Pop Culture Yearbook

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! We’re closing out our look back at 1995 with The Brady Bunch Movie—the hilarious big-screen take on America’s favorite blended family. Brad and Giff revisit a movie that somehow manages to lovingly celebrate the original TV show while making fun of just about everything that made it so wonderfully cheesy.

We’re talking perfect casting, unforgettable cameos from the original Brady Bunch cast, and the genius of dropping the squeaky-clean Bradys into the very different world of 1990s Los Angeles. From nonstop double entendres to classic episode references, Davy Jones, and that iconic Brady family charm, there’s a lot to love—and a surprising amount that probably went over our heads back in the day!

Plus, we dig into behind-the-scenes trivia, debate what makes a great movie adaptation of a classic TV show, and draft our favorite movies based on TV shows. Which ones made our lists, and which picks deserve a spot in the pop culture hall of fame?

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This week we take a look at the cult comedy Friday, the movie that gave us Craig, Smokey, Deebo, “Bye Felicia,” and one very memorable day in South Central Los Angeles.Brad and Giff break down the movie from their very different perspectives—one longtime fan and one first-time viewer.

We talk about the cast, F. Gary Gray’s direction, the connections to movies like Boyz n the Hood, House Party, and Clerks, the soundtrack, memorable scenes and characters, John Witherspoon’s legendary Craig’s Dad, Bernie Mac’s unforgettable cameo, and why Friday has remained such a quotable comedy.

Then it’s time for another draft: our favorite rappers who became actors. From Ice Cube and Will Smith to Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Ludacris, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Mark Wahlberg, Donald Glover, and plenty more, we debate which rappers made the most successful jump from the microphone to the big screen.

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Pack your bags, grab some contraband snacks, and whatever you do, don’t let Tony Perkis take over! In this episode, we revisit the 1995 comedy Heavyweights, a movie that may not have been a huge hit when it was released but has developed a loyal following over the years.

Brad and Giff are joined by Alicia Morelli, a lifelong fan of the movie, to talk about why Heavyweights has remained such a memorable part of ’90s childhood nostalgia. Alicia shares how the movie opened her eyes to the idea of summer camp when she was a kid—and how she and her siblings still quote the movie decades later. We talk about the movie’s great cast, Ben Stiller’s unforgettable performance as Tony Perkis, the early involvement of Judd Apatow, and the many scenes and lines that have become part of the Heavyweights vocabulary.

Then we draft our favorite movies and TV shows with young casts leading the way. Think Home Alone and The Goonies plus a lot more!

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It’s time to open the Pop Culture Yearbook to 1995! Brad and Giff are joined by Dave and Rob from Totally 80s and 90s Recall to revisit a year that was a major turning point in all of their lives.

For each of the guys, 1995 meant something different — from high school and college to joining the Air Force, discovering new independence, meeting future spouses, starting careers, and figuring out what adulthood might look like.

And while the personal memories are different, the pop culture of 1995 brings everyone together. We draft our favorite music, TV shows, and movies of 1995, covering everything from Alanis Morissette, Oasis, Everclear, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Coolio, and Shania Twain to ER, The Simpsons, SportsCenter, NewsRadio, and the rise of the WB and UPN.

We also revisit some of the big moments that made 1995 feel like the beginning of a new era — Windows 95, the early internet, Amazon, eBay, Michael Jordan's return to basketball, and plenty of other memories from a year when the '90s were in full swing.

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1985 was a very good year to be Michael J. Fox. In this episode, we take a double dose of Michael J. Fox and revisit two very different movies from his unforgettable 1985: Back to the Future and Teen Wolf. Both are coming-of-age stories about young guys trying to figure out who they are—and both feature Fox at the center of the action—but that's about where the similarities end.

We dig into the stories, characters, production, cast, box office, and plenty of behind-the-scenes trivia before putting the two movies head-to-head. Which Michael J. Fox character is better? Who has the best supporting character? Which movie has the better villain? And what about the love interests?Rather than simply declaring one movie the winner, we break down Back to the Future vs. Teen Wolf category by category and see how they stack up.

In honor this massive year for Fox, we then draft the biggest years actors have had. Sometimes two huge movies, sometimes even 3-4 in one calendar year, we name most of the big ones and pick our favorites.

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