, something

Katie (33:27):
interesting.
So anyway, yeah,

Craig (33:29):
how everything sort of ties together.

Katie (33:32):
I was also curious after watching this, there was so much.
Seeming licensing requirements in thismovie, but it was made for $5 million.

Craig (33:43):
Yeah.

Katie (33:44):
had the Rocky Gonna Fly theme.
They had the Jaws theme.
There was another big one.
What am I missing?
There was another big movietheme, like music wise in this?
Yeah.

Craig (33:56):
Yeah, it's, it's, that is a very interesting point, but I also
think that licensing hadn't gotten

Katie (34:03):
Mm

Craig (34:04):
as big back then.
And, and I don't recall, but therewas a period, a very dark period, in
the early days of DVD where moviesand TV shows would be put out and
they'd replace all that stuff becausethe licensing wasn't captured for
a format that didn't exist yet.

Katie (34:25):
mm.

Craig (34:26):
I remember as a big Miami Vice fan, Vice took a long time to
come out on DVD I was always worried.
I'm like, oh my God, when itcomes out on DVD, they're gonna
have all the music taken off.
then I think there was like, likeUniversal ended up owning like everything

(34:47):
at, you know, around that time.
So when, when Miami Vice came out,I remember they were like all music
included, and I was like, oh my God.
But then you also have showsin Cincinnati, which has a
lot of stock generic music.
So I wonder if there wasa period where like Mr.
Mom, if you got an early DVD of it,like the Rocky music isn't there?

Katie (35:07):
Oh, that's a good point.
I wonder,

Craig (35:09):
Yeah.

Katie (35:09):
I, I.
The other thing I was trying tothink of, young and the Restless is

Craig (35:15):
Yeah.

Katie (35:16):
huge component of this.
So so young and The Restless, theRocky Music and the Jaws music.
Alright, you guys.
So yeah, I said that John Hughes,obviously, he, he's the writer here.
This is the second featurefilm written by him.
You know what the first one was?

Craig (35:32):
it wasn't vacation.

Katie (35:33):
I think it was vacation.
Yeah.
The same year.
I wanna say they both were 83.
Three.

Craig (35:38):
yeah, like maybe 82 or 83 for

Katie (35:41):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
So, I would highlyrecommend you guys give Mr.
Mom a rewatch and then come backand listen to us because it is
available for free in a ton of places.

Craig (35:49):
When I looked at my options to watch this, I knew it was on YouTube
and I was like, oh, I can watch a

Katie (35:54):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (35:54):
But yeah, I think it was on Roku.
It was on Tubi.
All.
Yeah.
So

Katie (35:58):
A bunch of those,

Craig (36:00):
to, a hard movie to find.

Katie (36:01):
but yeah, you're right.
I did have to put up with the commercials.
You guys just, I mean, it's a 1983 movie,so if you don't recall, if it's been a
minute, we have Jack Butler, who's MichaelKeaton is laid off, and his wife Caroline,
played by Terry Garr lands a job forcinghim to take on the chaotic world of stay
at home parenting from grocery storemishaps to taming a rebellious vacuum.

(36:25):
Jack's journey from clueless to competent.
Dad is filled with laughs and heart,

Craig (36:30):
Yeah.

Katie (36:31):
Mount.

Craig (36:31):
you know what's funny about that?
I, I didn't realize it until watchingit again, that he's furloughed.

Katie (36:39):
I was gonna ask you about that.

Craig (36:41):
because like furlough, like I, I like Furloughing
wasn't really something I about.
I know every time the governmentshuts down, they furlough employees.
But I experienced the furloughsituation during Covid.
I was furloughed for 15 months.
So like that hit me, like as soon as they,they talked about him being furloughed,
I was like, I understand this completely.

(37:03):
Whereas when I was a kid, I justassumed he had lost his job, but
it was like, oh, he is furloughed.
You know?
So there's the potential to come back.

Katie (37:10):
They do kind of interchangeably use, laid off, fired furlough.
They kind of, you know, dependingon the situation, on the scene.
But I was curious because, you know,when they're in Jeffrey Tambor's
office and they find out that theyessentially are losing their job
and he points out, no, technically

Craig (37:29):
Yeah.

Katie (37:29):
you're being furloughed,

Craig (37:30):
Yeah.

Katie (37:30):
but he said, you you'll still, you get a severance.
And I didn't.
I didn't, what's the story?
Did you, did you get a severance?

Craig (37:38):
Yeah.
That doesn't track

Katie (37:40):
Yeah.

