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Why Watch That

We wanted to release an episode about our favorite film comedies, but it mysteriously disappeared from our files. While we are on the hunt for that episode, we decided to release a comedy episode of our own in the meantime. In this episode, we’ve compiled the Critic and Referee’s funniest moments and selected a few of their previously unreleased behind-the-scenes snippets as a bonus. Enjoy!

Show Notes for the Missing Show

Clue – Comedy | Crime | Mystery
Directed by Jonathan Lynn
Released: December 13, 1985

Plot: In 1954, against a backdrop of McCarthyism, six strangers are invited to a party at a secluded New England mansion and must cooperate with the staff to solve a murder mystery.

My Cousin Vinny – Comedy | Crime
Directed by Jonathan Lynn
Released: March 13, 1992

Plot: While on their way back to college, two New Yorkers, Billy Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stan Rothenstein (Mitchell Whitfield), are accused of murder in rural Alabama. Billy’s cousin, Vincent Gambini (Joe Pesci) – an inexperienced, loudmouth lawyer unaccustomed to Southern rules and manners – comes in to defend them.

Big – Comedy | Drama | Fantasy
Directed by Penny Marshall
Released: June 3, 1988

Plot: Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks) is a 12-year-old boy living in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. After being told that he is too short for a carnival ride while attempting to impress an older girl, he puts a coin into an unusual antique arcade fortune-teller machine called Zoltar Speaks and makes a wish to be “big.” After Josh discovers that the machine is unplugged, it dispenses a card stating, “Your wish has been granted.” He wakes up the next morning and finds himself in an adult body.

House Party – Comedy | Music | Romance
Directed by Reginald Hudlin
Released: March 9, 1990

Plot: Kid (Christopher Reid) has been invited to a party at his friend Play’s (Christopher Martin) house. But after a fight at school with three bullies, Kid’s father grounds him. Nonetheless, Kid sneaks out to go to the party after his father falls asleep that night. But, Kid doesn’t know that the three bullies have decided to make an appearance at the party as well to give him a lesson…

Mrs. Doubtfire – Comedy | Drama | Family
Directed by Chris Columbus
Released: November 24, 1993

Plot: Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) is a talented, but recently unemployed, voice actor living in San Francisco. Daniel is devoted to his three children, Lydia (Lisa Jakub), Chris (Matthew Lawrence), and Natalie (Mara Wilson); but, he is not a good disciplinarian. His wife, Miranda (Sally Field), considers him irresponsible and immature, and their marriage is on the rocks as a result. When Daniel throws Chris a birthday party despite Chris’s bad report card, Miranda loses her temper and asks for a divorce. At their first custody hearing, the judge provisionally grants Miranda custody of the children, as Daniel has neither a suitable residence nor a steady job. When Daniel learns that Miranda intends to hire a housekeeper to care for the children, he disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with them.

Back to School – Comedy | Romance | Sport
Directed by Alan Metter
Released: June 13, 1986

Plot: To help his discouraged son get through college, Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield), a funloving and obnoxious rich businessman, decides to enter the school as a student himself and learns that he cannot buy an education or happiness.

Napoleon Dynamite – Comedy
Directed by Jared Hess
Released: August 27, 2004

Plot: Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), a listless and alienated teenager with a bizarre family, decides to help his new friend win the class presidency of their small western high school.

Dumb and Dumber – Comedy
Directed by Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly
Released: December 16, 1994

Plot: Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) are best friends and roommates living in Providence, Rhode Island. They struggle at every aspect of life. Lloyd, a limousine driver, falls instantly in love with Mary Swanson (Holly), a woman he is driving to the airport. She intentionally leaves her briefcase in the terminal, but Lloyd, unaware that it contains ransom money for her kidnapped husband Bobby, retrieves it and tries to return it to her. However, her Aspen-bound plane has already departed.

Liar Liar – Comedy | Drama
Directed by Tom Shadyac
Released: March 21, 1997

Plot: Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) is a career-focused lawyer and divorced father. He loves spending time with his young son Max (Justin Cooper) but has a habit of giving precedence to his job, breaking promises to Max and his ex-wife Audrey (Maura Tierney), and then lying about the reasons. Fletcher’s compulsive lying has also earned him a reputation as one of the best defense lawyers in the state of California and allowed him to climb the ladder in the firm for which he works. Ultimately, Fletcher misses his son’s fifth birthday party because he is having sex with his boss, Miranda (Amanda Donohoe). As a result, Max makes a birthday wish that his father would be unable to tell a lie for an entire day; a wish that immediately becomes true.

Meet the Fockers – Comedy | Romance
Directed by Jay Roach
Released: December 22, 2004

Plot: Gaylord Myron “Greg” Focker (Ben Stiller) and his fiancée Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) decide to introduce their parents to each other. They first fly to Oyster Bay, Long Island, to pick up Pam’s father, retired CIA operative Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), her mother Dina (Blythe Danner), and one-year-old nephew Little Jack. But rather than going to the airport as planned, Jack decides to drive the family to Miami to meet the Fockers in his new RV. All hell breaks loose when the Byrnes family meets the Focker family for the first time.

Meet the Parents – Comedy | Romance
Directed by Jay Roach
Released: October 6, 2000

Plot: Gaylord “Greg” Focker (Ben Stiller) is a nurse living in Chicago. He intends to propose to his girlfriend Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), but his plan is disrupted when he learns that Pam’s sister’s fiancé asked Pam’s father for permission before proposing. Greg and Pam travel to Pam’s parents’ house to attend Pam’s sister’s wedding, but her suspicious father proves to be every date’s worst nightmare.