comedy – What's in the Basket

Bonus 10. Thirteen Women (1932) and When’s Your Birthday? (1937): A Racist Final Destination

We’re looking to the stars this week for a research-free discussion of two very different cinematic approaches to astrology: Thirteen Women (1932), a proto-slasher starring Myrna Loy, and the Joe E. Brown comedy When’s Your Birthday? (1937). We talk about the impact of the Production Code on Hollywood’s handling of racial subject matter, the only screen appearance of the tragically infamous Peg Entwistle, Billy Wilder’s later mastery of Brown’s occasionally unappealing schtick, and—of course—hitchhiking babies.

11. Trading Places (1983): Eddie Movie

On this week’s episode of What’s in the Basket, we’re cornering the entire frozen orange juice market as we discuss the Eddie Murphy-Dan Aykroyd role-swapping comedy Trading Places (1983). We attempt to parse the ins and outs of commodities trading, determine whether or not Don Ameche was dead, and learn how Candice feels about Cats (2019).

09. Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982): A Real Goddamn Movie

On this week’s episode of What’s in the Basket, we’re putting on our black dresses and shaving our tongues as we get into trubil wrapping up our Noirvember series with Carl Reiner’s film noir pastiche Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982). We discuss the ways the movie triumphs as an adoring tribute to its subject matter, its skillful use of archive footage, our love of Steve Martin, and some hot takes regarding the Academy, comedy, and film fandom in the social media age.