Inside the Israeli hair styling world of film podcasts, Fear and Loathing in Cinema sets itself apart with its irreverent blend of pop culture critique, nostalgic deep-dives, and a razor-sharp, at times almost uncomfortably candid, dissection of cinematic relics that were once scorned but now, with the benefit of time, seem worthy of a second look. Hosted by a group of unpredictable yet undeniably insightful voices; Bryan Kluger, a media director with a sharp sense of irony of offensive things; Dan Moran, a lawyer who brings an often absurd legal perspective of the film industry and Kevin Costner; Preston Barta, a film critic with a taste for the heart-warmingly obscure branch of cinema; and Chelsea Nicole, a culture critic who digs into the nuances of social dynamics and horror; Fear and Loathing in Cinema Podcast thrives in that rare space between sincere analysis and gut-busting humor.
On the gloriously unhinged 130th episode of Fear and Loathing in Cinema, Bryan, Chelsea, Wade, and, making a cameo so brief it rivals Dave Matthews in Don’t Mess With the Zohan, Preston, plunge headfirst into Adam Sandler’s 2008 absurdist comedy of a movie. You remember Zohan, don’t you? The one that critics in 2008 treated as though it had personally wronged them, like a bagel shop that ran out of lox and schmear.
The plot, if you can call it that, involves Sandler as a cartoonishly invincible Israeli commando who fakes his death, defects to New York, and fulfills his true calling: cutting hair and romancing Jewish grandmothers with the sort of sensuality usually reserved for X- rated Werther’s Originals commercials. It’s a premise so deranged that even Roger Ebert, God bless him, recognized it as a minor work of genius while everyone else sharpened their critical pitchforks.
But here we are, in 2025, the year of Happy Gilmore 2, when Sandler has somehow gone from man-child to Academy Award nominee, and Bryan, ever the contrarian, has decided it’s high time to defend Zohan like it’s the Shawshank Redemption of awkward hairdresser comedies. The other podcasters, of course, balked. They sneered. They resisted. And Bryan, bless his soul, had to fight them with verbal slow-motion roundhouse kicks, attempting to prove that Zohan is, in fact, funny, sweet, and slyly smarter than anyone gave it credit for.
The episode has it all: a discussion of the script’s pre-9/11 origins, an exhaustive roll call of cameos (remember when Mariah Carey just… showed up?), and a panel-wide existential crisis about whether they still know how to laugh at ridiculous things.
Did Bryan win them over? You’ll have to listen. But one thing is certain: next time I get a haircut, I’ll be asking for the Zohan special, happy ending included.
Fear and Loathing in Cinema is available wherever you get your podcasts—because somewhere out there, a man with flowing black locks is waiting to shampoo your soul.

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WRITTEN BY: BRYAN KLUGER
BRYAN KLUGER, A SEASONED VOICE IN THE REALM OF ENTERTAINMENT CRITICISM, HAS CONTRIBUTED TO A WIDE ARRAY OF PUBLICATIONS INCLUDING ARTS+CULTURE MAGAZINE, HIGH DEF DIGEST, BOOMSTICK COMICS, AND HOUSING WIRE MAGAZINE, AMONG OTHERS.
HIS INSIGHTS ARE ALSO CAPTURED THROUGH HIS PODCASTS; MY BLOODY PODCAST AND FEAR AND LOATHING IN CINEMA PODCAST; WHICH LISTENERS CAN ENJOY ACROSS A VARIETY OF PLATFORMS.
IN ADDITION TO HIS WRITTEN WORK, KLUGER BRINGS HIS EXPERTISE TO THE AIRWAVES, HOSTING TWO LIVE RADIO SHOWS EACH WEEK: SOUNDTRAXXX RADIO ON WEDNESDAYS AND THE E...