Craig (37:41):
you wouldn't be getting a,

Katie (37:42):
Right.
You, so that's what I was, Iwas like, oh, I thought that
was if you got laid off, but,

Craig (37:48):
That for me, that scene in the office is one of the
funnier scenes in the movie.
And it probably wasn't asfunny when I was a kid,

Katie (37:55):
mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.

Craig (37:57):
but you got Christopher Lloyd in a little baby part.
I guess he was trying to makethe breakthrough between on

Katie (38:03):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (38:03):
like movies.
But his reaction, like Jackwalks in the office and he's
like strangling Jeffrey Tambor.
And then he threatens to like,jump out of the the window.
Like for me, that was, that was funny.
And then you see Jack's reaction wherehe is like, he calms him down and then he
finds out he's, he's laid off as well andhe almost has the same exact reaction.

Katie (38:23):
Well, they drove.

Craig (38:24):
Yeah.

Katie (38:25):
Oh, they drove, they carpooled two work together, like from the sub and
they're like, why didn't you tell us this?

Craig (38:30):
kicked

Katie (38:31):
Oh, mm-hmm.

Craig (38:32):
And Jeffrey Tambor just plays such a slimy shit in this movie.
I absolutely loved it.
And that was my frame of referencefor Ge, for Jeffrey Tambor.
Like forever.
Like when Arrested Development came out,I'm like, oh, it's Jeffrey Tambor from Mr.
Mom.
Or like, when Larry Sanderscame out, it's oh, it's, it's
Jeffrey Tambo from, from Mr.

(38:54):
Mom.
So, yeah.
It's just amazing to see like ChristopherLloyd though you know, three, you
know, what, two years before he was

Katie (39:01):
back to, yeah.

Craig (39:02):
mega movie star with as Doc Brown.
It's it's a little baby role.
Like he's what in the beginningscene of, does he, he doesn't
even come back for the end.
His character's mentioned, but he actually

Katie (39:12):
It's true.
Yeah.
It's just at the beginning.
He and the other guy, so he'sone of the, so they're all they
work at this car company Yeah.
Engineers.
And they carpooled to work together.
And I, I knew he was in this, I hadforgotten that Jeffrey Tambo was in it.
So I was like, oh, sweet.
I love, he's great.
And then I was like, Christopher Lloyd.

(39:32):
They look, well, Jeffrey Tambo alwayslooks like Jeffrey Tambo, but Christopher
Lloyd looked, it's like he stillhas dark hair and he has some hair.
Yeah.

Craig (39:40):
Yeah.

Katie (39:41):
Yeah, so those guys are in it, obviously.
Michael Keaton is our lead role here.
It's his first starring role.
He plays Jack Butler and his wife isCarolyn Butler, played by Terry Garr.

Craig (39:51):
Yeah.

Katie (39:52):
What do you, what do you, do you have

Craig (39:54):
I

Katie (39:54):
opinions.

Craig (39:55):
I love Terry Garr and, you know, I can't pinpoint like an exact
Terry Garr movie but yeah, no, TerryGarr is just, just a, such a great
screen presence, and I actuallyjust discovered in the past year.
An awesome movie that she did that Iguess is kind of a cult classic now.

(40:15):
But Francis Ford Coppola made a movieafter the Godfather, after Apocalypse
Now I think after The Outsiders,maybe not after The Outsiders, but
it's called One From The Heart, is anexperimental musical set in Las Vegas.

Katie (40:31):
Hmm.

Craig (40:31):
a phenomenal movie.
Terry Garr is so good in it.
Yeah, if you ever have your have the,the option to watch one from the Heart

Katie (40:40):
Well, Francis Ford Coppola.
Terry Garr, I'm in.
Yeah.
Yeah.

Craig (40:44):
well, and the thing about it is Francis Ford Coppola was like such
an amazing experimental filmmaker.
So the, the, I think the big thingabout One from the Heart is like it
was filmed completely on a sound stage.

Katie (40:59):
Hmm.

Craig (41:00):
bought the studio that he re renamed Zoe Tripe or whatever.
So like you've got, they recreated FremontStreet in Las Vegas on a sound stage,

Katie (41:08):
Oh my God.

Craig (41:10):
amazing movie.
The technical, like the technicalstuff that goes on in that movie
alone makes it worth watching.
But yeah, I just I, I had no idea thismovie existed until eight months ago
or whatever, and I was like, oh myGod, this, and, and it was Terry Garr.
So it I, it, it brought her backinto my sort of awareness, right.
You know, right before she died, you know?

