Happy 2025 from the Dads. We really wanted to mark the passing of Rob Reiner, who we've featured in our episodes on WHEN HARRY MET SALLY and THE PRINCESS BRIDE; today we discuss his 1992 blockbuster as well as his impact on our lives and culture in general. RIP to a giant of American cinema and the guy who made one of your dad's favorite movies. We hope you enjoy our podcast about A FEW GOOD MEN. 51:00 What Makes This A Dad Movie? 54:10 Who's Your Daddy? 1:01:30 The Kavanagh Rating

Well, the Dads finally made it to Chevy in this most Chevy of Chevy movies. It's hard to explain the phenomenon of Chevy Chase in 2025 to someone who wasn't there. But such is the burden of Gen X Dads, much like reciting "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" to our uninterested screen-addicted progeny, we must also account for the old man in Community's presence in this holiday tradition. And you know what? The movie is still pretty good. And maybe a gift we can give our kids is the choice to se...

Yeah, we (Dads Mike and Dave) were as surprised as you are: Dad-In-Waiting Tooky Kavanagh did not see this film until AFTER watching BOTH parts of WICKED. The times, they are a-changin'... And it's not a bad thing: is there a more seminal piece of culture than the Wizard of Oz? People have been going back to L. Frank Baum's story in various media for almost a century, probably because it still has things to tell us about discovery, identity, and growing up. Engaging with a meaningful piece of...

Tolstoy said "Every family is unhappy in its own way". Boy, would he have loved the Von Erichs. (Would Leo Tolstoy have enjoyed professional wrestling? I like to think so.) The Dads know Thanksgiving holidays can be rough (see: above); in that spirit, we bring you a movie that presents the story of a family that (hopefully) is way more f#$%ed up than yours. Seriously though - it's a very good flick (and a particular fave of Dads Dave and Mike, for reasons explained in the podcast); pull...

Kurt and Goldie! Dads love a long-term relationship! Goldie Hawn can do no wrong. It’s a Dad Movie credo. Kurt Russell’s Dean Profitt is perhaps the most feckless Dad we’ve encountered yet. Like, for real: ZERO FECKS GIVEN. Does it work? Does it matter? Kurt and Goldie baby in Garry Marshall’s 1987 morally-dicey rom-com OVERBOARD! What Makes This A Dad Movie? 38:15 Who’s Your Daddy? 42:00 The Kavanagh Rating 48:15

HALLOWEEN BONUS EPISODE! The Dads choose "treat" for both us and you with a surprise bonus John Carpenter episode, 1982's horror masterpiece (featuring Kurt Russell, pre-"diabeetus" Wilford Brimley, and Black All Star Keith David) THE THING! WHAT MAKES THIS A DAD MOVIE? 49:30 WHO'S YOUR DADDY? 53:00 THE KAVANAGH RATING: 56:15

Have a happy Halloween with this sci-fi creepfest from the Dads! You know what Dads love? Being right about something. So when John Nada (played with nihilistic aplomb by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, RIP) realizes that the inherent unfairness of the world is actually a vast conspiracy, Dads everywhere stood and cheered. The fact that - 37 years later - this combination of societal distrust and feeling of victimization have been co-opted from John Carpenter's subversive satire into a political platfor...

Dads love three things: Baseball; Robert Redford (RIP); A moral. Don't gamble and don't chase fast women and most of all DON'T THINK YOU'RE SUCH HOT POTATOES or you too might end up losing your prime seasons to bullet- and pride-related injuries. The Dads continue celebrating the singular career of Robert Redford (in time for October baseball, no less!) with our deep dive into Barry Levinson's 1984 called shot THE NATURAL. 54:00 What Makes This A Dad Movie? 57:30 Who's Your Daddy? 1:01 The Ka...

The Dads had just finished recording this episode when news of Robert Redford's death became public. Robert Redford did as much for cinema as any American ciitizen ever, and that certainly includes Dad movies. TD&M will spend the next few months dipping into Redford's unparalleled string of Dad hits, and today's film certainly qualifies: a perfect example of well-used star power (both in front of and behind the camera) to tell a story with a clear moral (Dads LOVE morals!) that reverberat...

This week, in honor of this film's pear anniversary (and upcoming Imax release), the Dads dig into (in one Dad's opinion, anyway) Ron Howard's directorial masterpiece, a seamless blend of craft and scale that... hold on a minute... dad Tooky... did you say you watched this film... on a... a laptop?! (Dads Mike and Dave clutch their chests and die) Hanks! Harris! Quinlan! Bacon! Sinise! Paxton (not Pullman, goddammit Tooky)! Houston, we have a podcast: it's 1995's APOLLO 13! 48:00 - What makes...

