Guys Of A Certain Age

Free Jay!  Free Jay!  Such is the new cry of the NPC’s in Free City, the virtual world in which a blue-shirted Ryan Reynolds lives and loves and is perpetually happy, even after being run over by a train ... until he’s not.  

In this episode The Guys (of a Certain Age, not the one Guy in the film) chat about the nods to other films (some obvious, some not), the consistency of Mr. Reynolds’ style (Green Lantern notwithstanding), and the plain ol’ fun this movie brought to their otherwise crazy lives.  In other words, Three Guys give a thumbs up to Free Guy.  

And despite the Marvel references in the movie (spoiler alert, sort of), the Geeks of the Week focus largely on DC, as The Batman makes a move to HBO Max and Another Batman (and Superman) get new voices as sidekicks to super pets.  Art’s news may not be a true deathwatch announcement, but it may turn to be the demise of our kids’ free ride on Netflix.  Listen free and listen often.  

When the microphone cuts off in the Guys of a Certain Age studio, the talk doesn’t necessarily stop.  And often, one of They Guys (usually Art) will say, “we should save this for another episode.”  Or sometimes Jay will get home and think, “I completely forgot to say ….(insert great idea here).”  

This episode is all about those loose ends.  Filling in the blanks that the listeners may not have realized were even there.  From Charlie Brown to Beetlejuice, Scooby-Doo to the F1 racing series, Blue Dog to the Galactic Star Cruiser, they cover it all and somehow still cover not much at all.  

But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot to say!  Come on in to the studio, sit a spell, and catch up on all that stuff you didn’t know you missed.    

If you’re old enough to remember “You’ve Got Mail” or you’ll Say Anything while walking around Notting Hill on the way to your Best Friend’s Wedding, you might just be a guy (or gal) of a certain age.  

Especially if that sentence conjured up the memory of your original AOL address, or that night you stood outside your girlfriend’s window holding a boom box because it worked for Jon Cusack.  Admit it or not, even geeks love a rom-com every now and then.  Good Housekeeping’s list of the 60 best rom-coms ever happens to include a couple that even the geekiest nerds may be willing to concede they’ve watched, whether they’re actually rom-coms are not.

A comment by Jay’s wife inspired this discussion/confession with The Guys, as they go down the list and name their favorites, as well as the ones that had the most impact on pop culture.  

In Geeks of the Week, the Guys note the passing of someone who could be considered Star Wars’ most crucial supporter, the shifting of a big mass of Marvel from one streaming service to another, and some interesting Bat-Spinoff announcements.  Listen as The Guys reveal their softer side, and we’re not just talking about love handles.  

Another Disney+ mini-series is in the books and The Guys are ready to share their takes on it.  Bounty hunter, lovable rogue, benevolent daimyo, holiday special crasher: this is truly the Book of Boba Fett.  There was much anticipation for this Jon Favreau enterprise after the success of The Mandalorian, and The Guys had  high expectations.  

Were they met?  Was it worth the seven-ish hours of our lives?  The Guys answer all those questions and more, in a recorded live broadcast from Mos Studio in Tatooine County, Mississippi.  

But before the Star Wars discussion ensues, Jay rides in on a tiny landspeeder, definitely not with the new Mt. Dew in hand.  Mrs. Reed would never allow such.  And did you hear they’re making a new Star Trek movie?  Apparently the actors didn’t either.  The Guys can’t make this stuff up, but they’re not above it.  

In this week’s episode, we learn why Robbie went to Chicago without Art and Jay.  A

s it turns out, it was a pretty cool reason: the premiere of The Loyola Project, a documentary film that Robbie may not have starred in, but definitely has close ties to.  The Loyola University Chicago's basketball team of 1962-63 made history, and the university that employs Art, that Robbie attended, and that Jay paid to give his son mad engineering skills, was a part of that history.  It’s an important story, and Robbie tells us all about it, as well as the really important stuff: Chicago pizza.  

Geeks of the Week tell tales of revived cartoons and the passing of a film director whose most famous movies Jay has actually seen.  

This week Robbie goes to Chicago to seek fame, fortune, and pizza.  

And he took his wife instead of Art and Jay.  So they did an episode without him, and invited a special guest to take his place: Zac Ashmore.  Zac brings us into the world of Rowan Drake, Wolf Slayer, the low fantasy novella he is in the process of writing.  

They talk book research, the writing process, the difference between low and high fantasy, and explain (without too much spoiler) the difference between a dire wolf and a gavir.  (Hint: in Rowan’s world, a gavir is not an antiviral drug.) Meanwhile, back on Planet Hollywood, a new Spider-Verse movie casting is announced, and it has shades of grey.  

And a famous director announces that he’d like to see a little more “relating” in the superhero multiverse.  The Guys aren’t so sure.  This Robbie-less episode is still, somehow, fascinating.  

Top of the morning/afternoon/evening to all listeners of Guys of a Certain Age, especially to those 3 dudes in Wales!  This episode is for you - the one where The Guys talk about all those British shows that you’ve known about for years.  

So maybe this is for everybody else who just needs to up their British TV game.  Between Robbie’s obsession with Dr. Who, Jay’s new Britbox streaming subscription, and Art’s evenings with Masterpiece Theater, they’re now experts in all things airing from Queen Elizabeth’s domain.    At least as much as they are experts in anything else.  Which isn’t a very high bar.  And how did they get to this topic?  

Geeks of the Week will serve as backstory, as the top 20 favorite BBC shows of all time are listed.  You know Who placed pretty high, but Jay makes a case for a show he’s never actually seen.  What else is new?  

Sometimes The Guys go see the latest Marvel movie together in the theater, sometimes in the first few days after release.  Sometimes they wait till it shows up “free” on Disney Plus.  

Enter The Eternals.  2 hours 36 minutes times 3 people, plus bathroom breaks (no need for the RunPee app in the comfort of home), comes out to at least 8 hours - about a workday - devoted to this movie.  Was it worth it?  Listen as The Guys debate and discuss the strength of characters, the development of the story, and whether or not it was beneficial for dot-connecting future films in the MCU.  Warning: there be spoilers.  

And on this week’s episode, Jay has a lot of Pride in his Geek of the Week while Art really Reaches to come up with one.  Robbie has news from the future of a Celebrity Death Watch to surpass all others.  Don’t worry: it’s not The Guys.  

Everybody has a “best of” episode at the end of the year, recalling favorite movies, shows, books, music, etc.  The Guys even got on that bandwagon, and just about broke a hip in the process.  But in this episode it’s new ground that is broken.  

Only 2 weeks into 2022, and they have come to report their First Five Favorites: the movies and shows that got early nods for The Guys’ attention  (and one football game that Robbie deemed unqualified for such a list as this).  It’s like the first baby born just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, only much less important and The Guys didn’t make the local newspaper.  Struggling with what to watch?  The Guys have you covered, from butter beer to Boba tea.  (Jay still offers his Bowl of Sugar).  

Geeks of the Week take a quantum leap through a new and improved multiverse portal in a Tardis.  Get your 2022 off to a great start…by listening, of course.