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We're celebrating our 300th episode (last week) with a listener suggestion from Bennett Oberfeld, who commented that we had yet to pay tribute to the wonderful Hollywood director Billy Wilder, and so... now we are! This week it's Wilder's classic love story, set amidst the rampant infidelity of the corporate set, 1960's "The Apartment!" The film follows young insurance drone C. C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) whose apartment is constantly used by several of his higher-ups (David Lewis, Ray Walston, Willard Waterman, and Fred MacMurry) for their extra-marital trysts, leaving him to freeze outside. As his ship finally starts to come in, and he becomes a junior executive, he finds the confidence to begin trying to woo the lovely elevator operator Ms. Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine). Unfortunately, someone else has already been wooing her, and when that goes sour, she ends up in Baxter's apartment in a precarious health situation! Again, as is common for Wilder's films, there is a happy-ish ending, but one that definitely shows growth on the part of the two main characters! The film also features wonderful performances from character actors Jack Kruschen and Naomi Stevens as Dr. and Mrs. Dreyfuss, Baxter's next-door neighbors. The film netted a whopping TEN Oscar nominations, and took home five of them: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White, and Best Film Editing! Plus, the trio unveil which two Ivan Reitman films they'll be reviewing next as a tribute to the director who passed away on February 12th, 2022.

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It's a milestone we never thought we'd achieve when we started our podcast, but here it is: Our 300th episode! And to celebrate, we're focusing on a famous hollywood director and a listener suggestion both! Bennett Oberfeld gave us the suggestions back in December of 2022 that we look at the films of acclaimed director Billy Wilder, specifically the two we chose for our 300th and 301st episodes! We start with a film about two down-on-their-luck jazz musicians who witness a gangland massacre and hide out by pretending to be women in an all-female jazz band in 1959's "Some Like It Hot!" The film stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as Joe and Jerry, tenor sax and upright bass, who join Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators, an women-only jazz band and head to Florida, just one step ahead of the mob! Along the way, they meet Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, the band's vocalist (Marilyn Monroe). Joe becomes enamored with Sugar, and moonlights (literally) as a young millionaire to try to win her heart (amongst other things). Jerry, as Daphne, becomes the object of an older millionaire, Osgood Fielding III's (Joe E. Brown) affections, and he pursues "her" with vigor and passion. As with most films of this era, there's a generally happy ending all around! The film was nominated for six academy awards, and won one for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White!

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Finishing our two-week review of gangster comedies, we turn to a 1991 film that was Sylvester Stallone's first foray into a non-action comedy, with the period farce, "Oscar!" Based on the stage play of the same name by Claude Magnier, and directed by none other than John Landis, the film star Stallone as Snaps Provolone, a successful gangster who promised his dying father (Kirk Douglas), on his deathbed, that he would give up crime and become respectable. The film spans only a single day, but so much happens during that day! Snaps is awoken by his "butler" Aldo (Peter Riergert, who steals every scene he's in) to meet with his accountant Anthony Rossano (Vincent Spano) who admits to being in love with Snap's daughter, and also of embezzling thousands of dollars. This is the day Snaps is planning on meeting with a local bank to become a member. He's also getting fitted for a new suit by the famous Finucci brothers (Martin Ferrero and Harry Shearer). Along the way, he has to deal with his daughter Lisa (Marisa Tomei), his "other daughter" Theresa (Elizabeth Barondes), his wife Sofia (Ornella Muti), his linguistics instructor, Dr. Poole (Tim Curry), and his emotional bodyguard Connie (Chaz Palminteri). Add to that a rival crime family, an insolent maid, the police, and the press, and you have a true comedic farce! Plus, it's finally here: The trio reveal which two films have been selected for their 300th and 301st episodes!

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Starting our two-week look at gangster comedies, we travel back to the year 1984 for one of the merriest homages to the gangster films of the 1930s and 40s, Johnny Dangerously! The film follows young Johnny Dangerously (Michael Keaton), a nice guy who's also a great mobster, working for mob boss Jocko Dundee (Peter Boyle). Johnny's brother, Tommy (Griffin Dunne) is the new District Attorney and hunting the infamous mobster Johnny Dangerously. Throw in Ma Kelly (Maureen Stapleton), sassy torch singer Lil Sheridan (Marilu Henner), and trigger-happy new Dundee mob muscle Danny Vermin (Joe Piscopo) and you have the perfect recipe for humor, passion, violence, and "good" triumphing over evil! Also starring Dom DeLuise, Danny DeVito, Ron Carey, Ray Walston, Dick Butkus, and Alan Hale Jr.!

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