Zen Pop

Cathy and Todd close out their "Movies We Love (But Love to Make Fun Of)" series with 1987's Summer School, the comedy where Mark Harmon's laid-back gym teacher gets stuck teaching English after the assigned teacher wins the lottery and bails. It's full of '80s pop culture, and underneath all of it there's a genuinely sweet message about meeting struggling kids where they are.

Cathy and Todd discuss Teen Wolf for Movies We Love and Love to Make Fun Of month, the 1985 werewolf-basketball classic that turned a barely-known Michael J. Fox into a star just months after Back to the Future changed his life. They discuss the movie's best and strangest moments from Stiles's party-hosting mastery to Boof simply refusing to take no for an answer, and get into what the wolf actually represents: a metaphor for suddenly gaining power and having to learn how to handle it responsibly. They count down their 10 best Gen X high school party scenes in movie history and break down the infamous end-credits clip that wasn't even supposed to make it into the film.

Cathy and Todd discuss St. Elmo's Fire for Movies We LOVE and LOVE to Make Fun Of month, the 1985 classic that made $37.8 million on a $10 million budget despite critics disliking it. They get into the David Blum "Hollywood's Brat Pack" article that changed everyone's careers overnight, Andrew McCarthy's book and documentary about being labeled a Brat, and then go over the movie's genuinely alarming WTF moments like Kirby's rewarded stalking arc, Billy pushing past Jules's "no," and his "there was no St. Elmo's Fire, you're making it up" non-help speech — before landing on their red flags list for the movie's worst behavior and the quotes they still can't stop repeating ("Wasted Love!").

Cathy and Todd discuss Cocktail for Movies We Love and Love to Make Fun of Month. They revisit the 1988 Tom Cruise classic with its flair bartending, strange plot turns, and very serious ideas about money, masculinity, friendship, and success. They share their memories of seeing it when they were younger, explore the darker story hidden beneath the story, unpack Doug’s Coughlin’s Laws and Kerry’s missing backstory, and ask the important questions: Why does everyone make life-changing decisions based on barroom bets? And how did a critically despised Razzie winner become a movie we all still quote, rewatch, and love to make fun of?

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For the full show notes, visit zenpopparenting.com.

This week’s sponsor(s):

Avid Co DuPage County Area Decorating, Painting, Remodeling by Avid Co includes kitchens, basements, bathrooms, flooring, tiling, fire and flood restoration.

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Todd Adams Life & Leadership Coaching for Guys

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Cathy and Todd discuss Top Gun: Maverick to complete their summer blockbuster series, the 2022 legacy sequel that brought Tom Cruise back to the role that made him famous, three decades (and a pandemic delay) later. They talk about Val Kilmer’s real battle with throat cancer and how it shaped his return as Iceman, discuss the film’s themes of grief, legacy, and mentorship, debate why Jon Hamm’s character is such a dick, and share Cathy’s deeply conflicted feelings about Tom Cruise, who happens to look a lot like Todd. They also discussed the original Top Gun (1986) earlier in the summer, click here to listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/top-gun-episode-871/id414414318?i=1000770790944

Subscribe to Cathy’s weekly Zen Moment and upgrade to hear a weekly Zen Moment podcast hosted by Cathy and Todd!

Some Ways to Support Us

Sign up for Cathy’s Substack

Order Restoring our Girls

Links shared in this episode:

For the full show notes, visit zenpopparenting.com.

This week’s sponsor(s):

Avid Co DuPage County Area Decorating, Painting, Remodeling by Avid Co includes kitchens, basements, bathrooms, flooring, tiling, fire and flood restoration.

MenLiving – A virtual and in-person community of guys connecting deeply and living fully. No requirements, no creeds, no gurus, no judgements

Todd Adams Life & Leadership Coaching for Guys

Other Ways to Support Us

Follow us on social media

Instagram

YouTube

Facebook

Buy and leave a review for Cathy’s Book Zen Parenting: Caring for Ourselves and Our Children in an Unpredictable World