Pop Culture Happy Hour - The End of Oak Street and What’s Making Us Happy

Episode Date: August 14, 2026

In the fun, entertaining new film, The End of Oak Street, Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor star as a married couple in the early 1980s. One night, their entire suburban neighborhood is transported to a time filled with a variety of large and dangerous dinosaurs. Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell (It Follows), it’s part action-adventure, part monster movie, part dark comedy. But after so many dino-packed blockbusters, does this movie offer a fresh take to the prehistoric creature feature?If you need a few more creature features, check out these episodes:'Minions & Monsters' is, oddly enough, a love letter to Old HollywoodOnly Guillermo del Toro could've made this 'Frankenstein'‘Jaws’ is still stuck in our teeth, 50 years laterConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.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

Hey, before we get to the show, if pop culture happy hour has ever helped you explain a multiverse, choose between indie horror hits, or just find the right drama to binge watch, do us a favor and leave a five-star review. Thanks. Obviously, there's a part of my brain that wants to know why. You got to turn that off. You got to shut that down. Yeah, absolutely. That's not doing you any good. Exactly. Like, why did the dinosaur cross the road? I don't know. When a celebrated horror director starts playing around with dinosaurs, that's entertainment. And that's what's going on in the really fun new film, The End of Oak Street. It's got Anne Hathaway, it's got Ewan McGregor, and it's got a suburban neighborhood with everything

your loving nuclear family could need, including a wide variety of large and dangerous prehistoric creatures who want to fly, run, or wiggle to their next meal, which just might be you. I'm Stephen Thompson. And I'm Linda Holmes. Joining us today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour is Philadelphia Inquirer, Arts and Entertainment Editor and Film Critic, Bedatry D. Chaudry. Welcome back. Bedashri. Hello, hello. Thank you for having me back. Hello. The end of Oak Street is set initially in the early 1980s where we meet the very ordinary Platt family. Mom, Denise, played by Anne Hathaway and Dad, played by Ewan McGregor, are trying to keep their marriage afloat while raising their teenage son and daughter.

One night there is a bright flash, and not long after, you know, that, things start getting very, very weird. It turns out that the whole neighborhood, including everyone who lives there, has been transported through time and space and now exists in a very different time in history, specifically a time when you just might go out into your front yard and get eaten by a dinosaur. It's part action adventure, part monster movie, part dark comedy. The film was written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, probably best known for the very well-regarded horror film it follows. end of Oak Street is in theaters now. I'm going to start with you, Stephen. What did you think of

the end of Oak Street? Well, I found it completely engrossing. I never thought about anything else in my life while it was happening, which as an easily distracted person is a very high compliment. I found it moved extremely quickly. I was kind of hanging on its every word. It's been a while, I feel like, since I have seen a movie where the crowd was as invested in every moment and kind of like, you know, not necessarily like chatting to the screen and talking back a lot, but just kind of like, I really felt completely engrossed by this movie. And it felt like the whole room was having a similar experience. I think any time, Linda, as you alluded to in the intro, like this is part action adventure.

It's part monster movie. It's part black comedy. It is part Kids on Bikes movie. It is part, you know, kind of 80s throwback. It's very amblin entertainment. It's full of kind of 80s signifiers without, I think, going too heavy on that. As such, that is going to throw up some tonal inconsistencies where you're going to maybe wonder what kind of movie you're watching sometimes. But I ultimately found that it resolved itself in a really satisfying way.

I had a lot of fun. And to me, like, this is a perfect dog days of summer movie. Yeah. All right, Bedatry, what did you think? Oh, I absolutely agree with Stephen. You know, I was sitting in a theater where people were like, look behind you. Look to your right. Stop talking.

And again, to your point, Stephen, I don't remember the last time I was watching a film where, you know, it's not like, oh, shut up, you know. Or this was really like, people felt very into it. They were talking to the characters on screen, cheering, clapping, shouting, screaming. It was really amazing. But in the beginning, I did not know what kind of film I'm watching. And I kept asking myself, is this supposed to be funny? Do they want us to laugh? Or is it badly done?

And then obviously there comes a point where you see two animals doing something against a house and then you realize, yeah, they want us to laugh. I agree with you. mostly Stephen. But is it a great film? I don't think so. Is it a film that you have a lot of fun watching? Yes, absolutely. Yeah, I really enjoyed this a lot. I had a great time at this movie. I wasn't sure what to expect either. And I had exactly the same moment that Badatri is talking about where I thought, how much of this is funny on purpose and is some of it funny accidentally? I came out pretty convinced that basically everything in it that's funny is funny on purpose.

