Canned Air: A Tribute to Pop Culture · Evergreen Podcasts

Canned Air #548 The Comic Shop REVIEW with Writer & Director Jonathan Bowen

·1 hr 31 min·5 clips

Bowen says Alex does not get a full arc because The Comic Shop centers on Mike and Brandon, not every character.

1. Canned Air: A Tribute to Pop Culture centers this episode on The Comic Shop and writer-director Jonathan Bowen. 2. Jeremy Colley, Jack Doherty, and Randy Hardenbrook host Bowen, whose earlier appearance on the show set up this follow-up after the film's release. 3. The episode asks what happens when a comic-shop movie is judged as a character story instead of a comics-reference project. 4. Bowen says he has spent the post-release period promoting the movie and reading what people think of it. 5. He describes the difficulty of seeing one viewer say they “really liked it” and another say the film “wasn’t that good.” 6. The hosts use Thunderbolts, Borderlands, Waterworld, and Adventures of Pluto Nash to show how low expectations can change reactions. 7. Bowen says he and his wife were among “about, I’d estimate, like 17 people worldwide who actually liked Borderlands.” 8. He also recalls thinking the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer looked like a risky choice before the movie turned out well. 9. Bowen says Guardians of the Galaxy became one of the strongest MCU titles for him, both as action and as comedy. 10. He remembers Thunderbolts as a movie his wife resisted until critic reviews and trailer discussion changed her mind. 11. Bowen says the Thunderbolts trailer felt “cringe throughout,” but he still went because the Fight Club trailer also failed to impress him before release. 12. He explains that trailers can sell a “secret project” better than a pile of quips and reaction shots. 13. The conversation shifts into old media habits as Bowen talks about still buying CDs for the Guardians soundtracks and the Rogue One soundtrack. 14. He notes that his 2012 Camaro still has a CD player and that he mostly uses it for solo movie trips. 15. Bowen and the hosts move into retro gaming, including Evercade cartridges, 1942, TurboGrafx-16, Earthbound, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas cheat codes. 16. He describes modern gaming frustration through Horde mode, RNG, Gears of War cards, and a brutal Outlast Trials session that ended five seconds from victory. 17. The interview becomes more film-specific when Bowen says The Comic Shop used his own Camaro as Chad's car and had to swap in legal plates for filming. 18. Bowen says he was initially offended that his car was suggested for Chad because Chad is “a total douche,” but the clean-up and shot made the trade worthwhile. 19. The tone is loose, conversational, and heavily sidetracked, with long stretches of movie talk, gaming talk, and personal anecdotes. 20. Listeners who like behind-the-scenes film talk and pop-culture digressions will get the most from it, while people wanting a tightly focused movie analysis may skip it.

As heard by us

A loose return visit that finds The Comic Shop's center in drift, drinking, and mixed reactions.

Jonathan Bowen's return to Canned Air stays centered on The Comic Shop, while still getting at the film's main question: how to write a character who feels adrift before he has a plan.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want a loose, nerdy interview about a movie that critics did not quite agree on.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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