Hardly The Hottest

Hardly The Hottest

A silly take on serious cinema. Your hosts, Ryan and Duncan, chat about prestige pics without being pretentious pricks. This podcast is Hardly The Hottest ticket in film reviews, analysis, and attempts at comedy.

Episodes

May 3, 2021 64 mins

With THE BLACK MESSIAH and THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES, we dissect the dirty word “biopic” for these two true stories about best friends who become brutal betrayers. Spoiler alert! The titles for these films ARE spoilers! 

00:00 - INTRO - We start the podcast out as fr...

Mark as Played

Writer / Director Chloe Zhao takes us to the Badlands with her good films NOMADLAND, THE RIDER, and SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME as she showcases her award winning neorealism approach to the neo-western.

00:00 - INTRO - Chloe is collecting trophies and Duncan’s tears with each ne...

Mark as Played
March 2, 2021 56 mins

After conquering the keyboard, Charlie Kaufman takes on directorial duties, and we suffer through mortality in SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, get lost in the sea of faces in ANOMALISA, and watch our identity fracture into infinity with I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS. If that sounds depressing, don't worry, your hosts, the Maggot-Infested Pig and The Japanese Sex Doll, will help you find the humor in ...

Mark as Played
February 22, 2021 70 mins

Join us on the 7 ½ floor as we take the portal into Charlie Kaufman's mind. Explore the desire to be someone else in BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, hold on as we let go with ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, and find the truth behind the Kaufman Conspiracies. This is an episode you won’t pay a doctor to help you forget.

Mark as Played
January 10, 2021 57 mins

We explore cinematic San Francisco, Duncan’s home city that Ryan learned to love after a dumpy introduction. Let’s talk about THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO, Joe Talbot and Jimmie Fail’s love letter to their hometown, Bay Area native David Fincher’s obsession with ZODIAC, and the Chinese-American generational saga of THE JOY LUCK CLUB. Don’t listen to Dirty Harry, if you keep your eyes...

Mark as Played
January 3, 2021 44 mins

A24 wonder Kid Trey Edward Shults burst onto the scene with the microbudget masterpiece KRISHA, followed that up with the shelter in place thriller IT COMES AT NIGHT, and the brilliant WAVES.

00:00 - INTRO - Trey Edward Shults loves families in peril, imminent dread, and arm wrestling. 

06:28 - KRISHA...

Mark as Played
December 19, 2020 58 mins

Come along and take a slow ride on a rickety wagon through KELLY REICHARDT’s filmography from Florida to Oregon. From her debut, RIVER OF GRASS, to WENDY AND LUCY, her first of many with MICHELLE WILLIAMS, as well as MEEK’S CUTOFF, and her latest (and greatest?), FIRST COW. Be one of the few, the proud, the I heart Reichardt.

Read more

Mark as Played
December 1, 2020 35 mins

In the midst of the 2020 pandemic, we bring to you The Podcastination Of Ryan James by The Coward Duncan Ford. A silly take on serious cinema where we chat about prestige pics without being pretentious pricks. Get to know your hosts by learning how their relationship blossomed in a state park bathroom, the movies that traumatized them as children, and the themes of spiritual angst, outsider...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.

    iHeartOlympics: The Latest

    Listen to the latest news from the 2026 Winter Olympics.

    Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

    The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina are here and have everyone talking. iHeartPodcasts is buzzing with content in honor of the XXV Winter Olympics We’re bringing you episodes from a variety of iHeartPodcast shows to help you keep up with the action. Follow Milan Cortina Winter Olympics so you don’t miss any coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and if you like what you hear, be sure to follow each Podcast in the feed for more great content from iHeartPodcasts.

    NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

    Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.