profile pic ian.jpg

Welcome to Kicking the Seat!

Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).

The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar NoéRachel BrosnahanAmy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.

Ep525: Page2Screen: Sadness Cake

Today, The Kicking the Seat Podcast and Cole Rush of The Quill to Live look back on twenty years of Mary Harron's American Psycho with a brand-new installment of "Page2Screen"! Bret Easton Ellis' pitch-black satire became a bestseller in 1991, and gained a whole new following when Christian Bale brought Wall Street serial killer to life on the big screen nine years later.

Ian and Cole dissect the book's themes and marvel at the deftness with which Harron and co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner picked just the right bits to include in their film--resulting in a neutered yet spiritually faithful (and unforgettable) adaptation.

Also, Ian invites you to support the Gene Siskel Film Center during its corona-closure by streaming Michael Glover Smith's phenomenal 2017 drama, Mercury in Retrograde*--and has details on a special Facebook Live Q&A happening Friday night!

Also, check out the latest episode of You'll Probably Agree to see Ian and Mike Crowley debate One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (in a rousing episode based on Mike's deeply personal essay about the film)!

Episode 525 has to return some videotapes!

Show Guide:

The Boy Next Door: 0:00 - 0:26

Intro Music: 0:26 - 0:40

Intro: 0:40 - 5:21

American Psycho Trailer: 5:21 - 7:16

American Psycho Discussion: 7:16 - 1:05:38

Outro Music: 1:05:38 - 1:05:54

*You can listen to Ian and David Fowlie's interview with Smith and Mercury in Retrograde star Najarra Townsend in Episode 280!

Keep up with the latest seat-kicking goodness by following, liking, rating, and subscribing to us on TwitterFacebookYouTubeInstagramiTunesStitcher!

Ep526: Rare Bindings

Ep524: Friday the 40th Part 4: Get Off My Campground!