Brainsmasher... A Love Story (1993)

I’ve lived in Portland since 2015 and worked in the rep cinema scene. This movie never comes up in discussions about local film. Oregon Film loves to talk about Cuckoo’s Nest, Goonies, Short Circuit, etc. but before this ep, I’d never even heard of this movie. And what a shame! It’s super fun! The locations are all downtown-ish - the exterior of the warehouse looks like NW 13th - when they’re on the street car, it’s all downtown by Broadway/Pioneer Square - Not 100% sure, but the venue/club interior looks like Roseland - The Guild Theater exterior is now a Japanese stationery/toy/book store but used to be the Northwest Film Center’s theater. - The Hotel Hamilton used to be at SW 3rd and Main You could do a location tour for this movie in 10 minutes.

As far as Hegseth's "war fighter" stuff...when I was in, you heard gung ho shitheads talk like that pretty often. It would always be some chump behind a desk that said shit like "we need to optimize our war fighting advantage" and no one actually respected them.

Great episode!

Dice used to be a regular guest on Gino Lombardo’s favorite show Opie & Anthony and once hilarious guy turned unfunny POS, Anthony Cumia (who did a great Dice impression) would break into Andrew Dice Gay every now and then when he was in studio.

Guy in sauna is back as guy who is honeypotted by gabrus

I bought the book The Way Of The Shadow Wolves about a year ago and started to read but got to page 22 where they wrote “A pack of four legged coyotes ran past John’s vehicle without stopping to investigate.” And it was so dumb I had to stop. But then there were a bunch of tornadoes on 8/11/2026 here and I have no power so I picked up the book again and finished it. And it’s really really bad and poorly written. So I guess my question is did any of The Boyz actually finish the book or smartly set it on fire and run?

This may be one of my favorite eps bc they like barely even talked about the movie. It was basically a Zombie Squad episode haha

Since they joked about watching highlander: endgame, i hope to god they realize there is a great episode of the series with the beastmaster himself playing a redneck. I think they will like it. Also i am terrified for stanger and rodjers for next ttyme they make a misteak. Gabruss will be all over them!

The music in this movie is weird as hell. Okay watch otherwise.

I’ve been hoping for this one for years. It was randomly on tv a ton and I watched it every time. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to talk about this movie, much less for hours. The Boyz are heroes

Two ABZ movies that pass the Bechdel test in 2-3 weeks!? Love it.

Gabrus saying he was obsessed with the Diceman as a kid made me shout "no way!" To an empty kitchen

The Macarena scene in Richard Jewell is up there if not for being done in 1 take

When you guys were mentioning movies that Andrew Dice Clay was in, it occurred to me that he was in one of the most beloved movies of the 80’s, Pretty In Pink.

The Guild Theatre marquee is still up, but it’s a Kinokuniya bookstore now. (0 out of 7 find this interesting.) The Hollywood Theatre here in town used to do a semi-regular film series called Made In Oregon where they’d show movies mostly filmed here (including past AB classic Dr. Giggles) but I’m almost positive they never screened this, which is shocking because, again, they showed Dr. Giggles.

Did the Boyz ever actually do Commando? Can’t find it on here.

It’s so true, my parents love all the big brother tech these days. They have like 6 ring cameras around the house and constantly check them

I haven’t listened to the podcast yet, but I’m working my way through this movie. I was 18 in ‘93, so I remember this era well. Can’t say I ever saw weird ass choreographed line dancing at a club … or whatever they were doing.

Watching this I definitely thought Andrew Dice Clay in this movie seems like he would listen to the Action Boyz and call the hotline frequently.

I've lived in Portland over 20 years and only knew that this was filmed here because I read Dice's autobiography (it's...fine). Literally no one here talks about it or even knows this film exists. Drugstore Cowboy and Mr. Holland's Opus, yes; this? absolutely not. Almost all of the exteriors are shot on like 3 square blocks of downtown, including City Hall and Pioneer Square. The warehouse looks like Water Ave just across the river. I think it's really funny they escape on top of the MAX, as it's top speed downtown is about 7 miles an hour. Surprisingly, a lot of the storefronts DO remain, especially in China Town (formally Japantown, ironically for the film). For anyone interested in another film that came out the same year that uses a lot of the same exact locations, check out The Temp.

Could relate so hard to Gabrus’ phone interaction with his Mom. “Bye.”

"you can't get me!" -NFL running back

Bugattitron moved me more than this movie

I am from pdx. I have never heard anyone refer to this movie as being s pdx movie before

The Dead Milkmen said all there is to say about Portland on Bucky Fellini.

On the dealership talk, Damian Lillard has a Toyota dealership in McMinnville Oregon 45 minutes southwest of Portland

If one of the rep theaters in Portland are showing it anytime soon I’ll make the hour drive just for the novelty

I can’t believe they filmed a Dice movie in Portland in the 80s and didn’t use Hung Far Low as a location

Just one quick clarification for a plot point in the movie that I couldn't figure out, are they ninjas or ...? Sorry I need this spelled out for me one more time

Glad to hear them bring up the “warfighter” thing with Hegseth. I had never once heard the term prior to his appointment to Sec of Defense. His dick has to be super small, right? That’s the only reasonable explanation for the level of posturing this guy does.

I watched this movie at too young an age.

The only ABZ movie ive stopped and gave up on completely. Just couldn't hack it

Went into this one kinda dreading it, (I’m not a Dice fan) but it was somehow fun and charming…the part when Wu gets his face smashed in!! Great effect

I wondered why I’d never heard of this movie before, and then I actually watched it and found out why. “OHHH!” Btw, the next movie, The Harder They Come, is Chet Hanks’s favorite movie.

This one was a SLOG

It's kind of bizarre that the Boys got around to this before The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. The only thing that I remember about this one is that Teri Hatcher was impossibly gorgeous. But it's nice to see Albert Pyun get some deserved attention. I discovered his work during COVID lockdowns thanks to the Action For Everyone podcast. He was a straight to video trash auteur who made ambitious and entertaining sci-fi action for a pittance. Films like Radioactive Dreams, Nemesis and Knights are worth tracking down. And they all appear to be free on YouTube. Sure, why not?

The only redeeming thing about this one is seeing The Lotus sign again

Not Ford Fairlane….but…okay. I now throw my arm over my head, around my neck and puff my cigarette in a very bad boy way.

Special shoutout to the use of Mary’s Club for the interior shots of the Guild Theater: an old school strip club from the rapidly disappearing era of dirtbag Portland. Used to share a bathroom with one of the better Mexican restaurants downtown. Always enjoyed dipping my head in to catch a quick glimpse of T&A while on my way to take a leak. https://marysclub.com A terrible movie all around, but truly a love letter to the watered-down streets of 90s Portland.