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The Problematics
Not all movies age like a fine wine. Enter: The Problematics. As social mores continue to evolve and change, this series puts some of cinema’s most memorable films under a microscope and determines whether or not their themes, performances, and overall craftmanship outweigh their often outdated sensibilities.
The Latest
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The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'Natural Born Killers' at 30, An Acid-Soaked, All-American Hellscape Of Violence and Venality
Are Mickey and Mallory still Menaces II Society after all these years? -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'The Joy Of Sex' At 40, A Movie That Paradoxically Offers Little Sex And Even Less Joy
Fortunately, Martha Coolidge was later able to turn lemons into sweet, sweet Val Kilmer lemonade. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'Bachelor Party' at 40, A Naughty Comedy That's Also The Most '80s Movie Ever
This movie delivers are a lot of moments in which you’ll say, “That joke was funnier in National Lampoon’s Animal House.” -
He was no Jim Brown. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'Frankenhooker,' The Ultra Rude Body Horror Movie To Which 'Lisa Frankenstein' Owes A Debt Of Gratitude
Frankenhooker revels in the filth of old New York, long before Disney came to Times Square. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'National Lampoon's Vacation' Turns 40, The Same Middle Age Of Its Protagonist Clark Griswold
John Hughes really believed in pot as a great leveler of disparate communities, that much is certain. -
Like Deep Throat, Debbie proved to have franchise power. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'Risky Business' At 40, a Movie Where Hookers, Teenage Boys, And Capitalism Collide
“Sometimes you gotta say what the f***.” -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'A Fish Called Wanda,' A Movie In Which A Sociopath With A Speech Impediment Murders Small Puppies
A comedic classic or an ableist nightmare? -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'The Blue Lagoon', An Off-Putting Fairy Tale About The Joys Of Cousins Copulating
The depictions of sex are mostly “artful nudes” with a schmear of American smarminess. -
The movie, inasmuch as it is a romance at all, is a romance of necrophilia. So why are they remaking it? -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'Falling Down' at 30, A Proto-MAGA Parable Starring A Downsized Michael Douglas
The movie winds up being part of the problem its trying to lament. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'Old School' at 20, In Which Depraved Frat Party Hijinks Extend Into Middle Age
All in all, Old School is more “meh” and product-like than genuinely objectionable. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: Did Today's Pervasive "Mr. Skin" Culture Lead To The 'Romeo And Juliet' Lawsuit?
After the Production Code was abandoned, filmmakers like Franco Zeffirelli spent the '60s taking advantage of what could be called “the new freedoms.” -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: The Foul-Mouthed 'Ted' Always Aimed To Offend, And 10 Years Later, You Can't Say It Didn't Succeed
"You ever hear a Boston girl have an orgasm?" Every possible sexual, ethnic, and religious button gets crudely pushed in this Seth MacFarlane joint. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'Overboard', A Romantic Comedy In Which Kidnapping is…No Big Deal?
One of the great things about romantic comedies is that traumas that normally require years of treatment to untangle are forgiven and forgotten before the end titles roll. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: Bo Derek's Reign As Hollywood's Erotic Goddess Began With '10', An Absurd Both-Ways Male Fantasy
Might as well face it: watched today, this movie seems to take place on another planet. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: Is 'Top Gun' A Fist-Pumping Paragon Of Patriotism Or A War-Mongering Celluloid Hell Beast?
Which side are YOU on? -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: 'American Gigolo' Made Breakthroughs in Full Frontal Male Nudity And Its Treatment of Sex Workers, But Is It Homophobic?
When Julian (Richard Gere) goes looking for Leon (Bill Duke) in a gay club called The Probe, Julian's trajectory is depicted as a literal descent. -
The ProblematicsThe Problematics: Is 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' A Stereotype Parade Or Simply A Paragon Of Ethnic Humor?
This legit blockbuster made almost $400MM worldwide, and turned 20 this month.
