5 FAVORITE SEASON 1 EPISODES

Obscure Obsessions Season 2 is complete! A few holiday specials are premiering in the coming months. But in the meantime, we wanted to share some of our favorite episodes from Season 1. All these episodes are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and more places! 

Season 1, Episode 3 - “Sunday in the Park with Dinosaurs” (Jurassic Park III)

No one ranks the threequel to “Jurassic Park" very highly — except for Nick and I. This big budget creature feature, light on thematic depth but high on fun, is one of our favorite “Sunday afternoon” movies (and Nick’s favorite bad movie). 

We examine the film’s threadbare plot, discuss the original abandoned storylines, and challenge the notion that JPIII is the weakest installment in the franchise — while picking apart the many, many weaknesses. 

Season 1, Episode 13 - “Jimmy-Jim-Jimmy-Jim-Jim-Jim-Jim” (Muppet Treasure Island) 

Many films were adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, “Treasure Island”, but only one starred a frog, a pig, and a guy living in a bear’s finger.  

In this episode, we call up our cousin Anthony to reminisce about the Muppets, sing a few of the movie’s tunes, and profess our undying devotion for the multitalented Tim Curry. 

Season 1, Episode 14 - “Lunch Has Been Cancelled” (Heavyweights) 

Summer continues at Camp Hope! Come along as a group of portly campers wage war against the camp’s psychologically twisted new owner, Tony Perkis (Ben Stiller). 

In this episode, we endlessly quote the movie, analyze Stiller’s hilariously deranged performance, and marvel at Kenan Thompson’s career longevity. You don’t want to miss this deep dive into the world and characters of “Heavyweights”, and much more! 

Season 1, Episode 16 - “Disney Minus” (with Un-Premier Access) 

Want to go beyond the mainstream content available on Disney+? Nick and I are here to guide you through the many odd and obscure selections available on the Disney streaming service. 

We discuss some of our favorite oddball content, like “Mr. Boogedy” and “Blackbeard’s Ghost”, try to piece together the fragmented narrative of “Sammy the Way Out Seal”, and bemoan the dreary color palette of “Fuzzbucket”.  

Season 1, Episode 18 - “The Most Evil Disney Villain of All Time!” (Tower of Terror) 

Our brand new HALLOWEEN SPECIAL premieres October 28. But get into the Halloween spirit early and join us as we check into the Hollywood Tower Hotel, better known to the ghostly guests as the Tower of Terror!!!  This surprisingly spine-tingling TV-movie premiered on October 26, 1997 as part of ABC’s Wonderful World of Disney.

On Halloween night 1937, 5 guests mysteriously vanished in the hotel’s elevator. Sixty years later, a journalist (Steve Gutenberg) and his niece (Kirsten Dunst) search for answers at the now haunted hotel. 

"BLUE HAWAII" (1961), SUMMER MOVIE RECOMMENDATION

It’s been 45 years since Elvis left the building, but he remains firmly rooted in our zeitgeist. He seems more omnipresent than ever, thanks in no small part to Baz Luhrmann’s biopic. I lay no claim to being a connoisseur of Elvis cinema. I’ve only seen a few of his more than 30 films. I began with Blue Hawaii, and I’m so glad that I did. 

I love 60s beach party movies, particularly those starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Blue Hawaii is just a more expensive rendition of those. The movie has no lofty aspirations above its station. It’s happy to be all froth and bubblegum; bright color palates, women in bathing suits, sandy beaches, and luaus. And Elvis, of course. 

The plot of Blue Hawaii is disposable. Presley plays a young man who returns home to Hawaii after military service. Rather than enter the family business (a pineapple company, naturally), he becomes a tour guide, ferrying a group of teenage tourists and their teacher around the islands. That is just a clothesline on which to hang the scenic photography of Hawaii and musical numbers for Elvis. 

Presley will never make it on AFI’s top 100 actors, but he’s likable in his role. I got the sense that he was playing himself. Whether he was or not is besides the point. He convinced me he was that person in reality; that’s the skill of any great movie star. Another notable cast member is Angela Lansbury, who, despite being both British and a mere 10 years Presley’s senior, plays his histrionic mother. How well does London-born Lansbury play an overbearing, Georgia-born mama? Like the legend she is. Her performance is a riot. Her exaggerated southern accent comes straight from a comedic rendition of A Streetcar Named Desire. 

The film’s director, Norman Taurog, was a seasoned pro. After winning the Academy Award for Best Director in 1931, he went on to direct icons like Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, and Fred Astaire. He helmed six films for Martin and Lewis, and ultimately nine of Elvis’s. Taurog provides a steady competency for the trifling fun. And nothing wrong with being trifling fun. 

Blue Hawaii doesn’t take itself seriously, and that’s how you should take it. You’re meant to look at Elvis, listen to him sing, and arrive at the end credits with a smile on your face. What a nice way to spend your summer. 

As of this posting, Blue Hawaii is available for FREE on Pluto TV. 

-T.Z. 