(41:31):
So, yeah.
I love Terry Garris.
She's just such a she's just sucha genuine presence on screen.

Katie (41:37):
She was really good.
I mean, it's funny she didn't,'cause like you said, oh,
nothing really is coming to mind,

Craig (41:43):
Yeah.

Katie (41:43):
you know her, she did, she didn't win, but she was nominated
for an Oscar for her role in Tootsie,

Craig (41:50):
Hmm.

Katie (41:51):
With, who's that?
Dustin Hoffman.

Craig (41:53):
Hoffman and Jessica Lang.
Yeah,

Katie (41:55):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (41:55):
yeah, yeah.

Katie (41:56):
And then she's also very much known for her role in the
1974 movie young Frankenstein.

Craig (42:02):
Oh yeah.
Uhhuh.

Katie (42:03):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (42:04):
Yeah.

Katie (42:04):
And I know her when, like when she was a little older, she
played Phoebe's birth mom on friends.
Yeah.
So that's Terry Garr.
She's fun.
I like her.

Craig (42:14):
yeah,

Katie (42:16):
And then Martin Mole, who I also adore plays I don't know, this seems kind
of out of, I mean he's skeezy, which isin character for him, but he plays Ron
Richardson, who's the head of the adagency, where Carolyn ends up working.

Craig (42:30):
yeah.
and that's another whole great sequencein the movie where they, I guess they
have an annual, like barbecue party

Katie (42:40):
The corporate Olympics is what it was called at his house.

Craig (42:44):
and everybody, oh, like everybody on the team, knowingly
throws the event so he can win.
And of course Jack's not on on board withthat until the very last minute when he,
he sort of throws, throws the Olympicsand, you know, like he winks to his wife.
I, I saw that.
That was really, and as a kid thatwhole sequence was, was great to watch

(43:06):
the other guys try and sabotage him.
They like, they, they trip him up.
'cause they know that like hewins it'll be bad for everyone.

Katie (43:14):
You have to let the boss win.

Craig (43:15):
Yeah, yeah,

Katie (43:16):
Yeah.
No, that was really interestingbecause this movie did a
good job um, portraying Jack.
He was easily swayed by, or manipulatedby somebody testing his masculinity,
so to speak, in, in a lot of ways.
So he's, they, they go to this thing,they're not gonna stay long, and he
says he's not gonna play or he's notgonna participate in this Olympics race.

(43:41):
But then Martin Mo's character's youknow, he, he easily manipulates him
by saying something like, oh, wellgo, go, you know, go, go hang out
with the other wives or something.
And then he is like, allright, gimme my sweats.
I'm, I'm in.
But then he does end up doing the thing.
The supportive thing for hiswife by falling down and throwing
it and kind of winking at her.

(44:01):
And, and then later, you know,he goes to the strip club with
with some of the ladies, and he'svery, you know, he, he just kind
of goes, he's a really good sport.
It's a male strip club, mind you.
And he's the only man there, andhe, I just thought he did such a
good job, good job of being, it wasvery progressive for 1983, how he
was acting at a male strip club.

(44:23):
So then that gives him another pointin the, you know, sincere, genuine not
your typical eighties, like masculine,but then Earl, you know, but then
he's oh, I'll be at the gym or the gunclub, you know, so it's, he goes back
and forth like a real person would.

Craig (44:38):
yeah.
You know what?
That's really interestingbecause I didn't think about it
until you just pointed it out.
But yeah, there's nothing,they're not punching down in that

Katie (44:48):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (44:49):
scene.
Like they didn't go for anykind of obvious, obvious
jokes or anything like that.
Like he gives this, he gives the guythe dollar bill and asks where he puts
it and then says, oh no, don't tell me.
But I mean, yeah, there wasn'tany kind of like panic around
the jokes or anything like

Katie (45:05):
No.

Craig (45:06):
Yeah.
that's really interesting.
The other thing I wanted to saythat was kind of amazing is this
is like sort of the start of the,the, the robot robotic vacuum.
The Roomba did

Katie (45:19):
Oh, oh, that it was like a rogue vacuum cleaner.
Good point.
Yeah.
It was like it had a mind of its own.

Craig (45:27):
Yeah.
But then at the end he's got iton some kind of control, right?

Katie (45:30):
Oh, I must have missed that.
Did he?

