Pop Culture Happy Hour - Send Help and What’s Making Us Happy

Episode Date: January 30, 2026

In the new comic horror film Send Help, Rachel McAdams finds out the answer to the age-old hypothetical, “what if you were stranded on a desert island?” — except she’s stuck there with her terrible boss (Dylan O’Brien). The dynamic between them shifts and shifts again as they try to survive long enough to be rescued.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopcultureSubscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

What if you were stranded on a desert island is a hypothetical that has launched countless conversations. But what if that desert island were just you and your terrible boss? Could you make peace? Could you coexist? Would you end up turning on each other? In the new comic horror movie, Send Help, that's exactly what a frustrated woman played by Rachel McAdams is about to find out. I'm Linda Holmes, and today we're talking about Send Help on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. Joining me today is Ronald Young Jr. He's the host of the film and television review podcast leaving the theater. Hello, Ronald.

Hello, Linda. I have a joke about Linda's because the character's name is Linda, but I won't do it. So hello, Linda. I'll just leave it there. Okay, okay. I got it. I got it. Also with us is Kristen Mineser. She co-hosts the Nightly, a bedtime podcast for pop culture lovers. Hello, Kristen. Hey, Linda. So the premise here is pretty simple. Rachel McAdams plays Linda Little, no relationship. a dorky and unappreciated office worker who's just gotten a new boss, Bradley. Played by Dylan O'Brien, Bradley is the spoiled, sexist son of the old boss who had promised Linda a promotion and then died, leaving his awful kid in charge. Bradley nixes her promotion, but he brings her along on an overseas business trip to Thailand with a few of his bros because he can't do the work without her.

The plane goes down, and Linda and Bradley end up the only two inhabitants of a very much deserted island. Fortunately for Linda, she's something of an amateur survivalist who's long dreamed of being a contestant on Survivor. So she's ready to make fire and collect water. Bradley, not so much. The dynamic between them shifts and shifts again as they try to survive long enough to be rescued. We've been here, what, two weeks now? How have they not found us yet? I don't know. I mean, I'm sure it'll be soon. Anyway, you know what the most important thing is for human survival? The number one thing, positive attitude.

The movie is directed by Sam Ramey, well known for both the Toby McGuire era of Spider-Man and other movies like The Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell. It's in theaters now. Kristen, I'm going to start with you. How did you feel about Send Help? All right, let's just say this up front. This movie is corny. It's gross. It's heavy-handed.

It lacks any suffering. whatsoever, and I absolutely loved it. It felt like it was custom made for me as somebody who loves revenge, as somebody who loves over-the-top comical violence. I love underdogs getting what's theirs. I love punching up. And I laughed, screamed, squealed, cheered, and was delighted through this entire movie. I loved it. I really enjoyed it. Just don't take it too seriously. Enjoy it for what it's trying to be. That's what I have to say about it. Have fun with it. I think that's a fair caution.

Ronald, how about you? We were sitting near each other. I did not hear you giggling as much as I was giggling. What did you think of this movie? Kristen, I don't like that you hedged your bet by saying, don't take it too seriously. Because I walked into this movie and I was ready to take it seriously. And maybe that's the problem that I had. No, Ron, did you not see the trailers?

You can't take this seriously, Ron. See, that's the thing. So I walked into this movie. I really like the premise. And I like the premise because it's a premise I've seen before but not explored as deeply. For instance, if you've seen Triangle of Saddeny, is you've seen the idea where the value of a person changes when the electricity goes out. So if the electricity goes out and you're able to catch a fish, build a tent, all of that,

all of a sudden your value goes up, even though your net worth may be lower than the people who you're on the island with. And in this case, I thought they were going to truly explore that premise and really come to a head to say, hey, you thought you were this person and it turns out you're not this person. And they don't quite go into that. they stay in this very surface level dynamics between the two of them. And I think at some point, Sam Ramey got carried away with the gore, which I know was intended to be fun. But for me, I think I sat in there being like, I'm ready for a serious discussion about

wealth and value here. And it didn't quite happen. And for me, that felt like a failure of the movie. Also, I feel like there's a reveal that I felt like was botched, which we're not going to talk about, obviously. But I felt like parts of that were over-foreshadowed, if you will, in this film in a way that I think would have benefited if they held back a little bit more.

It's Sam Ramey, though, Ron. It's Sam Ramey. That's not an excuse. I love Sam Ramee and I understand. You know what's funny? If Sam Ramey sees an eye, you know he's going to poke it out. It's very Ramey,

but it just takes me out of the movie sometimes. I'm just saying this is not Catherine Bigolo. Don't expect Catherine Bigelow in a Sam Ramey movie. That is true. That is true. And, you know, as someone who typically does not, one of the things that I have often said about my taste for horror and gore and things like that is, I don't like eyeball stuff.

And it is true that this movie has some eyeball stuff. You know, not as much as some, but it definitely has some eyeball stuff. I had such a good time. I thought it was so fun because I prefer horror comedy to horror, horror, many times, not always, but much of the time. I really liked the fact that because both of these people are untrustworthy, you learn quickly that neither one of them should be taken at face value. And throughout the movie, that meant that I really did not always know what they were saying that was genuine and what they were saying that was a manipulation of the situation or each other. And I really liked that because there was no point in this movie where I thought, I know where this is going to end up.

Like, I know what the final resolution is going to be. because it seems to me like genuinely sometimes, particularly like at the beginning, it's clear that like she's sort of quiet and somewhat meek. He's a swaggering jerk. But like once they get to the island, as Ronald said, it sort of starts to feel a little different and the dynamic between them shifts and who has power shifts. And I did not really know where we were going to end up. I had such a good time at this. I just was giggling and there is some stuff that is so bloody. There are parts of the plane crash sequence that very much tickled the same reaction in me as my beloved fighter flight, which I've been talking about for the last year. I love that movie. Just because it's such silly, slapsticky, super gore, which is such, gosh, boy, did I not use to think of myself as somebody who liked that kind of thing. But I had a super, super good time. Oh, yeah, because it's more cartoonish than actually.

like this could happen to me. It just feels so over the top. That plane crash scene in particular, where people are like, give me your life best. Give me this. Give me your seat. And things are flying around. And things go all the way to 11 and they don't stop there. It goes to 25. It just keeps going and going and going like, oh my God, I thought this scene would be over with by now. That is true. And I think that's part of what for a lot of us makes it palatable because it doesn't feel like, oh, this would happen to anybody I know. It's just a cartoon. almost. And on that note, I have to say also some of the gross outness is just, I don't want to give any spoilers here, but there are gross out scenes in this movie. I've never seen in a movie

before. For example, there's a point where Rachel McAdams... CPR scene. Oh, yes, that's exactly. Yes. So Rachel McAdams' character, Linda Little, is saving her boss's life, administering CPR. I'm not going to give more details, but I was screaming. It's really gross. With delight, I was screaming. Like, I can't believe. they're doing this. I cannot believe they're doing this. I laughed at that scene. I thought that was very funny. It doesn't say, I don't want to get a twist to say, like, I didn't laugh out loud or get the fun parts of that. I just also felt like with a film like this, especially with what they were establishing in the first 15 to 20 minutes of the film, I expected them to examine that more throughout

the rest of the movie when it really just became, even if you cut that off and just say these two people don't like each other. Don't give me much backstory and they just wake up on the island. I don't know that much changes, but if you're going to give me that much of it, I really wanted them to dig into it and confront it more. But I think it was too late for me by the time I figured out that this movie was not going to do that. And I think had I known that earlier in the film, I probably would have enjoyed it as much as y'all. But I think for me, it was like, we're not go dig into this thing.

We're not. Okay. Okay. I think I would disagree with that. I think they do explore it in. the sense that, you know, there's certainly a sense that he, as a spoiled, rich kid, has a very hard time adjusting to not being the swagger person in every situation. I thought it was very smart. They have him in the plane crash injure his leg so that he's even a little bit

helpless in the first part of their time on the island even more than he otherwise would be. And so he has a very hard time adjusting to that. But I think I really like this Rachel McAdams performance. I love the fact that, yes, she was in the notebook and she's been in a lot of these kind of like weepies and stuff like that. But she's also really funny in game night and stuff like that. And I thought she was very funny in this. And I thought that the way that she, it's kind of like one of the things I think they play for comedy is that it's rather. ridiculous how many things she can do on the island. You know, it's kind of like Gilligan's

island that it's like, well, how would they possibly have done this, right? What she can do with like weaving fronds and stuff like that. Love the backpack. You make that today? Yeah, isn't that cute? Super cute. And I thought that was played very much for comedy. And I thought it was funny. And I think like throughout the movie, I'm kind of looking at her and thinking, how far is she going to go down this kind of, I'm the person who knows how to handle the island? Like, where is that going to take her mentally? I basically enjoyed where she ended up. I liked it. I think for me, if you demonstrate someone as capable in the office scenes, and I think that's the part we know, we know that she's capable and very good at her job,

and we know that everyone gets use from that. Then they take her to the island, and she becomes still very capable and good at her job. And I think for me, because there's no journey of either of these characters as to what that means, both on the island and off the island, they point out the fact that he is helpless and useless, but he's also helpless and useless in the office as well. And I feel like if you're going to- But he has power over her. He has power over her.

That's what he loses. But that's what I'm saying. But for them to die into, well, what does this actually mean? Like, except for the fact that he says, I can do this without you, she leaves. She comes back. Then they run that play again later in the movie. I can do this without you. And both time proven to be false.

But there's no actual follow-up or development of the characters beyond that point for me. But isn't there some fun in seeing that back and forth? The anger, the frustration, that I can do it on my own, the what will happen this time if I can't do it on my own? At what point will I turn on you? Because I would rather have you dead than be keeping me alive, even though if I have I have you dead, that means both of us are dead. That's interesting. To me, it was the toying with each other, like a cat that just is batting around a mouse

that it found in the garage, you know, and then the mouse fighting back, right? To me, that was a lot of the fun. Yeah. Not necessarily is this going to be a deep, meaningful, psychological, reflective look at their inner lives and their dynamics. I was fine with it just being like, this is the dynamic. this is them pushing back and forth against the dynamic. And then also them in certain ways, kind of going against themselves and what they thought their own dynamics were. Like, for example,

Rachel McAdams' character in the beginning of the movie and throughout the movie, she's really into those can-do self-help mantras, having them hanging up in her cubicle. All you have to do is have a positive attitude. All you have to do is believe. And it's like, no, you have to upend the systems. Believing isn't enough. Believing isn't being. Sometimes you need to burn down the systems in order to get ahead. It's not good enough to be competent and positive. Okay. To that point, I think if that would have happened on the island, because at some point, we have to say that the struggle between the two of them is that she is happy with this, what is happening now and does not necessarily want to leave. He certainly wants to leave.

And I feel like outside of them just presenting those two perspectives between the two of them, they don't actually crack those open and say what the, because I like that. I like what you just said. because I didn't even think about the motivational posters and all that. At that case, let's burn the system down. But I think part of this is also me saying, like, if you're going to make a movie that is upending the system in this way, and it ends up kind of just being like a fun romp about two people on an island who, like, don't get along. I feel like there's more to be said here, and I want them to bring that out and have fun.

Where I agree with Kristen is that I think part of what's happening with her is that she has now found outside of that system of the office and professional work and this very patriarchal system where she's surrounded by like men who insult her and pass off her work as their own. Outside of that system, she finds this new environment where she's very much freed up because of the skills that she has and because of the capacity that she has to be self-reliant, she has a kind of power that she did not have in her other life because you're absolutely right. I think one of the things that I thought was funny in this is that you see that like a helpless, useless guy like Bradley can get by in an office setting where his father leaves him the business. He cannot get by

like all of that social kind of capital and financial capital is not present. in this entirely other environment. So I think part of what happened here is maybe that Kristen and I both felt like that was adequately made clear in the movie, and you did not. And I think those things are both perfectly valid. The other thing I want to mention that I liked very much is that fairly early in the movie, she finds a knife. And she comes back and says, you know, it washed up on the shore, so now we have a knife.

And the minute you see that knife, this is Chekhov's knife, you're sitting there thinking, like one of these people is going to wind up chasing the other one around with this knife at some point, if not both of them at different points. And that knife kind of comes back and back and back and it keeps kind of taking a role in the story. And I felt like they did a good job of keeping that sort of, I kept kind of looking at it, thinking about, and I think one of you alluded to this earlier, like, how are they going to get to the point where they're doing that? because you would think they're both better off, not alone. So how are they going to get to the point where there's this level of hostility between them that one of them is going to chase the other run around with a knife? And of course, naturally, yes, eventually you're going to get to that point.

And that's made pretty clear in the trailer. But I liked the fact that I really couldn't figure out quite how they were going to get there, given what they were signaling. And I liked the fact that that journey was not completely clear to me. until it happened. All right. Well, I personally think that if you like to see somebody spite and punish her terrible boss, you might enjoy send help. Tell us what you think about the movie.

Find us on Facebook at Facebook.com slash PCH and on Letterboxed at letterboxed.com slash NPR Pop Culture. We'll have a link in our episode description. Up next, what's making us happy this week. Now it's time for our favorite segment of this week and every week. What's Making Us Happy This Week? Kristen, let's start with you. What is making you happy this week? What's Making Me Happy This Week is my so-called life, the 1990s TV drama about a teenage

girl in her family starring Claire Danes and Jared Leto before they were famous. Yes. I've been rewatching the show with Greta Johnson, host of the Happy to Be Here podcast. Oh, sure. For her TV club, which is every Friday. And Ron has been a guest on the show with great insights. He's a first time watcher of my soul called life. Never watched it. And I have to say it's been so fun rewatching the show, so gratifying to see the outstanding writing and acting, a lot of which still really holds up. It's been cringy to see how some topics were handled very earnestly, but very badly at the time. And it's fascinating just to think about what's different from the 1990s versus what's,

the same all these years later watching the show. It really is like a time capsule. In some ways, it's the best TV writing ever. In some ways, it's the cringiest. I highly recommend watching it. You can stream all 19 episodes of the show. It's only one season on Hulu. It's not a huge commitment. So what's making me happy is my so-called life, that 90s TV classic, which you can stream on Hulu. All right. Sounds great. I'm a big fan of that show, and perhaps I will revisit it at some point. Thank you very much. Kristen. Ronald, what is making you happy this week? I watched the first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is the new Game of Thrones spinoff on HBO or HBO Max or whatever that service is now called these days. And I loved it.

I felt like this was what I wanted, basically what they've started with this show. And it is a story of a hedge knight, Sir Duncan the Tall, and he is essentially going on a quest. And I don't know much more than that. All I know is I've seen one episode, and it is funny, it is lighthearted, it is still set in the seven kingdoms that we know in Westeros or whatever it is called.

But all I know is it is the familiar world of Game of Thrones set up against a person who is having this much smaller story within the greater story that is Game of Thrones. And so far, it's funny. like I said, it's light. I'm having a good time. I'm anticipating what is to come next. And I think this is the type of Game of Thrones spinoff that I wanted to see because I'm not necessarily concerned about the lore of the show as much as I am interested in this particular character,

him, his friends, and their journey. I don't need anything else than that. And that's a Night of the Seven Kingdoms available on HBO. All right. Thank you very much, Ronald. And by the way, we had an episode about this show earlier this week. So you can find that in our podcast feed if you want to hear more about this one. Okay. What is making me happy this week is the return of shrinking. Good choice. And it is one of my favorite shows. It is on Apple TV. It is back for its third season. This show is about a couple of therapists and therapists who work in an office together, Jason Segal, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, and their various friends and neighbors and family. This is a show that to me is one of the kindest shows.

shows that I watch, it's very generous toward pretty much every character on it. It's also very, very funny. There are just some absolute, like, comedy assassins on this show, Michael Yuri and Ted McGinley, who is so funny. I've been watching Ted McGinley since I was a child, right, when he was on Happy Days. And, of course, he was on Married with Children and a bunch of other things. And I think the show has also been such a showcase for Harrison Ford, who has always been really funny, but for a long time was doing like stuff that wasn't that funny. He was doing a lot of like dad action stuff. He's a hilarious actor, even though his storyline has involved his character having Parkinson's,

and that's been very difficult and very challenging for him increasingly so. And in fact, this season has an appearance by Michael J. Fox, who has not been on television in a while, but comes and guests in this season as another patient. And the way that they are able to mix things that I find really moving and things that I find really funny is just my favorite thing. Shrinking Apple TV back for season three. That is what is making me happy this week. And one last thing before we go, we are pulling back the curtain and letting pop culture happy hour plus supporters sit in virtually on a live episode taping. You'll get to see how the show is made and experience this episode before everyone else.

And we'll be talking about something Oscars related, which is, of course, one of our favorite topics. It's all happening over Zoom on Friday, February 13th at 3 p.m. Eastern, noon Pacific. If you're not a plus supporter yet, go to plus.npr.org slash happy. Again, that's plus.npr.npr.org slash happy. If you're already a plus supporter, thank you. And scroll back in your feed to January 22nd to learn how to register for the taping. That brings us to the end of the end of the podcast. our show, Ronald Young Jr., Kristen Mineser, thank you so much for being here. I would happily

be stranded on a deserted island with either one of you. I would be of no use to you, Linda. Thank you. Thank you so much, both of you. This episode was produced by Carly Rubin, Kayla Latimore, and Mike Katsif, and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello, come in provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I'm Linda Holmes, and we'll see you all next week.