Episode 38 - Starship Troopers

The emperor has no clothes! Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 film, "Starship
Troopers,” is a blow ‘em up action war movie for 13-year-old boys
featuring slimy aliens and a co-ed shower scene. It cowardly
tries to claim that it's misunderstood satire rather than just a
pile of space junk. In reality, the film is as effective at
attacking militarism as "Top Gun," and, as far as the argument
that this director is a secret genius goes, remember than
Verhoeven is the same no-talent hack who famously directed
softcore pornos like "Showgirls" and "Basic Instinct."


Casper Van Dien brings his soap opera-level talents to the role
of Johnny Rico, a pretty boy who enlists in the military to try
to impress his high school girlfriend despite clear indications
that she's Just Not That Into Him. Against all odds, Rico manages
to rise through the ranks and ultimately plays a major part in
saving the human race from its arachnid enemies, but remember:
fascism is bad.


And just when you thought the acting couldn’t get any worse than
Van Dien, Denise Richards proves you wrong. She plays Carmen
Ibanez (not Ibañez for some reason), the least-convincing
starship captain in the history of film. She is also supposed to
be one of the future’s top mathematical minds, so it's no wonder
that mankind found itself on the verge of extinction.


Neil Patrick Harris plays Carl Jenkins, a psychic who enjoys
making his pet ferret run up his mother's skirt for fun. Keep in
mind, this movie was filmed years before NPH found his footing as
the Tony Award-winning-and-hosting national treasure that he is
today.


Join us as we discuss why the military takes prosthetic limbs
away from veterans and how goo tanks work.


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This episode is sponsored by Way Better Than You Farms.


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