Craig (45:32):
when he tells it to go to the room to clean up.
And that's where the jaws bit

Katie (45:36):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (45:37):
the it's funny what the, the one little boy is making chili.

Katie (45:42):
Oh, every.

Craig (45:43):
in itself.
This is, I guess, the scenewhere like everything goes to,

Katie (45:47):
Mass chaos.
Yeah.

Craig (45:48):
But it's funny he asked where the vacuum is and
he's like, oh, you mean Jaws?
And then you know, like thevacuum gets its own like sort of
establishing shot with the, theJohn Williams score and everything.
And then what, there's likewhat the, the TV repair person's
there, the bug guy's there.
And then I think there's likethe washing machine goes haywire.

Katie (46:09):
There were three service people there at the same time.
The vacuum like eats.
The, the younger sonswhoopee, his blankie,

Craig (46:18):
yeah,

Katie (46:20):
it all kind of comes crashing down with the, the baby coming in.
And she's eating chili?

Craig (46:24):
The, the TV repair lady's like you gave a baby chili.

Katie (46:29):
Yeah.
Oh, oh.
And the washing machine.

Craig (46:32):
just loads up the washing machine.
He is like, oh, let'sskip all these steps.
And he just puts everything in there.
yeah, it's, it's funny, like there'stwo chaotic scenes in the movie.
There's that sequence, and then alsowhen he goes food shopping, which is
just like a disaster which is funnythere's the whole sequence where
like he bumps into the lady and she'slike, I've got the right of way.
he's at the deli counter trying toorder ham, and she's like, she rattles

(46:54):
off like six different kinds of ham.
It was just funny.
And, and was interesting to see thatyou know, there's still people that
would probably happen to, even today,

Katie (47:06):
You know, there are people of a certain age, I've noticed this when an
older man, when his wife passes away,

Craig (47:16):
doesn't

Katie (47:16):
I,

Craig (47:16):
how to do anything.

Katie (47:17):
he marries immediately.
He finds someone and marries herbecause he need, he literally does
not know how to take care of himself.

Craig (47:28):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Another thing I wanted to hit on, andI don't know if you have this in your
notes, but, I was surprised at theamount of, well, Rocky overall the fact
that they talk about as much as theydo, but there's the sequence there's
the sequence where he's talking tohis guys on the line before he's fur

Katie (47:50):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (47:50):
And he says, me and my wife went to go see a Rocky movie, and he's
obviously just talking 'cause he wantsto, you know, sort of talk about this.

Katie (47:58):
Inspirational, bit of it.

Craig (48:00):
Rocky was it?

Katie (48:02):
One, two, or three.
'cause yeah.

Craig (48:04):
who did he fight?
Did he have a mohawk?

Katie (48:07):
Was his manager dead or alive?

Craig (48:08):
yeah.

Katie (48:09):
He didn't see Rocky.

Craig (48:11):
And then of course they pay it off later when he sort of gets back into shape
and they do the whole training sequence.
But I thought that was interesting becausethey were referencing a pop culture
moment in a movie, which isn't somethingwas happening a lot at that time.

Katie (48:28):
That's a really good point.
And there was a lot of rocky,like you said, there was a
poster, like they used the music.
There was so much talk about it.
And I wonder, you know, Rocky III hadjust come out the year prior if that was
probably, I mean, I don't, I wasn't alivefor it, but, a trilogy maybe was rare at

(48:49):
that time and it was like becoming thiscultural phenomenon that they started
talking about it in movies, I dunno.

Craig (48:55):
yeah.
No, absolutely.
I, I just, I just, I thought it wasinteresting because now it's so common

Katie (49:00):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (49:02):
Pop culture to be referenced within movies, but like for me, that jumped out.
I was like, wow, that seemslike very, very untraditional
for, for that time period.

Katie (49:13):
Indeed.
Indeed.
Alright.
Then we also have the neighbor, Joan.
She is like the vixen, divorcee,very attractive neighbor that, of
course is trying to seduce Jack.
She, her name in the movie is Joan.
Uh, Julian.
I don't know who, Ididn't know who that was.

Craig (49:31):
yeah.
Angelian was kind of, knew, I knewan Jillian, she was on a show called,
it's a Living, which was like aboutcocktail waitresses in a, in a hotel.

Katie (49:43):
Okay.

Craig (49:44):
And I don't really know if she ever really, I, I think she might've
just become more of a, a TV person andI think she was married to somebody,
I wanna say Gerald Raey, maybe I.
Like the guy from Major dad, I could be

Katie (50:04):
Okay.

