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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.

Ep766: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: MOTHER (1996)

Ep766: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: MOTHER (1996)

Ian and Pat McDonald raise a scoop of freezer-burnt ice cream to the most important women in their lives with a look at Albert Brooks' 1996 comedy, Mother!

Brooks stars as John Henderson, a sci-fi novelist who moves in with his mother, Beatrice (Debbie Reynolds), after finalizing divorce #2. His plan: figure out what it is about his own strained family relationships that prevent him from finding a compatible partner.

In this loving and (mostly) reverent review, the guys talk about why MOTHER took awhile to grow on them; debate whether or not Mother's Day is an actual holiday, and open up about why their own moms mean so much to them!

Plus: Ian's Rob Morrow impression will send you hurtling toward the "Volume" button!

Show Links:

Ep767: Something in the Water: An Interview with SO COLD THE RIVER Filmmakers Paul Shoulberg and Claire Tuft

Ep767: Something in the Water: An Interview with SO COLD THE RIVER Filmmakers Paul Shoulberg and Claire Tuft

Don't Read the Comments! 5/2/22

Don't Read the Comments! 5/2/22