Episode 12: The Sixth Sense – Mystery Men – The Thomas Crown Affair: August 6, 1999

Explicit content warning

08/10/20 • 101 min

This week, the boys travel back to August 6, 1999 and the release of three very scary movies (for very different reasons): THE SIXTH SENSE, MYSTERY MEN, and THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR.

While Haley Joel Osment saw dead people, all Jason, Dan, and Fred could see were Pierce Brosnan’s butt and Rene Russo’s boobs...again and again and again. Thomas Crown Affair? More like Thomas Crown’s Got A PAIR! You think the costumes in Mystery Men are garish? Wait until you hear about the oversized, mustard-stained tuxedo Jason wore at his theme restaurant gig and the Tinkerbell wings (and nothing else) Dan wore one fateful Halloween night! From Fred’s exposed balls to the boys’ multiple rounds of Al Pacino impressions, we’ve got a sixth sense that you’re gonna love (or at least tolerate) Episode 12 of OPENING WEEKEND!

This week, the boys travel back to August 6, 1999 and the release of three very scary movies (for very different reasons): THE SIXTH SENSE, MYSTERY MEN, and THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR.

Previous Episode

Episode11: Weird Science - Fright Night - Follow That Bird: August 2, 1985

The weekend of August 2, 1985 was a great one for moviegoers... provided that those moviegoers were 14 years old! Or 4 years old! Everyone else was pretty much out of luck. Join the boys as they wax nostalgic about WEIRD SCIENCE, FRIGHT NIGHT, and SESAME STREET PRESENTS: FOLLOW THAT BIRD!

What do Chris Sarandon and his vampiric sidekick have in common with Bert and Ernie? Who was the more statuesque beauty - Kelly LeBrock or Big Bird? And which of the weekend’s teenaged actors would Jason prefer to watch die onscreen? The answers are all here!!!

The movies may be fantastical, but the struggles are REAL! Listen as Dan tries in vain to rank Muppets! Witness Jason’s futile call for Anthony Michael-Hall to be “canceled”! And marvel as Fred desperately attempts to defend Fright Night’s Zach Galli...I mean William Ragsdale!

When Oscar The Grouch gives a more grounded performance than Bill Paxton or Roddy McDowall, you know that subtlety isn’t the weekend’s strong suit. In that spirit: HEY. THIS IS THE SUMMARY FOR EPISODE 11 OF OPENING WEEKEND. YOU LISTEN TO IT NOW, OKAY?

Next Episode

Episode 13: Can’t Buy Me Love – Disorderlies – The Monster Squad – No Way Out: August 14, 1987

The Village Bath Club must die! Long live the Manhasset Country Club! This week, Jason, Fred, and Dan travel back to August 14, 1987 and revisit CAN’T BUY ME LOVE, DISORDERLIES, THE MONSTER SQUAD, and NO WAY OUT!

Much like the Iran-Contra hearings that dominated the summer of ‘87, this week’s episode isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions! Questions like:

...If three Fat Boys fall in an elderly man’s mansion and nobody raps, have they made what could reasonably be called a “movie”? (What about Ralph Bellamy’s dignity? If it falls, can it get back up?)

...Which is more than exciting: watching paint dry, or watching a photograph be developed slowly over 12 hours in No Way Out?

...Which film features a squad of No-Frills Goonies, patented 80s homophobia, pre-teen smoking, and Holocaust-surviving monster hunters? (If you guessed Disorderlies, well... you might be right, but we’re talking about the other one.)

...Which Can’t Buy Me Love star resembles a cross between a young Jackie Mason and the poster for Ghoulies? (Hint: He’s neither a robot nor a chicken.)

...How many recurring characters does it take to get a letter in the mail sack?

...And - most importantly - does Fred’s 10-year-old daughter have a keener knack for film criticism than anyone else on the podcast? (Don’t answer that last one! That’s rhetorical, dammit!)

From the boys’ favorite Gene Hackman performances to the eternal debate over whose childhood was better or worse than Patrick Dempsey crying himself to sleep in a shed... it’s Episode 13 of OPENING WEEKEND!