Craig (50:05):
here, but like she married somebody fa like somebody equally as famous.
And then I also think I probablyremember her too, like I believe
she battled breast cancer.
And I think that kind of gave herlike more awareness in people's minds.
But she was great.
In this movie,

Katie (50:23):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (50:24):
sequence where like the one, the one neighbor says to her, she's like, he's
married and she's like, we both were as

Katie (50:30):
So were we?

Craig (50:31):
Yep.

Katie (50:33):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, she, she was good too.
And then we already talked aboutJeffrey Tambo and Christopher Lloyd.
Now the kids again, I, I don't know.
I, I.
I thought the kids did a really good job,

Craig (50:44):
Yeah.

Katie (50:45):
the oldest son who, who we will recognize.
He's Alex is the, is the older sonand he's played by Frederick Kohler,

Craig (50:53):
And he was on Kate and Alley, right?

Katie (50:55):
chip.
He played Chip on Kate and Ally.
And Did you watch the HBO Show?
Oz?

Craig (51:03):
Yeah.

Katie (51:04):
He was Andrew Sillinger or Sillinger, but it's been
so long since I've seen that.
Who, which character isthat, do you remember?

Craig (51:13):
don't.

Katie (51:14):
But that's a main, like a pretty main character.
So yeah.
That's who Frederick Kohler isEson Yaffe, or Joffe plays Kenny.
That's quite a name.

Craig (51:24):
Yeah.

Katie (51:25):
then

Craig (51:25):
his parents, his dad was Roland

Katie (51:29):
Ro

Craig (51:29):
wanna

Katie (51:30):
Oh, I was gonna, I wondered Okay.
That, that tracks.

Craig (51:33):
a, a Hollywood family.
I think Joffe, I want, I wantto say, did he produce the, like
the early Woody Allen films?
Maybe, but

Katie (51:42):
Well, we talked to about him on season one because he directed a Patrick
Swayze movie where he goes to India

Craig (51:49):
Oh, okay.

Katie (51:50):
city of Joy.

Craig (51:51):
Okay.
Yeah, so that kid, he'sa i an early Nepo baby, I

Katie (51:56):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (51:58):
But he was good as well.
The great scene I've always rememberedis when Michael Keaton is trying
to get, convince him to finally cutthe cord with his security blanket.
And they do like a trialseparation, I guess,

Katie (52:10):
Yeah.

Craig (52:11):
not gonna get rid of the blanket, but he is just gonna hold onto it.
the kid, like he says very calmly, he'scan I have a moment to myself please?
And that that scene likealways cracked me up as a kid.
It still cracked me up as an adult.
Like it just seemed like such a, youknow, he was like maintaining his, he,
his, his emotions, like he was, wasstaying calm, but you could see like

(52:35):
under the surface, he, he needed a minute

Katie (52:37):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (52:37):
to deal.

Katie (52:39):
Yeah, the Whoopi was a big part of this big part of this movie.
The little, the little baby daughterMegan is played by twins as seen.
Yeah.
Courtney and Brittany White.
Were you familiar with themusic guy, Lee Holdridge?

Craig (52:53):
Not by name.
No.

Katie (52:55):
I wasn't either but when I looked, you will be, he's a Haitian born American
composer, conductor, and orchestra, 18time Emmy Award nominee, yada, yada, yada.
So he's, he's got some skills, but healso composed music for Beast Master,

Craig (53:12):
Oh

Katie (53:13):
was like on tv, like on Loop in the eighties,

Craig (53:18):
yeah,

Katie (53:19):
As well as Splash, which is one of my favorite movies.
I loved Flash so much.

Craig (53:24):
Yeah.
Did I read that Ron Howard was offeredthis movie but he did Splash instead?
Might be a fact

Katie (53:32):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (53:32):
they didn't, but they did Splash instead.
So the guy that did music for Splash.
Okay.

Katie (53:36):
Mm-hmm.
I, you know, not being familiar withLee Holdridge, I recognized several
points in this movie where the musicreally was helpful and effective.
Also, the use of all of the youknow, each moment has, its like
there was like the Olympics.
What's that song that is used for

Craig (53:56):
Like it was

Katie (53:57):
Slowmo?
Like the race, the various,

Craig (54:01):
felt like chariot's a fire

Katie (54:02):
yes.
Yes.

