328 – Hope Springs

It’s been a minute since we talked about Meryl Streep, so we decided what better time than Valentine’s Day and her 2012 romantic drama Hope Springs. Streep stars alongside Tommy Lee Jones as a sexually frustrated older couple who submits to a couples therapy retreat (led by Steve Carell) hoping to rekindle their spark. Summer counterprogramming to the Batmans and the Bournes, the film performed at the box office but did not prove the type of Meryl summer smash that has earned her Oscar love.

This episode, we talk about the movie’s quaint but honest depiction of generational sexual frustration and the solid work from Streep and Jones. We also discuss the underutilization of its recognizable supporting cast, Carell joins our Six Timers, and the timeless Globes presentation pairing of Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig.

Topics also include Sex Trips For Straight Women From A Gay Man, Meryl’s third Oscar, and love languages.

BONUS – Sundance ’25

We’re breaking a little bonus episode recounting our thoughts from this year’s Sundance Film Festival! We’ve closed out another year of virtual screenings, and what perhaps might be the last year to do so after piracy of festival films such as Twinless and Selena y Los Dinos. Topics include our mutual dislike for the US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize winner Atropia, our mutual love for Plainclothes, and a whole lot more films coming to you soon such as Train DreamsBy Design, and Bubble and Squeak!

327 – On the Road

With I’m Still Here garnering praise in this year’s awards race, we thought it would be a great time to talk about Walter Salles – and, well, things turned out great with a surprise Best Picture nomination for Salles and company. After earning stateside honors with films like The Motorcycle Diaries and Central Station, Salles took on an ambitious and long-gestating project: an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. With a starry cast and impeccable craft team, the film received a mild-to-dismissive reception at its Cannes premiere and struggled throughout the season to regain traction.

This episode, we praise the work of Salles (including in this divisive film!) and mention the many names that were previously attached to bring the landmark book to the screen. We also talk about Kristen Stewart during the height of Twilight, Salles’ reedit of the film before its fall release, and the supporting cast that includes the likes of Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Elisabeth Moss, Alice Braga, and Kirsten Dunst.

Topics also include IFC Films, the 2012 National Board of Review Top 10 Independent Films, and other beat generation films.

Class of 2024

We’ve finally made it to this year’s crop of Oscar nominations, which means we have come to our annual tradition of welcoming a new class of would-be awards hopefuls to the ranks of This Had Oscar Buzz. This week, we go long on everything that stirred some Oscar chatter between now and pre-production, with categories we deem our most surprising films to miss, films we’re happiest got snubbed, and much, much more!!

326 – The Dressmaker

As Lee-ver comes to a close (maybe?!), we decided to revisit a recent Kate Winslet vehicle that’s also a fun antidote to tHesE tiMeS. In 2015, Jocelyn Moorhouse (a director we love talking about here on THOB) returned with the TIFF premiere of The Dressmaker. Adapted from the Rosalie Ham novel, the film stars Winslet as a woman returning to her small Australian town – and bringing couture and a spirit of vengeance with her. With Judy Davis as her town outcast mother and Hugo Weaving as the town’s queer cop, the film got a little lost in the shuffle when Amazon released it the next year.

This episode, we talk about Davis’ two Oscar nominations and her legendary performance in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows. We also discuss Sarah Snook’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo audition, Liam Hemsworth as Winslet’s love interest of unclear age, and 2016 Supporting Actress.

Topics also include the 2016 Costume Design nominations, small town outsiders, and Winslet as movie star.

325 – We Don’t Live Here Anymore

And we’ve made our way to “movies that exist only as a title” royalty, We Don’t Live Here Anymore. In 2004, this marital drama arrived at Sundance boasting several indie aughts heatseekers: a post-You Can Count On Me Mark Ruffalo, a post-Oscar nom Naomi Watts, Six Feet Under‘s Peter Krause, and the always buzzy Laura Dern, all wrapped up in an adaptation of Andre Dubus. This grim look at two literary-adjacent married couples facing the abyss of infidelity earned especially strong notices for Dern, but never caught fire in a year where Sideways dominated the independent scene.