"SUMMER RENTAL" (1985), SUMMER MOVIE RECOMMENDATION

I don’t want to believe John Candy is dead. I fantasize that he faked his passing, and lives happily on some island in the South Pacific, selling shower curtain rings and punching out intoxicated birthday clowns.

After initially rising to fame on the Canadian sketch show SCTV, Candy achieved further notoriety for his supporting parts in movies like Stripes, 1941, and Splash. His first starring role was in the Carl Reiner directed comedy, Summer Rental. Candy plays a burnt-out air traffic controller who takes his family on vacation to a beachfront rental house in Florida. But his attempts at unwinding are constantly thwarted by a series of vacation-related disasters. While Summer Rental was not a critical success, it did well at the box office, finishing at number two behind Back to the Future. The film has a devoted fan following, particularly among Candy-philes. 

Hilarious performances help elevate a stock premise. Rip Torn plays a local restaurant owner who talks and behaves like a salty pirate. You wouldn’t naturally think of Richard Crenna, best known as Col. Trautman in the first three Rambo movies, as a comedic presence. But he’s absolutely superb as the conceited, egomaniacal town local who wants to evict Candy and his family from the rental house. 

And of course there’s Candy, who was always terrific. An actor whose innate lovability permeated all his performances and characters. Also featuring Carmine Caridi, Karen Austin, John Larroquette (his part seems severely trimmed), Kerri Green, and a young Joey Lawrence. Summer Rental is an easy-going, relaxed time, meant to be enjoyed with your friends and family, like a great day at the beach.

As of this posting, Summer Rental is available for FREE on Pluto TV. 

-T.Z. 

"KEY LARGO" (1948), SUMMER MOVIE RECOMMENDATION

I enjoy recommending Key Largo (1948) because it’s a movie that I love. I just can’t shut the hell up about it. This was the final of four films to star Hollywood super-couple Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Though there’s stronger examples of their chemistry (see The Big Sleep), Key Largo remains their most intoxicating. I saw it for the first time on TCM many years ago, and it remains one of my favorite films.

Bogart plays Frank McCloud, a World War II vet who arrives at a seaside hotel in Key Largo, Florida. He’s come to pay his respects to the family of his army buddy, George Temple, who was killed in combat. Frank meets his late friend’s widow (Bacall) and father (Lionel Barrymore), who owns the hotel. (Modern audiences know Barrymore best as the evil Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life.) They invite Frank to spend the night. But other guests have checked in too. A coterie of shifty, unsavory hoodlums, led by a mysterious man sequestered in an upstairs room (Edward G. Robinson). 

Director John Huston effectively creates an unrelenting atmosphere of grim,  claustrophobic foreboding. A paranoid mood pervades, wafting through the hotel’s corridors, bathed in dying sunlight and beautifully photographed by cinematographer Karl Freund. As conflicts between the hotel guests intensify, so too does the thick, oppressive heat; an approaching hurricane bears down on the hotel. 

Bogart and Bacall are the ostensible stars, a pair of mourners that fall in love through their bereavement. But the spotlight belongs to two supporting actors. Robinson is both frightful and repugnant; a sweaty bulldog that loves to poke at its meal. His entrance is the most effective character introduction in any movie anywhere. Within a single frame, we learn everything we need to know about Robinson’s character without him uttering a single grunt. 

You can argue that the film really belongs to Claire Trevor. By 1948 Trevor was already typecast as hardboiled dames; the wayward blonde gone wrong. It was a role she played aplomb in many films including Stagecoach (1938), Murder, My Sweet (1944), and Dead End (1937). But her performance in Key Largo as boozy Gaye Dawn, a washed-up nightclub singer, is her most heart-wrenching. In the film’s best scene, Gaye is enticed to sing her signature tune in exchange for a glass of hooch. But as the first creaky notes slip between her gin-soaked lips, it’s clear to everyone — including herself — that she drank her talent away. Trevor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1948. Deservedly so. 

From the moment I first saw Key Largo, I became utterly entranced by it. Once you’ve seen Key Largo, you won’t be able to shut up about it either. 

As of this posting, Key Largo is currently streaming on HBOMax. 

-T.Z. 

REVIEW OF "MRS. ‘ARRIS GOES TO PARIS" -- THE 1993 TV MOVIE

I was driving down the Jersey Turnpike the other day. I saw a billboard for an upcoming movie I never heard of: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. I had less than zilch interest. Then I read that Angela Lansbury starred in a 90s TV movie based on the same source material. Suddenly, I had interest. I’m a sucker for stories about old ladies. Though I still haven’t seen the new adaptation, I hope it’s even half as charming and convivial as the TV movie. 

Angela Lansbury plays Mrs. Ada Harris, an upbeat and optimistic cleaning woman. She lives in 1950s London. Though she still mourns the loss of her husband from 20 years before, Mrs. Harris seems content with her life. She takes pride in her work and gabs frequently with her close friend (Lila Kaye), a fellow charwoman. But when she gets a glimpse of her employer’s Dior dress, Mrs. Harris’s life is never the same. 