Craig (54:04):
Chariot's A

Katie (54:04):
It was, I think, yeah.
And then just to evoke certain emotion.
This movie made me feel it wasa combination of all of that.
The music, the, the way that the houselooked, all of the eighties memorabilia
that I noticed, like the color of theappliances, they had a trash compactor.

(54:28):
The wood grain station wagon, thosetiny TVs in a, in a kitchen or the port.
It was like a portable little TV thathe had too, that he was moving around.

Craig (54:38):
Yeah.

Katie (54:38):
Soap opera culture, like just the very familiar formulaic nature of it.

Craig (54:44):
Yeah.

Katie (54:44):
it wasn't boring.
There was also this standard babysitterthat comes and is so clearly unfit
because of she's like this punk rock girl.

Craig (54:54):
She's just there to get some money.
I.

Katie (54:56):
just the, there's so much of it and I, I think it took me a minute to
think about why, but I think it was thatcombination of those things from the
eighties that are familiar and the music.
I felt so at home and I got this comfy,homey, cozy feeling rewatching this.

Craig (55:13):
Yeah.
And well, and the other funny thing aboutit too is there's no, I mean, even though
they they sort of set up the marital rift

Katie (55:21):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (55:22):
know, you have Joan and then you have the Martin Mull character, you
know, that are both trying to infringeon them, but it never got too too heavy.

Katie (55:31):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (55:31):
Like you never, you never truly like worried, you know what I

Katie (55:35):
Right.

Craig (55:36):
it's just like the overall vibe of the movie is just, it,
it's, it's not gonna go that route.
You know, like it's notgonna get that dark.
So yeah, no, I definitely understand, what you're saying in terms of like the.
It, it almost wraps youin your own little webby.

Katie (55:51):
It.
Good call.
Good call.
Well, to your point a apparently there,there was a scene in the original
script or a script at some pointwhere Joan, when she's kissing in the,

Craig (56:06):
Oh,

Katie (56:07):
that's a whole nother in the sequence.
The Yes, the,

Craig (56:10):
Or imaginary scene.

Katie (56:12):
that is like a So opera.
Yeah.
She has a negligent on, but I guessoriginally it had called for her to
be topless and she was like mm-hmm.
Not for this kind of a movie.
Yeah.

Craig (56:23):
No, definitely she definitely knew the script better than some of the

Katie (56:28):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.

Craig (56:29):
been so of place and random

Katie (56:32):
Even though it was a, like an imagination sequence.
But yeah, that was I had forgottenthat that kind of a thing was done.
I, I kind of forgot aboutthat whole sequence.

Craig (56:45):
Yeah.
No, yeah.
It, it, it's really cool becausethere's the point where you realize,
oh, this is like in his head.

Katie (56:53):
Because it's the young and restless music that he's watching.
It's very cleverly done.

Craig (56:58):
It's funny when you're clued in yeah, no, that, that,
that was, that was a fun sequence.
I think we talked aboutevery scene in the movie.

Katie (57:07):
I know, I know.
This was just my, my own questionbecause I feel like in TV shows
and in movies, there's always areference to why is there a limo here?
Who died

Craig (57:18):
Oh, yeah.

Katie (57:20):
And I never really got it.
I grew up in the Midwest.
We didn't get a limo for a funeral.
Was that a, is that a thing elsewhere?

Craig (57:28):
No, not that I could recall.
Yeah.

Katie (57:30):
Hmm.
You guys let us know.
What's the story with limos and funerals?
Why is that a trope in movies?
I don't know.
I do work in marketing and I alwaysgrew up thinking ad agency culture was
cool, and it's because literally everymovie in the eighties is that around an
ad agency or an ad exec or something.

Craig (57:49):
Yeah.
You know what?
I wanted to talk to you about thisbecause I guess like the big breakthrough
for her is like, I guess the, the tunacompany schooner, tuna's, like sales
are down or whatever, and she comesup with this promotion to reduce the
price of a can of tuna by 50 cents.
Until I guess trouble times are passed,but like 50 cents per can seems like

(58:12):
a lot because I think like when Igo to buy tuna now, like sometimes
I can get 10 cans for, for $10.
So

Katie (58:19):
wondered that too, especially in the eighties.

Craig (58:22):
yeah.
I'm like, how much wasa can of tuna in 1983?

Katie (58:25):
She did say it was one of the more expensive, it must have been like
one of the higher end cans of tuna.
I do not know how much a can of tunacosts, but FI thought the same thing.
Like a single, if you weren't buying inbulk in 1983, 50 cents was a big discount.

