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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 Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy 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.

Ep887: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: FLASHDANCE (1983)

Ep887: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: FLASHDANCE (1983)

Ian Simmons

Ian and Pat bust out the legwarmers for a 40th anniversary review of Flashdance!

Adrian Lyne's 1983 dancing drama stars Jennifer Beals as Alex, an 18-year-old welder at a Pittsburgh steelworks. She moonlights as an exotic dancer at the local dive bar, and dreams of one day enrolling at a classical dance academy. Things get complicated when she starts dating her boss, Nick (Michael Nouri), and the film vacillates between May/December romance flick and a misfit-townies take on Fame.

In this episode, the guys discuss why they decided to talk about this unlikely $200 million-grossing blockbuster (and that's in 1983 dollars!); how the film trips up its own fancy narrative footwork; and how it would be different if re-imagined today!

Show Links:

Ep888: Spotlight India: BREAKING BARRIERS (2023) Filmmaker Interviews

Ep888: Spotlight India: BREAKING BARRIERS (2023) Filmmaker Interviews
Ep886: SUPERMAN (1978) - Round Table Review

Ep886: SUPERMAN (1978) - Round Table Review