For three years she pinches pennies, walks to work instead of paying bus fare, and eventually saves enough scratch to buy her very own Dior dress. She sets off for Paris, and remains undeterred by the snobbery of the Parisian fashion elites. They look down their haughty French schnozes at Mrs. Harris’s apparent lack of culture and strong cockney twang. True she’s not the most cultivated woman, but she is determined to get her dream dress. 

The appeal of Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris derives from its actors and character. No shock that Lansbury is terrific as Mrs. Harris. She deftly balances the cockney charwoman’s humor and steely resolve; she’s naive but never stupid. Mrs. Harris has lived a hard-earned life, full of loss and sacrifice, and she’s never let the bad times beat her down. Lansbury beautifully communicates this. 

In addition to Lansbury, the rest of the cast is terrific. Diana Rigg, Lothaire Bluteau, Tamara Gorski, and Omar Sharif play the group of Parisians whose lives Mrs. Harris affects for the better. (Mrs. Harris is a “traveling angel” — a screenwriting term — she doesn’t change, but through her actions changes others.) 

Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris (the missing “H” is meant to replicate her cockney accent) is not flashy or grandiose. The story has few surprises and proceeds in a comfortably predictable way. That, along with its simplicity, helps to generate its immense charm. It’s a successfully moving yarn about people of differing backgrounds, united by their yearnings for dreams, big and small. 

A large thanks to the marketing on the Jersey Turnpike for piquing my interest in this film and the upcoming one. 

The 1993 version was directed by Anthony Shaw, Lansbury’s son, and produced by her production company, Corymore Productions. Both film versions are based on Paul Gallico’s novel. He wrote a total of four Mrs. ‘Arris books. Movie buffs will likely recognize Gallico’s name. The Poseidon Adventure was based on one of his many novels.

The entire film is available for FREE on YouTube. 

-T.Z.

THE CANADIAN COOKIE MONSTER -- "MAGIC IN THE WATER" (1995)

I doubt many are familiar with the 90s family film Magic in the Water. The movie received frosty critical reception and aired infrequently on TV, perhaps due to its confounding plot. Actress Sarah Wayne plays Ashley Black, a young girl who travels with her brother (Joshua Jackson) and workaholic father (Mark Harmon) to a lake in Canada, home of a legendary monster known as Orky. As you might imagine, the young Ashley believes Orky is real; her dad and brother do not. 

That’s as much plot recap as I can safely provide. Should I type any more of it, my eyes will permanently cross. Just know the film somehow weaves together lake pollution, Japanese scientists who worship Canadian monsters, and the mental erosion of several grown men that Orky the lake monster possesses. 

As an adult, I can acknowledge that Magic in the Water is flawed. The plot is exceptionally muddy, the acting at times stiff and amateurish, and the tone is wildly inconsistent. But nostalgia is like spackle; it fills in the holes. The movie doesn’t fully succeed in its storytelling, but is still worth a watch. It’s a trippy, fun time. 

As of this posting, Magic in the Water is available for free on Tubi.  

-T.Z. 

5 CLASSIC DISNEY CARTOONS FOR SUMMER

We’re in the dog days of summer, and what better time than now to check out some summer-themed Disney cartoons. I’ve selected 5 that I have a particular fondness for. 

Hawaiian Holiday (1937) is a true Disney classic; one of only two times that Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto appeared together in the same theatrically-released short (the other is On Ice [1935]). We find the gang spending their vacation together on a Hawaiian beach. (Hawaii was not a state when this short was released; it was an organized unincorporated U.S. territory.) 

For those who prefer the wilderness to the sand and surf, try out Father’s Lion (1952). In the 1950s, Goofy was reimagined as a suburban family man, complete with an office job and precocious son, Goofy Junior (precursor to the more famous Max Goof from the 90s.) Goofy takes Junior on a camping trip and encounters a little known Disney character, Louie the Mountain Lion. In Two Weeks Vacation (1952), Goofy finally gets a break from work, but his road-trip is plagued by slow moving travel trailers, busted tires, and a roaring late-night locomotive. Not the best Goofy short, but probably my favorite. 

While I love Goofy, I’m a Donald Duck fanatic. Tea for Two Hundred (1948) was one of the first Donald-centric shorts I ever saw. Donald's picnic is invaded by an army of hungry ants. The short was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1948 (but Tom and Jerry took home the Oscar that night). 

Lastly, let’s finish with the Mouse himself. The Simple Things (1953) is the final Mickey Mouse short released in the original series, dating back to Steamboat Willie (1928). Mickey and Pluto are at the seaside for some fishing, but are bedeviled by a meddlesome seagull. 

Some of these come from “Walt Disney Cartoon Classics - Happy Summer Days”, one of the earliest VHS compilations I owned. Nowadays, all of these shorts are available for free online. (Hawaiian Holiday and The Simple Things are also currently on Disney+). 

So celebrate the dog days of summer with your favorite cartoon dogs, mice, a hot-tempered duck, and some terrific Disney animation. 

-T.Z.