Craig (58:40):
what I mean.
Like I think if, like I went to thestore today to buy tuna, it would be
like a dollar 59 a can or something.
So 40 years ago you'd think thatit wouldn't be a dollar 59 a can.

Katie (58:51):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (58:52):
just seemed like wild to me.
But it's also funny too,because it could also clue us
into like how out of touch is.
You know?
You

Katie (59:03):
Yeah.

Craig (59:04):
You

Katie (59:04):
Yeah.

Craig (59:05):
it's like nobody even researched what a can of tuna was.
They're like, oh, you know, 50cents off a can would be a big deal.
Whereas like in 2025, thatdefinitely rang a bell with me.
I was like, wait a minute,

Katie (59:16):
unless it was that fancy tuna.
I have no idea.
Yeah.

Craig (59:19):
No, I'm, you know, Jewish guy from the northeast, so like a tuna melt with
like coleslaw, onion rings and a pickle.
That's that's my go-to.
That's probably my death row meal.

Katie (59:29):
Oh, not in a million years.
I also liked the trope of how swipesbeing, like letting themselves
go and him also, like he growsa beard and he gains some weight
and he never changes his flannel.

Craig (59:43):
Yeah.
Uhhuh.

Katie (59:44):
it was cute.

Craig (59:45):
also that funny scene where he like sort of drags them into his world
a little bit, where like he gets like,instead of bridge, they play poker and
they're using coupons instead of money,

Katie (59:55):
Yes.
That was so funny.
Yeah.
Also,

Craig (59:58):
and raise you two tender vittles, you know, or whatever.

Katie (01:00:02):
couponing.
Do people use coupons now?
Is that a thing that people do?

Craig (01:00:07):
Well, I know I for me, I have an app for like Smiths

Katie (01:00:10):
Okay.

Craig (01:00:11):
you know, you can clip digital deals or whatever.

Katie (01:00:14):
Did.
Yeah.
Same with Sprouts.
Yeah.
Okay.

Craig (01:00:17):
But yeah, the whole idea of clipping coupons
and stuff probably isn't as.
Prevalent today.
Like people that didn't livethrough it would probably be
like, what are they doing?

Katie (01:00:27):
I worked at a grocery store that on certain days was triple coupons and, but
we didn't, this was in the nineties and itwas kind of an old school grocery store.
I had to type it in

Craig (01:00:39):
yeah,

Katie (01:00:39):
people like, we couldn't just scan the code.
So I had, people would comewith this stack and it would
take, I'm like 10 king, but

Craig (01:00:46):
yeah,

Katie (01:00:47):
would save like $200 off their bill, like if they had a huge cart.
Also

Craig (01:00:53):
have sprouts out there, huh?

Katie (01:00:55):
Uhhuh.
Yeah, that's my primary.

Craig (01:00:56):
Las Vegas, and it Sprouts was a new thing for me when I moved here.

Katie (01:01:00):
Oh yeah.
Same.
'cause I, it, yeah.
We don't, Nebraska does not have them.
I did wanna also share, I had forgottenabout this until I saw the laundry scene.
It's like a, it was,was it brown or green?
But it was one of thoselate seventies colors.

Craig (01:01:16):
like that avocado green.
I think it was brown though.

Katie (01:01:18):
Yeah, well, so he shoves as much as he possibly can in the machine, and he
thinks he's being smart by mixing a bunchof various types of both the softener
and the detergent and something else.
I don't even know what it was.

Craig (01:01:33):
Mm-hmm.

Katie (01:01:34):
And then of course, the machine, you know, is jumping around.
It's, it's off balance and itpulls the the water hoses off.
And so then it's, that'spart of the chaos scene.

Craig (01:01:44):
Yeah.

Katie (01:01:44):
It reminded me of when I was little and I think at this
time we had the harvest goldappliances in our kitchen still.
So was probably in the eightiesand I thought I was being helpful
by starting the dishwasher,

Craig (01:01:58):
Oh.

Katie (01:01:59):
but I put hand wash.
I didn't realize there was adifference between dishwasher detergent
and like dawn, like handwashing

Craig (01:02:08):
Hows did it get?

Katie (01:02:09):
There was like a foot in the kitchen, like a foot of uds, and,

Craig (01:02:14):
goodness.

Katie (01:02:15):
but I thought I was, I was trying to be helpful and screwed it up.
So, yeah.

Craig (01:02:19):
funny.

Katie (01:02:21):
Well, Craig, I feel like, I don't know, I really,
really enjoyed re-watching Mr.
Mom.

