In the driver seat of film podcasts, Fear and Loathing in Cinema sets itself apart with its irreverent blend of pop culture critique, nostalgic deep-dives, and a razor-sharp, at times almost uncomfortably candid, dissection of cinematic relics that were once scorned but now, with the benefit of time, seem worthy of a second look. Hosted by a group of unpredictable yet undeniably insightful voices; Bryan Kluger, a media director with a sharp sense of irony of offensive things; Dan Moran, a lawyer who brings an often absurd legal perspective of the film industry and Kevin Costner; Preston Barta, a film critic with a taste for the heart-warmingly obscure branch of cinema; and Chelsea Nicole, a culture critic who digs into the nuances of social dynamics and horror; Fear and Loathing in Cinema Podcast thrives in that rare space between sincere analysis and gut-busting humor.
On Episode No. 119 of Fear and Loathing in Cinema, the podcast’s resident cinephilic trio; Bryan, Dan, and Preston; unearth a forgotten curio from the tail end of the 1970s: The Magic of Lassie, a film whose very existence registers as a kind of cinematic non sequitur. Most Americans, even the least dog-inclined among us, can conjure the image of Lassie, the noble and ever-loyal Rough Collie, bounding across fields to rescue children from abandoned wells. What few remember, or ever knew, is that in 1978, Lassie starred in a musical with pro-wrestling. Yes, a musical.
This Week’s Highlights:
As always, the hosts of this podcast stray far from the beaten path, sidetracking in ways that somehow feel more entertaining than the very movie they’ve gathered to dissect. The absurdities that unfold become a crucial part of the show’s charm, its conversational energy the perfect counterpart to the movie under scrutiny. Among the many bizarre diversions in this week’s discussion:
- What did you watch for Star Wars Day?
- Jeremy Renner turned down Hawkeye 2 because they offered him half the pay.
- Preston Barta wrote a review of a band and things got heated.
- Wuthering Heights drama with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi being called out for miscasting.
- Donald Trump claims to be placing a 100% tariff on movies made outside the US.
- So is the Thunderbolts actual name called the New Avengers with the asterisk?
And, of course, the gang winds up pondering the most ridiculous hypothetical of all: What is the greatest one single word line in movie history and why? If that’s not a moment of podcast gold, I’m not sure what is.
Movie Analysis: The Magic of Lassie (1978)
The Magic of Lassie, with its golden-hued optimism and unabashed earnestness, turns out to be a remarkable specimen; not because it is especially good, but because it so earnestly believes in its own magic. Against all odds, our podcast hosts find themselves disarmed by the film’s blend of whimsy, sincerity, and peculiar camp. One might point to the timing; Star Wars had just upended Hollywood’s gravitational center; to explain why a film featuring Jimmy Stewart, in his final theatrical performance, crooning gentle tunes about a beloved dog, floundered at the box office and with critics. And yet, as the hosts discuss, there is a certain charm in the misfire. Stewart, aging and tender-hearted, plays a wine merchant in Napa Valley; Mickey Rooney appears, improbably, as a wrestling promoter. There are trains. There are helicopters. There is, unforgettably, a scene in which Lassie enters a wrestling ring.
The songs, many of them narrated with the delicate subtlety of a brick through a window, serve as a kind of melodic voiceover, explaining in verse exactly what Lassie is doing, thinking, or feeling. It is narration-by-show-tune, and somehow, it works; precisely because it shouldn’t. One of the songs, incredibly, earned an Oscar nomination, a fact the hosts relay with barely concealed amusement.
But beneath the absurdities, there is a tender thread. Lassie, in this telling, becomes a kind of canine Forrest Gump: drifting through a collage of Americana, unwavering in her mission to return to the boy she loves. It’s a journey that echoes the structure of Homeward Bound or even Toy Story, filtered through the lens of a time when sentimentality had not yet become ironic.
As Bryan, Dan, and Preston peel back the layers of this strange gem, they find themselves genuinely moved; not just by the nostalgia or the kitsch, but by the simple, unwavering proposition that a dog’s love is, in fact, a kind of magic. And maybe that’s something worth singing about.
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Thank you for listening.
WRITTEN BY: BRYAN KLUGER
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