The Quick and the Dead & Last Man Standing (with Michael Chau)

The American Western experienced a resurgence in the 90s after the critical and financial success of "Dances with Wolves" and "Unforgiven." At that time, Sam Raimi was more known for his groundbreaking work in horror, making him an unlikely choice to spearhead a Western revisionist action film with genre heavyweight Gene Hackman. But that was the only director star and producer Sharon Stone wanted for the project. Stone used her post-"Basic Instinct" power to not only bring Raimi on board, but to land Russell Crowe his first American role, and personally pay a baby-faced Leonardo Di Caprio's salary after the studio nixed the idea of him co-starring. The result? A box office and critical failure that began the decline of Stone's thriving career and left Raimi feeling like he was all to blame.

Today on the podcast, we're taking a slight detour from Vulgar Neo-Noirs to Vulgar Western Noirs with Sam Raimi's "The Quick and the Dead" and Walter Hill's Prohibition-era thriller "Last Man Standing," starring current podcast favorite, Bruce Willis. Writer and cartoonist Michael Chau joins us to discuss the gonzo vision of Raimi and why critics must have hated fun in 1995. We're also unpacking the sexism that Stone experienced at the height of her fame, the comeback she so badly deserves, Leo's hold on teenage girls in the 90s, Gene Hackman's pussy eating skills, why Bruce Willis isn't a hat guy, stinky Western dicks, Sisqo's Shakedown, and our new spinoff series "Whores Next Door."

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