Movie Nights with Dad

The Rainmaker (1956) Review | Reviewed by Someone Who Actually Played Starbuck | MNWD Ep. 37

The Rainmaker (1956) stars Burt Lancaster as Starbuck, a charming, larger-than-life con man who rides into a drought-stricken town promising rain, and Katharine Hepburn as Lizzie, the rancher's daughter who slowly, reluctantly lets herself believe in something for the first time. This week is the second episode in our Summer from the Stage series, and Mark played Starbuck in a theatrical production of the show. Reviewing a film when you've lived inside its central character is a completely different experience, and that comes through in the conversation. Riley and Mark get into what Lancaster brings to Starbuck that makes him so magnetic, how Hepburn finds the emotional truth in Lizzie without ever playing for sympathy, and what the play gets right that the film has to work harder to earn. Mark brings his personal experience inside this role alongside his theater lens. New episodes every Sunday at 5PM CT. Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.

You Can't Take It With You (1938) Review | Reviewed by Someone Who Played Kolenkhov | MNWD Ep. 36

You Can't Take It With You (1938) won Best Picture and Best Director for Frank Capra, and this week it kicks off our Summer from the Stage series — episodes where Mark has personally performed in a theatrical production of the film being reviewed. For this one, Mark played Boris Kolenkhov, the boisterous Russian ballet instructor at the center of the story's most chaotic scenes. Riley and Mark get into what Capra understood about ensemble filmmaking, what James Stewart and Jean Arthur bring to their scenes together that feels completely unforced, and what changes when you review a film you've actually lived inside as a performer. Mark brings not just his theater lens but his personal history with this specific material. New episodes every Sunday at 5PM CT. Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.

Funny Girl (1968) Review | Barbra Streisand's Breakout Performance | MNWD Ep. 35

Funny Girl (1968) is carried almost entirely on the back of one of the most magnetic screen debuts in Hollywood history. This week Riley and Mark close out Musical May reviewing Barbra Streisand's Oscar-winning performance as Fanny Brice, getting into what she does in this role that simply cannot be taught, how Omar Sharif manages to hold his own opposite her, what the film gets right and where it runs out of steam, and whether a movie this dependent on one performer actually deserves the legendary status it has. Mark brings his theater lens to a performance that blurs every line between stage and screen, and Riley makes the case that the reason you watch Funny Girl has very little to do with the film itself. New episodes every Sunday at 5PM CT. Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.

Fiddler on the Roof (1971) Review | Reviewed by Someone Who Actually Played Tevye | MNWD Ep. 34

One year before this episode, Mark played Tevye in a community theater production of Fiddler on the Roof. Reviewing the 1971 film adaptation with that kind of experience in the room makes for a very different conversation. This week Riley and Mark get into what Norman Jewison got right and where the stage version still has the edge, what Topol brings to Tevye that caught Mark off guard, whether the film justifies its three-hour runtime, and the character who sits at the emotional center of the whole story and never really gets her own moment. Mark brings his theater experience and his personal time inside this role, and Riley makes the case that "Do You Love Me?" deserved a lot more than four minutes. New episodes every Sunday at 5PM CT. Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.

Calamity Jane (1953) Review | Doris Day's Most Underrated Performance | MNWD Ep. 33

Calamity Jane (1953) has been filed away as a cheerful Doris Day musical for decades — and that filing is doing it a disservice. This week Riley and Mark review the film starring Doris Day as the hard-riding, sharp-shooting Jane, digging into what Day actually pulls off in this role that tends to get ignored, why the friendship between Jane and Katie quietly outperforms every romantic subplot in the film, what the movie is really saying about gender and performance in 1953, and what a version of this story that committed to its most interesting ideas might have looked like. Mark brings his theater lens to one of classic Hollywood's most underappreciated physical performers, and Riley makes the case that the film's best relationship never needed the men to resolve it. New episodes every Sunday at 5PM CT. Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.