Back by Popular Demand with Dennis Camlek

It’s hard to imagine a film as treasured as 1996’s “Swingers” actually failing at the box office. But it happened. Only a shrewd marketing push by Buena Vista Home Video gave the movie a second life, and in short order it became a highly-quotable cult classic. It also catapulted the careers of Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn and director Doug Liman. Ad tech executive Jason Zollan, the guy behind the guy behind the guy, joins Dennis to discuss why this superb indie comedy defied the odds. We’re all growns up!

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You've got Steven Soderbergh, a rising filmmaker eager to take his craft to the level, two budding movie stars in Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney, and an acclaimed novel by Elmore Leonard, a national treasure. "Out of Sight" was lightning in a bottle, a perfect storm that changed the course of everyone's careers. So why did it tank at the box office? Filmmaker Matthew C. Mills joins Dennis to geek out on this criminally-overlooked gem from 1998 and assess why nobody ever talks about it. No more time outs.

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It’s rare when a film comes along that strikes a chord with the critics while also becoming a massive commercial success. Such was the case with “The Fugitive.” The second highest grossing film of 1993 was universally acclaimed and also recognized with seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture (and a Supporting Actor win for Tommy Lee Jones). That doesn’t happen often and it begs the question of whether it was cinema's last great thinking person’s action film. So think yourself up a frosted donut with those little sprinkles on top, as Jim Camlek joins his younger brother to celebrate all the little things that make this film so treasured.

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When a work of art can speak to you so profoundly that you think it was specifically made for you, breathe that in deeply because that's rarified air. That’s how Lance Neuhauser and Dennis both feel about the FX series “The Bear.” Neuhauser makes his annual visit to the show to not only sing the praises of this terrific creative achievement but to also question whether criticism and optimism can co-exist. Micro basil, eff yeah! (Warning: Spoilers)

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If there is a Hall of Fame for the media industry then research veteran Brad Adgate should have a fancy plaque in Cooperstown. When “The Most Quoted Man in Media” joins Dennis to talk shop you never know where the conversation will turn, whether it’s the streaming wars or The Chairman of the Board, Whitey Ford. That sums up time with Brad Adgate...and it’s just delightful.

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