Really Awful Movies: Ep 471 – Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam

From Jack the Ripper to boy bands?

Well, here we are…

A slight diversion on the Really Awful Movies podcast, exploring the compelling new Netflix doc, Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam.

This one tells the story of sleazy Svengali Lou Pearlman, who masterminded the creation of both Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.

Tune in, and expect the unexpected (well, not really – there will likely be a return to horror and 80s/90s action shortly).

Tell your friends, and don’t forget to sub to the show. You can also support it through purchasing either of the two fab nonfiction books associated with this site, Mine’s Bigger Than Yours! The 100 Wackiest Action Movies and Death By Umbrella: The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons.

 

Really Awful Movies: Ep 433 – Windy City Heat and One, Two, Many

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies podcast, two very different films featuring two somewhat similar Lolcows, who eke out a living these days as internet “personalities.”

Windy City Heat (2003)

Windy City Heat is a Comedy Central production, which is a stunt built around the premise of fooling a wannabe actor (Perry Caravello) into thinking he’s starring in some gritty action movie.

He’s not.

But the writers/producers (who include Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla) as well as the fake director (Bobcat Goldthwait) and screenwriter (Dane Cook) do a pretty darn good job of making him think he is. There is an ersatz audition processes, in which the unwitting Caravello beats out legit A-listers (or so it would appear) as well as craft services, trailers, dressing rooms, marquees, you name it.

And Caravello is put through the paces, increasingly wound up and gas lit in different, often hilarious scenarios. Think of this as a bit like Truman Show, except as a quasi-mockumentary. It’s earned a lot of traction of late, with plaudits from the likes of Howie Mandel and Tony Hinchcliffe.

One, Two, Many (2008)

This 2008 National Lampoon-distributed production stars another Lolcow, Stuttering John Melendez, an ex Howard Stern staffer best known for accosting celebs on red carpets with off-putting, embarrassing questions. Now, he’s the one who’s embarrassing – doing crummy, unprofessional, and very idiotic podcasts, all the while being very very intoxicated.

Melendez managed to get this one financed because of his association with the Howard Stern Show, which at the time was hugely influential.

The premise of One, Two, Many couldn’t be more simple, as befitting the star: it’s a guy looking for the Holy Grail of adding a third in bed. Weirdly, Jeff Ross and Mavs owner Mark Cuban are in it.

It’s a raunchy, stupid, derivative, and cheap looking affair with a couple of laughs…but…not too many.

Tune into the Really Awful Movies Podcast, new episodes of which are uploaded every Friday.

Really Awful Movies: Ep 417 – Arnold

On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a foray into documentary film via Arnold.

This three-parter on Netflix chronicles the life and times of the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger.

On this episode:

  • His early life in Graz, Austria.
  • The influence of bodybuilder/movie star Reg Park
  • Arnold’s relationship with his brother and father.
  • The early days of his career.
  • Arnold’s drive and determination.
  • Action movie heroes.

Tune in and subscribe to the show. We are back, baby!