The Candidate (with John Cameron)

We begin a new year of the show this week, and kick off the campaign by welcoming These Estates and Oiseaux musician and Briarpatch publisher John Cameron for an unseen selection from his collection, a prescient political satire that is now 52 years old but could release today with few alterations and still feel timely. It's 1972's The Candidate, directed by Michael Ritchie, and starring Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas, Don Porter, Allen Garfield, Karen Carlson and Michael Lerner. It's a comedy without any jokes that still manages to be fairly funny, at least when its bleak political outlook doesn't feel equal parts harrowing and deadly accurate. Plus: J Mo's hooked on Pocket Card Jockey, while Hayley and John are willing to die for Casino Regina. Other works discussed on this episode include Oppenheimer, Dune: Part Two, Aquaman & The Last Kingdom, Beau Is Afraid, The Devils, Go, Ocean's Eleven, Bulworth, Fletch, Fletch Lives, season 6 of The West Wing, Parks & Recreation, The Thick of It, In The Loop, Death of Stalin, The Newsroom (CBC), The Ides of March, Our Brand Is Crisis, and Lions For Lambs among many more. If you'd like to watch The Candidate before listening to our discussion, some maniac has posted the entire movie for free on YouTube. And we thank them. We'll be back next week as Year 2 on the pod continues with a shot at redemption for two top stars who have recently wronged us on the pod by being in movies we watched that were not good. Yes, Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer can completely redeem themselves as we'll be back to watch 1994's Tombstone, a 90s VHS classic that somehow both hosts have never seen before. It's currently streaming on Disney+ if you want to watch it, and of course we're wrapping up the month the week after with our monthly canon submission, Christopher Nolan's TENET. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!