Patreoning It Forward: We Love We Hate Movies

Ah, the podcast binge. For obsessives like myself, there is nothing quite like the feeling of discovery, contentment and purpose that comes with finding a new or old podcast that speaks to you to such an extent that you’re willing to forego all other podcasts (or at least kick them to the back-burner) for the sake of completing your deep dive into a podcast that has somehow become, if not your life, then an important, positive component of your day to day existence. 

I started my binge on We Hate Movies about two months and it’s a testament to the quality and sheer volume of its back catalog that I’ve still probably got about a hundred movies left to go. I always liked We Hate Movies. A few years back, after I discovered the mirth, the magic and the insanity that is Easy Rider: The Ride Back, the somehow official sequel to Easy Rider that’s all about honoring our fighting men in uniform, I felt like I needed to share my discovery with the world so I Tweeted that The Flop House, We Hate Movies and How Did This Get Made should cover it, and help its unlikely ascension to cult infamy. 

You know what? All three of those wonderful, popular, influential podcasts covered the podcast. That made me feel good. Oh sure, I may not have “a job” or “benefits” or “savings” or “even the tiniest iota of financial or professional stability but I can use my weird platform as a dude who knows about terrible shit to help turn other people onto transcendent garbage like Easy Rider: The Ride Back, or, more recently, Steven Seagal’s The Way of the Shadow Wolves, which is not technically a terrible movie but feels unmistakably like one. 

That seems like exactly the kind of cultural power I should wield. I’ve always liked We Hate Movies but a few months back I started really listening to the voluminous archives of We Hate Movies and liked turned into love. As with The Flop House, it does not matter what the We Hate Movies fellows are humorously dissecting: their banter and chemistry can make anything funny, from a direct-to-video Terminator knock-off starring James Belushi, to the legendary Jesse “the Mind” Ventura vehicle Abraxas. 

It certainly does not hurt that my beat as a prolific chronicler of cinematic terribleness and We Hate Movie’s focus overlap considerably. I’ve gotten plenty of ideas for movies to write about from old We Hate Movies episodes. It’s also nice being able to listen to a We Hate Movies episode about a movie I’ve just suffered through in order to realize I am not alone, and there are other people afflicted by these movies, and this lifestyle, as well. For me, and We Hate Movies and Flop House and How Did This Get Made, bad movies aren’t just an obsession: they’re a way of life. 

So I pledged to We Hate Movies not too long ago. It was a great decision. In addition to that warm, even life-affirming feeling you get personally supporting, in the most concrete manner imaginable, artists and creators that you love and are doing great work, I also get bonus episodes of its spin-off podcast Animation Damnation, which gives the We Hate Movies treatment to individual episodes of campy TV cartoons. 

These patron-only exclusives are essential. Christ, where else are you going to listen to people riff on Bruno the Kid, Bruce Willis’ animated vehicle? True, I’m less intrigued by their patron-only episodes on Star Trek, but that’s only because I’m a cool jock who is into babes and smoking cigarettes, and it would ruin my Fonz-like reputation for coolness if people found out I watched Star Trek. 

In conclusion, you should totally pledge to We Hate Movies here https://www.patreon.com/wehatemovies 

And while you’re at it, why not throw a few Shekels in over at https://www.patreon.com/nathanrabinshappyplace because Nathan loves being able to pay his rent