The Kick Chance Solem-Pfeifer
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- TV & Film
Go on a themed movie kick with host Chance Solem-Pfeifer. We're currently on Kick #2 ... Sports Romances. Seven episodes leading up to the release of "Challengers."
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'Bend It Like Beckham' with Jessie Tu | Sports Romances
This week, dreams of soccer stardom clash with a host of familial and cultural expectations. Writer Jessie Tu (Women’s Agenda, “The Honeyeater”) is here to break down how "Bend It Like Beckham" (2002) changed the culture, showcased heartfelt father-daughter relationships, and everything happening in that one dizzying nightclub scene. Plus, is this another movie where the romance is not between the obvious athletes? Just sayin'.
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'Blue Crush' with Emma Specter | Sports Romances
Tie the boards to the ‘61 Chevy, and let's take this sports-romance series into the waves! Writer Emma Specter (Vogue) is here to discuss why "Blue Crush" is the ultimate women’s sports "sleepover movie." We also get into the power of Michelle Rodriguez on a jet ski, a healthy fear of the ocean, and whether the romance in “Blue Crush” is between the right characters.
Emma's debut memoir "More, Please" is out July 9! Preorder here:
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/more-please-emma-specter?variant=41074415042594 -
'Love & Basketball' with Jordan Robinson | Sports Romances
Four quarters, two players, one game for your heart. No movie in this sports-romance series creates team chemistry between the "sports" and "romance" like LOVE & BASKETBALL. The fantastic Jordan Robinson (Queens of the Court) joins the program to discuss the movie's on-court realism, athlete couples, the enormous pressures on college basketball players, and the LOVE & BASKETBALL character she finally feels bad for two decades later.
Listen to Jordan's WNBA podcast, Queens of the Court, with basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/queens-of-the-court/id1681606343
And read her 2020 remembrance of Love & Basketball, feat. countless great interviews:
https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/4/21/21228610/love-and-basketball-20-year-anniversary -
'Wimbledon' with Noah Ballard | Sports Romances
What if a washed-up tennis journeyman (Paul Bettany) and a rising phenom (Kirsten Dunst) made a pact to hook up before every round of Wimbledon? That's a big swing from this 2004 rom-com, but how's its follow-through? Noah Ballard (Verve) joins our sports-romance kick to analyze the darker movie at the core of "Wimbledon," savor the film's giant cast, and regale us with racquet-sports anecdotes from his own life.
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'The Cutting Edge' with Emily L. Newman | Sports Romances
She's a pairs figure skater who keeps rejecting partners; he's a washed-up hockey player. Can they win gold by falling in love and performing an unthinkable maneuver? With a setup like that, "The Cutting Edge" (1992) is the perfect launchpad for our Sports Romances kick. Emily L. Newman (Texas A&M Unversity-Commerce) is here to break down the banter, the costumes, the battle of the sexes, and the Pamchenko Twist as a symbol of impossible love.
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'Dune: Part Two' with Bennett Campbell Ferguson
At last, we've arrived at our first kick's climactic question: Is "Dune: Part Two" a superior sequel? Bennett Campbell Ferguson (Willamette Week) is here to answer emphatically. We talk sandworm setpieces, Chalamet's gravitas or lack thereof, and this sequel's complex relationship to fate and character development.