This episode, we look back at the first year of Warner Independent and Laura Dern joins our Six Timers Club. We also discuss Dern’s place in the 2004 Supporting Actress race, the work of cinematographer Maryse Alberti, and the 2004 Sundance lineup.

Topics also include director John Curran, the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, and photoshop marketing.

324 – Devil in a Blue Dress (with Mitchell Beaupre!)

This week’s episode is a callback to our beloved 100 Years, 100 Snubs May miniseries: Mitchell Beaupre joins us to talk about 1995’s Devil in a Blue Dress! Carl Franklin emerged with the indie success of crime thriller One False Move and moved onto studio filmmaking with Devil in a Blue Dress, starring Denzel Washington as a veteran hired to find a missing woman. The film was a smart noir exercise that nevertheless didn’t quite catch on with audiences, though critics were taken with an unpredictable supporting player, Don Cheadle.

This episode, we discuss the controversy over 1995’s all white acting nominees and the origin story quality of the film’s story. We also talk about Franklin’s unique awards haul for One False Move, Washington’s atypical lack of love interest costars, and how Cheadle’s performance feels like it has more screen time than it does.

Topics also include 1995 Best Supporting Actor, 2003 Entertainment Weekly as Oscar gateway, and Jennifer Beals as anti-femme female.

323 – Rust and Bone

For New Years week, the auld acquaintance that won’t be forgot on our show is… a grim French drama about broken bodies. In 2012, Jacques Audiard returned to Cannes with Rust and Bone starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts as reluctant lovers healing through personal tragedies. The film left Cannes with no prizes but with a lot of buzz for Cotillard, which came on strong throughout the precursor season. But with a Best Actress field in flux, a few surprise ascendant nominations left an early contender like Cotillard in the dust.

This episode, we talk about our experience of liking the film less on rewatch and the trend of Cannes films becoming Oscar players in the past decade. We also talk about our issues with Emilia Perez, the film missing out on being the French International Feature submission, and the season that led to Cotillard’s Best Actress win for La Vie En Rose.

Topics also include Katy Perry, the 2012 Cannes lineup, and Audiard’s Palme for Dheepan.

322 – Love Actually

Just in time for Christmas, we’re covering a seasonal favorite… or one you love to hate, depending on the corner of the internet you occupy. In 2003, Richard Curtis decked the halls of the ensemble romantic comedy mold with Love Actually. Telling several stories of love and heartache among Londoners during the holidays, Love Actually has since achieved a cult status of fans along with a myriad of thinkpieces about several of its subplot. But at the time, it was a surprisingly devastating supporting turn from Emma Thompson and a star-making turn from Bill Nighy that earned the film its buzz.

This episode, we unpack each of the romantic subplots of the film and Richard Curtis’ recent honorary Oscar. We also talk about other Christmas classics, how the film time capsules post-9/11 culture between America and the UK, and 2003 supporting contender musical chairs.

Topics also include ugly jewelry, the film’s needle drops, and Oscar nominations for Christmas movies.

321 – Ben Is Back

Guess who’s back in the house?! We finally close the loop on the 2018 troubled son trifecta of films with Ben is Back, a grim Christmas tale of a family in the throws of addiction recovery. Lucas Hedges stars as the titular Ben, who returns home from a recovery center for the holiday, and against the advice of his sponsor. Ben’s presence is somewhat unwelcome, even with the complicated feelings of his doting mother (played by Julia Roberts), and it’s not long before the demons of his addiction come to haunt. The film lingered just outside of predictions in a competitive year before an unceremonious and short-lived December release.

This episode, we talk about the film’s portrait of the opioid crisis and the career of writer/director Peter Hedges. We also talk about the 2018 Best Actress race, the film’s very quiet TIFF premiere, and the unfulfilled potential of the August: Osage County adaptation.

Topics also include “that’s Ben,” being an uncle, and the AARP’s Best Intergenerational Film.