It's the conclusion of HOT HITCHCOCK SUMMER! Snuggle up with the Dads in our sleeper car as they pay homage to the man who sort of invented the modern thriller. Despite it's lack of on-screen fatherhood, NXNW is a Dad movie through and through: Dads love traveling, and this flick is (literally) all over the map. Dads hate asking for directions - so does Cary Grant's Roger Thornhill (unless they're coming from Eva Marie Saint). And what Dad doesn't want to conclude his road trip at a maj...

Our Hot Hitchcock Summer Series continues! The Dads look deep within themselves through the eyes of ur-Dad James Stewart, and if you think he's in wholesome IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE mode here, boy, are you in for a surprise. Speaking of surprises, this film delivers three absolute stunning performances that belie reality: Jimmy Stewart as a semi-obsessive creeper (although maybe not totally surprising after his performance in REAR WINDOW; see our episode from July 8); Kim Novak falling for a man...

Oh, this is some down-the-middle Dad manna right here. Gene Hackman. The leading Dad face on the Dad Movie Mt. Rushmore (which, to be clear, is a virtual-only Mt. Rushmore and the Dads believe in indigenous rights); first-ballot inner circle Dad movie HOFer. Requiescat in pace. Denzel Washington. The only still-working challenger for Hackman's spot. No less than head #2 on our (virtual) Mt. DadMore. Probably our greatest living movie star. Tony Scott. One of the great Dad movie di...

THE DADS' TEXT THREAD or A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN DAD MIKE: We're gonna watch a bananas 80s movie! DAD DAVE: Great! DAD MIKE: It's a sci-fi fantasy epic! DAD DAVE: Oh yeah! DAD MIKE: It's got a soundtrack by Queen! DAD DAVE: OH SHIT THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES- DAD MIKE: It's HIGHLANDER! DAD DAVE: oh i thought it was FLASH GOR- DAD TOOKY: Sean Connery is my real father. *scene* Anyway, here's Russell Mulcahy's HIGHLANDER (1986) note: Dad Dave has a lifetime fondness for FLASH GORDON...

Hot enough for you? That's a real Dad question, isn't it? It's a question no one asks HOF Dad Jimmy Stewart in this seminal thriller. It's true there are no real Dads in this picture. But esoteric hobbies abound, and what could be more Dad than those? Photography, music composition, voyeurism - all your Dad's favorite pastimes in one sweaty package! Listen, every Dad comes with a seamy underbelly. It's part of the deal. So join us in celebrating honorary (and legendary) weirdo Dad Alfred Hitc...

If you told the Dads in 1984 that this film would birth a cinematic universe of interlocking properties... well, we probably would have been like "COOOL!" Your mileage might vary, but it remains surprising that this weirdly soulful story of a deepening relationship between a high school loser and his apartment complex's senior citizen handyman became one of the most durable IPs in Hollywood. Credit to Ralph Macchio, Elisabeth Shue, Billy Zabka, director John Avildsen (ROCKY), and especially P...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY FROM THE DADS! We're happy to drop a special Dad's Day episode featuring the most DJPM (Dad Jokes Per Minute) of any movie we've ever covered. Join us and our pals Harpo, Chico, and Groucho as we cover all the stuff that Dads love: opera, broad ethnic stereotypes, and PUNS PUNS PUNS! Seriously - if this isn't your Dad's favorite movie, he might not be your real Dad. Enjoy Sam Wood's foray into Marxism A NIGHT AT THE OPERA!

Listen up, brother! This was not the first Wrestlemania. This was not the biggest Wrestlemania. This was likely not the best Wrestlemania (despite boasting an all-time HOF match between Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat). But dammit if this isn't one of the DADDEST of all Wrestlemanias: The Junkyard Dog! Rowdy Roddy Piper! Hulk Hogan! The Macho Man! Jake "The Snake"! Andre the MFing Giant! (And of course the requisite cringeworthy racial, sexual, and ethnic stereotypes that serve a...

The shifting responsibilities of a Dad are similar to those of an artist: are we beholden to our audience/offspring? Or is our duty to our own secret compass, unknowable to all but our own secret Dad/artist heart, to become the finest version of ourselves and force the world to meet us where we exist? Spike Lee - noted Dad and enjoyer of Dad pastimes (jazz, baseball, yelling at Reggie Miller) - asks these questions and more in his critically-acclaimed and elusive follow up to DO THE RIGHT THI...

"Is this the potato farm? "Yes. I am Albert Potato." The Dads could not think of a better way to honor the life and legacy of Val Kilmer than to review this chaotic slice of comedy pie. Come for the cheap puns, stay for the impossibly graceful comedic performance by a baby Val K in 1984's Zucker-Abrams-Zucker Airplane! follow-up TOP SECRET!