“You’re the man now, dawg!” Finding Forrester gave us Sean Connery’s penultimate role — and one of the most quoted (and memed) lines of the early 2000s. We revisit this feel-good mentor drama about a reclusive writer and a gifted teen, and ask: is there a great movie buried beneath the clichés? From its Good Will Hunting echoes to Connery’s quiet gravitas, we dig into why this film connected with audience, and why it still feels a little forgotten.

___

Please consider joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wwibofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whywasntitbetter

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/wwibpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wwib_official

X: https://x.com/WWIBpodcast

Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a friend!

By popular demand, here's another ranking episode! Guest and Marvel superfan Garret Ohringer joins to help us rank the Phase One films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

___

Please consider joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wwibofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whywasntitbetter

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/wwibpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wwib_official

X: https://x.com/WWIBpodcast

Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a friend!

Our annual Christmas episode! Jim Carrey as Scrooge, animated in mo-cap 3D sounds like a holiday classic, right? Robert Zemeckis' version of A Christmas Carol promised a visually stunning, motion-capture reimagining of the timeless Dickens tale — but did it capture the magic of the original, or just get lost in the tech?

___

Please consider joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wwibofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whywasntitbetter

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/wwibpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wwib_official

X: https://x.com/WWIBpodcast

Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a friend!

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe promised magic, epic battles, and a talking lion. And it delivered, mostly. The 2005 big screen adaptation brought C.S. Lewis’ beloved book series to life, but still couldn’t quite escape the shadows of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Guest Nathan Perry joins to weigh in.

___

Please consider joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wwibofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whywasntitbetter

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/wwibpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wwib_official

X: https://x.com/WWIBpodcast

Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a friend!

Before Sherlock Holmes was a genius detective, he was an adventurous schoolboy in Young Sherlock Holmes. This forgotten 1985 gem combines teen detective charm, Indiana Jones-style action, and some seriously bizarre mystical shenanigans. Patrick and Anton dive into the film that tried to make a teen Sherlock a thing, but ended up more cult classic than franchise starter. Was it ahead of its time, or just a confusing mess of 80s adventure tropes?

___

Please consider joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wwibofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whywasntitbetter

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/wwibpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wwib_official

X: https://x.com/WWIBpodcast

Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a friend!

A special emergency episode as we honor the passing of one of our favorite actors, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.

___

Please consider joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wwibofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whywasntitbetter

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/wwibpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wwib_official

X: https://x.com/WWIBpodcast

Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a friend!

It’s sweeping, it’s romantic, it’s nearly three and a half hours long. Doctor Zhivago was a box office smash and an Oscar darling, but does it actually work? David Lean gave us snow-covered melodrama, endless longing glances, and Omar Sharif’s eternally furrowed brow to ask: is this epic a masterpiece or just a beautifully shot soap opera? Guest Paul Kind returns to sort it out for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Zhivago.

___

Please consider joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wwibofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whywasntitbetter

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/wwibpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wwib_official

X: https://x.com/WWIBpodcast

Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a friend!

Don Bluth’s Anastasia brought lush animation, catchy songs, and a not-so-historically-accurate fairy tale to the late 90s — and for many, it was the non-Disney princess movie. Producer Eric Taylor and his wife Catelyn join the pod to explore this fan favorite to explore its strange blend of royal tragedy, undead villains, and Broadway ambition. Was it a worthy competitor to Disney, or a beautifully animated mess with an identity crisis? Together, we journey once upon a December to find out.

___

Please consider joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wwibofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whywasntitbetter

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/wwibpodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wwib_official

X: https://x.com/WWIBpodcast

Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a friend!