I think the humor of it is in the control of the people who made it, not only because of some of the broader stuff like Bedatry kind of referenced, but I think also even some of the other stuff that's a little bit less blatant than that. I think they do want you to laugh. It is a movie, you know, it has this family action adventure quality for a lot of it, but it is, you know, be aware he's a horror director. Folks get eight. There are a lot of people in the neighborhood getting eaten.

It is canonical in this movie that dinosaurs like to eat cats, at least some dinosaurs. This is the kind of stuff that, like, there is a darkness to this story, but to me, in a very controlled way. And I do think that you get from the fact that it is the director of it follows. It's interesting because I do think there are some very specific choices about how it is shot that are interesting and more. more interesting to look at than this film could have been. The use of these very wide shots and wide-looking stuff was very much part of the reaction to it follows. There are also some, you know, and Bedatri kind of alluded to this, there's also some sort

of something is coming up behind you stuff that is also very it follows, you know, one of which takes place outdoors and one particularly, I thought particularly entertaining, one that takes place indoors. I know exactly what you're talking about. It's so visceral. It's so visceral. So I do. And there's also a really interesting sequence where you have a conversation going on in the family where at any given moment, one person is way up close to the lens.

Yes. Almost close enough to turn around and lick the camera. And somebody else is in the background and both are in perfect focus. I don't know exactly how that was accomplished, what combination of kind of techniques was used. But I do think it's interesting, right? it has the effect of emphasizing one person in one way and another person in another way. And I think it's a really effective way to shoot that particular conversation. So I do think that although the movie is silly in many ways, some thought went into how they made and shot it that I do give credit to.

When we were on our way out of this movie, our producer, Mike Katz, have said, you know, this is the best Jurassic Park movie. They've made in quite a while. I could not agree more with that. I think there's some truth to that. If you compare it to the, you know, what they've done with the dinosaur stuff in the Jurassic Park movies, specifically as they've gotten bigger and bigger and bigger and kind of more. And as the movies have gotten meaner. Yes. Mener and also like longer.

You know, I think, you know, we try not to always fall back on. I liked this because it was short. But I do think that the fact that this is, you know, it's roughly an hour 40, something like that, is. And I think what they didn't do is add a bunch of unnecessary middle. I think you get a lot, you know, you kind of get the buildup, you get them sort of figuring out what's going on. You have a couple of big confrontations. And then you're sort of starting the work toward the end. And there's not this kind of long middle, you know.

Well, and the whole concede of the film, there is a certain amount of how did we get here? Why is this happening? And the movie just kind of has to hand-wave it away, in part because it makes no sense. sense. And so you just roll with it. We're movie audiences. We've seen movies before. We understand that the conceit is the conceit and you don't have to give us 25 minutes

of additional lore, which is I think where a longer running time would have gotten us. I also to get back, Linda, to something you were sort of saying about the craft that went into this film, you have a mix of visceral dinosaur action

and you have scenes like someone's being chased by a dinosaur. The dinosaur is on the other side of a fence. And you know the dinosaur is keeping up with you because it's kind of tossing up mayhem that emerges from the top of the fence alongside you. And to me, like, some of that is just like, man, that's just loony tunes. Right? Like, that's just, that's... Don't forget the huge mountain of poop. That makes an appearance more than once. Exactly. And so, like, you have a mix of ways that the same... action is conveyed.

And that mix, combined with the runtime, keeps it from becoming deadening. And I think that's one of the things that is separating this from, for example, the Jurassic Park movies, which have taken on this kind of epic sequel bloat. This is lean and wiry. And other than like a couple of little tiny subplots here and there that I would have taken out, there's just, there's no fat on the bone here. I also think it makes good use of heavy-handed metaphors. Like, you know, we've seen, when you think of Oak Street America, what do you think?

Like, you know, it's this little street where the sun shines and people are out on a block party and they're barbecuing. So, you know, it leans into these metaphors that our books, our films, we already know a lot about. But also, you know, 1980s, American family. why is there a kind of depressed housewife? Why is she not happy with her life? We've all seen these tropes so many times that the film didn't have to repeat those to us, right? And also, I love that there was no sermonizing

that this is happening because you didn't use a paper straw. You didn't cycle well, you know? And it just is. And Stephen, to your point, I think that's refreshing. Yeah. I just felt like the humor and the sense, silliness of this helped it a lot to remain interesting and to remain fun to watch. I am not an expert on dinosaur effects.

Or time travel. I don't know how people who are really into dinosaur movies are going to feel. But the dinosaurs looked pretty good to you. Very scary. Especially those flying ones. They were nice. Oh, yeah. The flying ones are scary.

