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‘April Fool’s Day’ Explores the Ethics of Pranking [The Lady Killers Podcast]

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April Fool's Day

“And don’t anyone say ‘April Fool’s’ again or I’ll rip them apart!”

What is it about the first day of April that makes us want to torture our friends? History tells us that just about every culture honors a day where tricks are not only celebrated, they’re the law of the land. In the west, we recognize April Fool’s Day – an auspicious 24-hour stretch in which the rules of logic and truth no longer apply. From gimmicky corporate announcements to fake positive pregnancy tests, the first day in April is a virtual smorgasbord of deceit designed to get a laugh or incredulous grin out of unsuspecting dupes. But sometimes the tricks go too far. While commitment to the bit may be admirable, not everyone enjoys having the rug pulled out from under them and many a friendship has died on the April Fools altar. The Lady Killers explore this jovial minefield with Fred Walton’s April Fool’s Day, a 1986 slasher in which everyone’s a suspect and nothing is what it seems.

The film opens with a group of loveable 80s archetypes boarding a fairy to Muffy’s Island. (Yes, that’s her real name.) Deborah Foreman plays the glamorous heir to the St. John fortune as she opens her lake house for a spring break getaway full of mischievous games. The trip gets off to a raucous start with whoopie cushions, trick doorknobs, strategically placed bondage gear and elaborately staged death. It turns out Muffy is a prankster and has planned an “enjoyable” weekend filled with relentless jokes and innocuous gags she unleashes on her friends while they’re trying to relax. But someone’s not laughing at these “harmless” jokes. One by one, Muffy’s friends go missing as a deadly cloud hangs over the house. Has a maniacal killer returned to settle an old score or has one of Muffy’s friends simply had enough of the “fun”?

Co-hosts Jenn AdamsMae Shults, Rocco T. Thompson, and Sammie Kuykendall board the ferry for a hilarious episode on the concept of April Fool’s day and this tricky film. They’ll chat about Cosmo quizzes, bizarre shorts, switchblade hijinx, and the proper terminology for baked beans served with hotdog. What are the ethics of pranking? Can abortion jokes ever be funny? Why would anyone name a child Muffy and how hard is it not to drop all your belongings into a well? This boathouse is a rockin and you won’t want to miss this ball-busting episode filled with questionable surprises.

Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.

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Podcasts

A Little Fear of Penetration in David Cronenberg’s ‘eXistenZ’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

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Game Loop.

Trace and I inadvertently bookended our April discussions of John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London (listen) and Ciarán Foy’s Eli (listen) with Jude Law films. At the start of the month, we tackled Matt Damon’s Italian grifter in The Talented Mr. Ripley (listen) and now we’re closing out April with David Cronenberg‘s eXistenZ (1999).

The unofficial sequel to Videodrome (listen) and precursor to Crimes of the Future, eXistenZ takes place in the world of  virtual reality and simulation. Game goddess Allegra Gellar (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is forced to go on the run with PR nerd Ted Pikul (Jude Law) through the Canadian backwoods when ‘Realist’ terrorists declare open season on her life.

Featuring no shortage of strange encounters and oddball characters, including Willem Dafoe‘s queer-coded Gas and Canadian film royalty like Don McKellar and Sarah Polley, Allegra and Ted must travel between the real world and the game world, all the while keeping track of who is friendly…and who is foe.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple PodcastsStitcherSpotifyiHeartRadioSoundCloudTuneInAmazon MusicGoogle Podcasts, and RSS.


Episode 279: eXistenZ (1999) feat Vannah Taylor

Lube up your industry standard bio-port because we’re playing David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ (1999) with someone friendly: Vannah Taylor!

David Cronenberg’s meditation on the dangers of gaming and simulation is the middle entry of an unofficial trilogy. It’s also a film that gets real confusing, real fast, so good luck figuring out if we’re still in the game!

Plus: criticisms of a “bland” game world, praise for Jennifer Jason Leigh, Canadian royalty, comparisons to Serenity, disgusting gristle guns, and Pikul getting his back blown out (several times!)


Cross out eXistenZ!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re continuing our celebration of 1999 films with a look at Stephen Sommers’ bisexual awakening, action adventure film, The Mummy (1999).

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 306 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal S01E04, Late Night with the DevilThe First OmenFemme, Abigail and a brand new audio commentary on the original The Omen (1976).

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