Before Vince Vaughn was America's doughy best friend and Jon Favreau was launching Iron Man and the Mandalorian (that guy loves armor, huh?), these two babyfaces shot a shoestring comedy that captures the brief moment in America when chain wallets, indoor smoking, and swing dancing were not just tolerated but were emblematic of a lifestyle that can only be called "money". Ask your dad about it; he's probably got a non-ironic fedora in the back of his closet somewhere.

Vegas, baby, Vegas! Doug Liman directs the ultimate late-millennium-man-child time capsule, 1996' SWINGERS!

Get busy Daddin', or get busy podcastin'.

Carve your names into the eaves with the Dads as we attempt to break free from Frank Darabont's Steven King adaptation par excellence (featuring Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins, and the voice of Mr. Krabs), 1994's THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.

Wait, Sidney Poitier directed this?

Huh.

Ok, then.

Pryor. Wilder. Poitier. Every Dad is born having seen this movie. It combines everything Dads know about the criminal justice system with everything Dads know about the rodeo. It's why your Dad is neither a lawyer nor a cowboy. Get your chicken costumes out because we're watching the comedy smash of 1980: STIR CRAZY.

This movie features an all-time complicated Dad (John Mahoney), and is helmed by the wunderkind (Cameron Crowe) that launched a string of Dad movies, so you can-

Hang on; just give me a second?

(Goes to window; opens it)

"It's after 2:00 am; goodnight, Lloyd."

(Closes window)

Sorry. That kid is out here every night blasting his Peter Gabriel. Which is fine, but sometimes you want to hear "Family Snapshot" instead. Anyway, enjoy 1989's SAY ANYTHING.

An odd companion piece to last week's episode (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) featuring another aspect of human existence (this week: ASD, last week: trans awareness) that in 2024 we have a vastly more informed cultural relationship to than we did at the time of these movies' respective releases. AND YET, I think it's fair to say that our deepened understanding of these communities owes something (good or bad, or likely, a combo platter therein) to these films made on the cusp of the 90s.

Dustin Hoffman got all the flowers for his performance, but this is the movie that cemented Tom Cruise as more than a good looking matinee idol. Like him or hate him, he's kinda perfect as a guy you hate but also kinda can't help liking, too. And, hey, if there's one thing all Dads can agree on is that the only thing we love more than a danged road trip movie is a danged road trip. So gas up the Roadmaster and buckle in for Barry Levinson's 1988 drama RAIN MAN.

Hannibal Lecter has been in the news recently for reasons both dumb and stupid. But Anthony Hopkins' performance is anything but - the only thing scarier than this film is the prospect of another four years of [REDACTED].

Speaking of presidential trauma, Jodie Foster is equally incredible in this flick. Dads love Jodie Foster, because her movies are always real good but not so good that you can't eat popcorn during them, you know what I mean? Howard Shore and Jonathan Demme just nail their assignments, as does pretty much everyone else here; the Dads talk about how the movie has aged (mostly like wine) and how goshdanged scared we all were. Buckle up and get away from that van; it's time for 1991's SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.

(PS: Hi, Rio! -dave)

America has had a lot of Dads. The good (Michael Landon, Barack Obama), the bad (Bill Cosby, Alec Baldwin), and the confusingly discordant (RIP Bob Saget/Danny Tanner). But we submit here that America's greatest Dad is almost never pictured with an actual son or daughter, yet nonetheless appears in many films as a distant-yet-deeply-caring-dispenser-of-hard-truths-and-earned-wisdom. If that don't make Tommy Lee Jones a Dad, I don't know what does.

The Dads are present for the birth of Blockbuster Will Smith in Barry Sonnenfeld's 1997 summer smash MEN IN BLACK!

Inside each of us is three Dads...

(I've made this joke already, but c'mon)

You've got a Guttenberg - sensitive and clueless.
You've got a Danson - dashing and egomaniacal.
You've got a Selleck - rugged and protective.

These Dads are engaged in a relentless battle for dominance within you. When you suddenly have a baby (and I sincerely hope none of you ever receive a baby in the manner that the titular baby is delivered in this film), you will recognize these Dads as they rise and fall with your circumstances. If you do not recognize them within you, beware - you may well be a Guttenberg.

This week: Leonard Nimoy's (!) 1987 megahit THREE MEN AND A BABY.