Out in the wonderful world of Oz 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. 143 of Fear and Loathing in Cinema, we four self-appointed munchkins, each of us barely tall enough to see over our own opinions, link arms, step onto the yellow brick road, and march straight into the emerald wreckage that is Wicked: For Good. What follows is less a film discussion and more a group therapy session conducted at a brisk, panicked trot.
The mission was simple. Locate one redeeming quality in the sequel. Anything. A glimmer. A crumb. A single moment in which the universe hinted that art was still possible. But even under proverbial thumbscrews and emotional waterboarding, none of us could extract a compliment from this glitter-glued catastrophe. If the original Wicked divided the room,( everyone except Bryan enjoyed it), this sequel united us all in the kind of pure, clarifying hatred typically reserved for airline Wi-Fi and artisan mayonnaise.
Even Preston, the patron saint of Giving Cinema a Chance, emerged spiritually bruised. Dan and Chelsea, normally generous souls, abandoned any hope of narrative integrity by the fifteen-minute mark and instead dedicated their remaining energy to questioning the filmmakers’ every decision, from the cheese-drenched dialogue to the apparent absence of anything resembling a story structure.
The central mystery though was how two films shot at the same time could feel like estranged cousins separated at birth and raised under radically different interpretations of the word “quality”. This remains unsolved. But in the rubble of our disappointment, we discovered something surprising. This episode is riotously funny. Possibly one of our funniest. Perhaps suffering, when shared, becomes comedy. Or perhaps we’ve simply learned to alchemize bad movies into good conversations.
Either way, it’s a delightful mess. And, unlike the film, it’s worth your time. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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Thank you for listening.
WRITTEN BY: BRYAN KLUGER
BRYAN KLUGER, A SEASONED VOICE IN THE REALM OF ENTERTAINMENT CRITICISM, HAS CONTRIBUTED TO A WIDE ARRAY OF PUBLICATIONS INCLUDING ARTS+CULTURE MAGAZINE, HIGH DEF DIGEST, BOOMSTICK COMICS, AND HOUSING WIRE MAGAZINE, AMONG OTHERS.
HIS INSIGHTS ARE ALSO CAPTURED THROUGH HIS PODCASTS; MY BLOODY PODCAST AND FEAR AND LOATHING IN CINEMA PODCAST; WHICH LISTENERS CAN ENJOY ACROSS A VARIETY OF PLATFORMS.
IN ADDITION TO HIS WRITTEN WORK, KLUGER BRINGS HIS EXPERTISE TO THE AIRWAVES, HOSTING TWO LIVE RADIO SHOWS EACH WEEK: SOUNDTRAXXX RADIO ON WEDNESDAYS AND THE ENTERTAINMENT ANSWER ON SUNDAYS. HIS MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO MEDIA AND CULTURE OFFERS A UNIQUE, IMMERSIVE PERSPECTIVE FOR THOSE WHO SEEK BOTH DEPTH AND ENTERTAINMENT.
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