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We conclude our summer of disaster movies with a dubious modern classic. Directed by Roland Emmerich, The Day After Tomorrow was a major box office hit in 2004, and one of the first popcorn blockbusters to openly engage with the issue of climate change. Admittedly, it does so in the most ludicrously sensationalist manner possible, but it still opened the door for a fruitful micro-genre of which we’ve already covered several notable examples.
The Day After Tomorrow views the arrival of a new global ice age through the adventures of one all-American family. Father Dennis Quaid is a climatologist whose proclamations of doom fall on deaf ears. Jake Gyllenhaal plays his teenaged son, who winds up trapped in the New York Public Library with a small group of survivors after a tidal wave devastates the city. It’s fair to say that both actors have had more rewarding screen roles over the years – as with many Emmerich productions, the special effects take precedent over plausible dialogue, character development or anything resembling scientific accuracy.
For all that though, The Day After Tomorrow is a pretty entertaining movie if you don’t think about it too much. In this episode we break down some of our highlights, including sentient tornadoes, outrageous British stereotypes, green screen reaction faces and much more. As usual, we also trial our Day After Tomorrow drinking game and compare sequel pitches.
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Next week, we move away from disaster movies and enter the wonderful world of drag queen road trip movies! Until then, happy listening and remember – it is absolutely possible to out-run temperature…