Watch With Jen™

Back in the '90s, one of Jen's favorite things to do on a Friday night was visit her local mom and pop video store and cruise the shelves, particularly the Staff Recommends section, which more often than not consisted of clever, buried treasure you might've missed on a casual walkthrough.A crime movie buff with a specific interest in the trashy, low-budget indies we both came of age watching in the '90s, Jen's friend, Edgar award-winning novelist and screenwriter Jordan Harper is someone who you just know would've put together a killer shelf of movie selections had he worked at your local store.One of Jen's favorite people to watch and talk movies with - which they do so often that he's undoubtedly pretty sick of her at this point - she was so excited to invite Jordan back to Watch With Jen & Friends to share some of his recommendations with you all.A fast-paced, hour-long overview of some of Jordan's favorite forgotten '90s movies - with a few brief forays into '80s & '90s fare - we know you'll enjoy this freewheeling chat. And hopefully, it's the first of many thematic episodes to come. So put on your headphones (this one isn't for the kiddos) and settle in for the first episode in a series that - taking a cue from the video stores of their youth - we're calling Jordan Harper Recommends.Originally Posted with Links on Patreon (8/28/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40957291Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

The always adorable entertainment writer Kristen Lopez returns to Watch With Jen & Friends for the first time since Episode 3 to talk gorgeous men, formative crushes, the embarrassment that comes with working in a field that puts you in direct contact with the objects of your affection, her fruitless search for hot English majors, and other things that together she and Jen probably shouldn't admit to on air. It's a fun, breezy episode that's guaranteed to make you laugh (and them blush) and the perfect way to turn your Monday around. Enjoy!Originally Posted on Patreon (8/24/20) with links here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40808191Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

Insightful, hard-working, and incredibly prolific, Brian Tallerico is the editor-in-chief of the prestigious RogerEbert.com website and the president of the Chicago Film Critics Association. A friendly and thoughtful writer and engaging conversationalist, it was an honor to talk to Brian about growing up with a love of movies, his advice to up-and-coming writers, as well as his background passionately covering everything from film to books to music to television from a very young age.Originally Posted on Patreon (8/17/20) with links to people & items discussed here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40559183Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

One of the first film critics that Jen remembers reading religiously as a girl growing up in Minnesota in the 1990s, Chris Hewitt has the unique distinction of having been hired to review movies for both of the primary newspapers in her home state.Originally working at "The St. Paul Pioneer Press," thirty years later, Chris is now covering film for "The Minneapolis Star Tribune." Friendly, engaging, and articulate, in addition to movies, Chris is a noted lover of Agatha Christie and fun novelty floaty pens, and in this fast-paced chat, he discusses not only those hobbies and what it's been like reviewing film professionally over the last three decades but he also dabbles in gourmet popsicle making and serves up some great South Korean film recommendations as well.(Note: the conversation was recorded using Google Voice so while it isn't perhaps as crystal clear as some of the others, it's so entertaining, we know you'll easily forgive any technical issues.)Originally Posted on Patreon (8/13/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40422768Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

A knowledgeable classic movie blogger and devotee of all things film, it was such a delight to chat with the talented writer Raquel Stecher about growing up in the '90s with strong female screen role models, her annual summer reading challenge and love of books, and more.Listen in as she shares some of her favorite cinematic discoveries, introduces the world to the charming Ginger Rogers vehicle Bachelor Mother (a Watch With Jen recommendation as well), and comes up with some terrifically obscure recommendations of films and stars we should try to seek out if we can find them.Originally Posted on Patreon with links to items mentioned (8/10/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40314140Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

A friendly, passionate, and impressive Indiana based classic film lover, Julia Ricci is an Emmy nominated documentary researcher and a senior programmer at Heartland Film, which hosts two well-respected film festivals every year.From a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to run a film festival known for showcasing short films that go on to receive Oscar nominations (and wins!) to her experience introducing a film on TCM with Ben Mankiewicz, this episode is filled with great stories and film chat.Originally posted on Patreon (8/3/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40053687Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

One of the leading early voices of online film criticism in the days of Ain't It Cool News and HitFix, the friendly and knowledgeable Drew McWeeny shares his insights on his liberating evolution of writing about cinema out of passion instead of publicity, which he does in his popular subscription newsletter Formerly Dangerous.In an episode that's sure to delight movie lovers everywhere, he discusses the unparalleled thrill of talking about the movie you've just seen at the theater with your friends in the parking lot, his cult-favorite podcast '80s All Over and its upcoming companion book, and the joys of introducing great movies to his sons in order to foster thoughtful discussion.Wrapping things up by serenading us with a terrific trio of Unjustifiably Unloved movies he would program at the New Beverly Cinema in a minute, this all-encompassing, entertaining episode flew right by when we recorded it and we know it will do the same for you when you press play.Originally Posted on Patreon (7/29/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/39851490Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

Jen first encountered talented writer-director Paul Osborne while reviewing his 2009 documentary Official Rejection, which explored the wild world of film festivals as experienced by independent filmmakers & we soon became friends. Particularly skilled at crafting twisty low-budget character-driven thrillers like her personal favorite Favor, she'd been looking forward to bringing him on Watch With Jen & Friends from the very beginning and just minutes into this chat - which finds Paul telling one intuitive, funny, and analytical story after another - it becomes clear why. So pull up a chair, listen, and have no fear: Paul's brother from another mother, Blayne Weaver will be appearing on a similarly entertaining episode very, very soon.Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

Shrewd, witty, and wise, Atlanta based film researcher and writer Jill Blake is one of Jen's favorite people to interact with on Twitter (@BiscuitKitten) so it was such a treat to sit down and have a virtual conversation with her for this episode.They talked about pandemic life as two blue women in two red states (sadly, just days before Georgia's governor actually did sue the city of Atlanta about the mask mandate), her website The Retro Set and podcast DWT: Drinking While Talking, as well as Marvel movies, TCM, Waiting for Guffman, Fredric March, and more.A really fun, breezy film chat that moves back and forth in time throughout film history, Jill Blake is a treasure.Originally posted on Patreon (7/20/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/39524398Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

A journalist turned Hollywood screenwriter turned Edgar award-winning novelist, when it comes to writing, David Handler has pretty much done it all. A man Jen Johans first encountered on Twitter sharing his intricate thoughts about old movies (as an avowed fan of Turner Classic Movies), in this fascinating, nearly hour-long discussion, David moves back and forth between storytelling and analysis to deliver great insights about some of Hollywood's most famous legends including his mentor William Goldman, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Humphrey Bogart, and more.Originally Posted on Patreon (7/17/20) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/39426342Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive