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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.

Ep672: Forgotten But Not Gone: HARRY AND WALTER GO TO NEW YORK

Ep672: Forgotten But Not Gone: HARRY AND WALTER GO TO NEW YORK

Ian and Pat look at a movie that history (and most of the people involved in making it) has tried to bury: Mark Rydell's 1976 flop, Harry and Walter Go To New York!

This vaudeville-era heist comedy is heavy with star power, including James Caan, Elliott Gould, Diane Keaton, and Michael Caine--but it was swept into obscurity on a wave of The Sting's imitators.

The guys unearth this obscure gem and discuss why it really worked for one critic, and not so much the other; why it might be better appreciated today; and how its themes transcend slapstick comedy, revealing some dark and truly biting social commentary.

Show Links:

Ep673: Criterion Cove: MAN PUSH CART

Ep673: Criterion Cove: MAN PUSH CART

Ep671: A QUIET PLACE PART 2 - Movie Review

Ep671: A QUIET PLACE PART 2 - Movie Review