Craig (01:02:27):
Same.

Katie (01:02:28):
like I said, it, it just brought me this very comforting feeling.
But it is time now to returnto present day reality until
the next retro made episode.
Do you have any closingthoughts, Craig, on Mr.
Mom, before we head out?

Craig (01:02:41):
just like, it's just a nice sort of feel good 91 minute escape.
and it, you know, it's a little sort oftime capsule back to the, the pre-internet
days, which was something I thought about.
I was like, wow, he's existing inthis house with these kids with

(01:03:02):
tv because he can't just open upNetflix and watch whatever he wants.
So he's got to, he has no choice butto watch the young and the restless.
it was cool.
It was cool taking a trip back and sortof remembering life before technology, you
know, changed, you know, our day to day.

Katie (01:03:19):
Indeed.
Yeah, the, at first.
So we see him make a turn.
At first he's like, who would watch this?
And then by the end of it, he'slike, calling the neighbor and
they're like, whose baby is it?
No, it couldn't be his.

Craig (01:03:31):
And then he's like, but he had a vi a vasectomy, and
then he's like, it didn't take,

Katie (01:03:35):
And it was Victor.
I mean, it was the actual young and thewrestlers episodes that they were playing.
I'm like, I know these characters.

Craig (01:03:42):
So funny.

Katie (01:03:43):
Yeah.
Well, tell us where wecan where we can find you.
And what's your, what's the next episode?

Craig (01:03:48):
Okay.
goodness.
So you can find me if you just go toyour podcast, catcher of Choice or
just in Google, just if you type theGoat de Palma, the show will come up.
You can find that.
I'm very, very, very behind on theshow, so I'm literally recording
episodes very close to release.

Katie (01:04:09):
Mm-hmm.

Craig (01:04:10):
for the next episode, which I'm not sure when this is gonna drop.

Katie (01:04:13):
Pretty.
I'm same.
I'm very behind, so everything, yeah.

Craig (01:04:15):
so I, I normally re release episodes every other Tuesday.
So the next episode will either be, earlypre theatrical de Palmer, where I'll
look at the short films he made, I'll belooking at his first film, murder Al Ma.
But either way that's coming down theline and it will be a solo episode.

(01:04:41):
I also have some great stufflined up, but also I'm really
proud of some episodes I've done.
Recently I did an episode with filmmakerPete Gelder Blum who to get too.
In the weeds here.
watched the De Palmer movie, raisingKane with John Lithgow discovered

(01:05:03):
that it was edited differentlythan the script and went and made a
director's cut, or made a, an editbased on de Palmer's original script.
And when they were releasing it on homevideo, de Palmer had found Pete's edit.
And he was like, yeah, this, the onlyway I'm gonna sign off on this is if
you include Pete's edit of my movie.

(01:05:23):
And it has since been called like thealternate, you know, quote unquote
director's cut, which is just amazing.
So being able to sit down with Pete gothrough the whole process of how it came
to be is pretty, pretty interesting.
But

Katie (01:05:36):
That was an interesting episode.
I very much enjoyed it.

Craig (01:05:39):
you.
And then also a movie I never thoughtI'd talk about was Bonfire The Vanities,
which I sat down with Ryan about.
And in the next couple of months, I'm alsogonna revisit a movie I never thought I
would talk about on the show, which is.
is the Black Dahlia, whichis a movie I do not like.

(01:05:59):
So I'm interested in sitting down andwatching that again, because a potential
guest was like, yeah, I wanna talkabout the Black Dahlia and here's why.
And I was like, oh my God, I thinkI have to revisit this movie.
So,

Katie (01:06:10):
Is that a de Palmer?
Is that de is it okay?

Craig (01:06:14):
So, some interesting thig things down the pike.
But yeah, if you're at allinterested in, in film definitely
give it a, give it a look.
The Goat de Palmer.
If you google that, you'll find it, like Isaid in your podcast, catcher of Choice.
But thank you so much for allowingme to plug my show and bringing
me on and, and talking this movie.
I always enjoy guesting on people's shows.

Katie (01:06:34):
Anytime.
And if you are watching or listeningand you are enjoying this episode,
you know what I'm gonna ask?
You can email me.
I do wanna hear from you, so emailme Retro Made [e-mail].
You can comment on YouTube or Facebook,or if you wanna be the ultimate fan,
I would very much appreciate a review.
It does help more retrofans find the show.

(01:06:54):
But until next time, be kind, rewind.