Feminist Frequency Radio

A.C. and Kat experienced Andrew Ahn's remake of The Wedding Banquet across somewhat of a generational divide. He finds it relies on a millennial aesthetic portrayal of queer identity, with inauthentic politics. She (who watched it with Gen X family members) thought it was sweeter and more satisfying than he did. But, having also seen Ang Lee's 1993 original, Kat thinks the movies might be trying to accomplish two different things. Overall, we both wanted higher stakes and a lot more of the incredible maternal characters played by Youn Yuh-jung and Joan Chen.

Discussed in this episode:

Plugged In's review

This meme that made A.C. think of the shack two of this movie's characters live in

Our 2024 episode about Pedro Almodóvar's short film Strange Way of Life starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke

The "Driver's Ed" sketch from I Think You Should Leave, featuring Patti Harrison

Kat's essay about Twin Peaks

Justinian Huang's novel Lucky Seed

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It was an absolute joy to spend time in the world of Spike Lee's 1994 bildungsroman Crooklyn. Co-written by Lee and his siblings Joie and Cinqué, the film follows nine-year-old Troy navigating herself, her neighborhood, and her extended family in 1973. We're refreshed to see Lee's rich visual language as the backdrop for a young girl as the hero of the story of growing up. Especially when so many other auteur's attempts at this have left us feeling unimpressed. It's a messy movie, sure, but beautifully shot by Arthur Jafa (Daughters of the Dust) with knockout performances from the kids to the parents—played by Alfre Woodard and Delroy Lindo.

Discussed in this episode: Common Sense Media's Crooklyn review, RuPaul's Starrbooty

Find Kat:

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Kat and A.C. go through the films that will be fêted at this Sunday's Academy Awards. We feel a big shift in our relationship to Oscar movies, and aren't sure how much of that is the disintegration of the entertainment industry, and how much is just growing up. Plus, we play a new game all about The Relentless Diane Warren's 17 Oscar-Nominated Songs. (Don't laugh: her career trajectory has been a real cultural bellwether!)

Discussed in this episode:

Timothée Chalamet receiving a voguing performance

The Focus on the Family reviews of all the Best Picture nominees: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Train Dreams

Find Kat:

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Find A.C.:

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Our "Focus on the Family" season is back after an unexpected hiatus! [Once again: sorry for the interruption; a member of our team had an ongoing family medical situation, but we're happy to be with you again.] It was a big nostalgia kick for Kat to revisit Patricia Cardoso's 2002 Sundance darling Real Women Have Curves, but this was a first-time watch for A.C. We talk about how America Ferrera's body has been perceived by Hollywood over the years, from this and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to Barbie. It's a hyper-realistic and occasionally difficult to watch portrayal of a fraught mother-daughter dynamic, and well worth its place as a modern classic preserved by the National Film Registry.

Discussed in this episode:

Ugly Betty rewatch podcast "Viva Betty"

FFR's conversation about An Unmarried Woman

Find Kat:

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Find A.C.:

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For the first episode of our "Focus on the Family" season, we're taking it back to 2010—a time before Prop 8 when a Sundance movie could really make a big impact on the widespread film landscape. Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right is a great example of a specific early 21st-century portrayal of queer families with a "coastal elite" filter, and how it straddled the line between caricature and accuracy.
Discussed in this episode:
Patti Harrison's Annette Bening impersonation
Focus on the Family's "Plugged In" review
Find Kat:
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twitter.com/kat_ex_machina
Find A.C.:
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