You knew they were a menace. There were some feathered ones. I also like the fact that not all of the dinosaurs are trying to eat you. It's like, well, some dinosaurs are trying to eat you, but some of them are just chill vegetarians, man. And they're just like, they're just like hanging out. Yeah, some of them are predators and some of them are prey. Yeah, that's true. I thought it was very clever that they placed this movie in the early 80s, I think less because they wanted to pump it full of 80s nostalgia constantly and more because this is an easier story to tell in a visually compelling way.

if you don't have cell phones and internet. And Facebook groups and neighborhood chats. Yes. Right. You can't communicate with the outside world. I think, you know, having people rely on analog communication is how you get people yelling, you know, into the neighbor's windows and running around. And if you want to find somebody, the only thing you can do is get in the car and go look for them, right? As opposed to like, I'll turn on, find my friends, you know.

Or if you want to make sense of what's happening around you, you go to a library and check out, like, find you. take book. Exactly. Where the librarian just happens to know about prehistoric plants. Yes. Of course. Just off the job of her head. Yes. Now that's, you got a hand wave that stuff.

You got a hand wave that stuff. I loved it. I will say, though, you know, Bedatry, when we started talking about this movie, you did talk about some hesitations that you had about it not being particularly brilliant. I'm wondering if you, if there's anything you want to expand on in terms of what in the story and the, and the execution of the story maybe didn't fully work for you. Yeah, I mean, like, obviously there's a part of my brain that wants to know why. You got to turn that off.

You got to shut that down. Yeah, absolutely. That's not doing you any good. Exactly. Like, why did the dinosaur cross the road? I don't know. And no one knows. And then, again, you know, the heavy-handed metaphors sometimes.

Of course, it's a way of telling the story in a short time. But it's also like, no, I get it. I get it. she's not satisfied in this marriage or, you know, the metaphor of the librarian, like always the best person and then knows everything. But that's true, though. That is true. But it is heavy-handed. It's always the nicest person in the film is a librarian, and which is often true.

I also loved and I would have liked that satire to be a little more biting, like Americans and their guns and their military versus the dinosaur. It was hilarious to watch that And I wish people honed in a little more into that And plus I think also going back to my point of my initial confusion I'm like, am I supposed to be laughing? Because also I went in expecting like a thriller slash horror situation And then I'm like, why am I laughing so much? Yeah.

Yeah. So I think that was my initial. I'm like, what am I supposed to do with this film? And I'm not sure I know even. even now after like it's going to be like 20 hours since I've watched the film. But yeah, I think it's definitely a film that I enjoyed and I don't remember the last time I enjoyed a film this much. Yeah, we did get a lot of the when something would happen, the audience, there were a couple of guys down the road from me that when something would happen, they would go, oh man, like really loudly. Like, oh, I can't believe that.

No, for me, I was the person in the audience who was like, why are you outside? Just get in. Yes. They have plot reasons to be lured outside. I know. I know pointing and going, Little buddy. Yeah.

Also, let's not forget our beloved Starbucks. Uh-huh. The dog who's the actual hero of the film. One of the interesting things about this, too, is that there were parts during this movie where I was like, wow, this movie ended up going a little bit harder than I thought it was going to. I will say, just like, stick with it. You know, it is fundamentally.

I think that the 49% horror, 51% family action adventure is sort of ultimately the balance that they come out at, where you do get some genuine horror. Like, there's some gross stuff in this. Yes, extremely. There's some gross business that goes on in this film. And the dinosaurs are, the meat-eating dinosaurs are not your friends in this film. Although, in fairness, because of the setup here, you're in their neighborhood, really. It's less that they're in your neighborhood. Yeah, you're a pest.

I had such a good time. All of us did, yes. You know, I wish that every action thriller had really good execution, and that's sort of how I feel about this film. If you're going to make an action thriller, get a good director who wants to figure out interesting ways to shoot it, get a good cast. This is sort of, to me, that you and McGregor is sort of a dorky dad.

is an interesting thing. Anne Hathaway is doing kind of an Anne Hathaway thing, I think, quite effectively. I like the kids in it. Love seeing Maisie Stella from the movie My Old Ass, which I loved. Yes. Yep. Rilling to see her again. Yeah, I think it works well. And I think that everybody is right in saying, it's not going to change your life. But I had a lot of fun. And I suspect a lot of other people will have a lot of fun too. Up next, what is making us happy this week? Now it is time for our favorite segment of this week. And every week, what's making us happy this week? Bedatry, what's making you happy this week? So this is not a happy-making film. I'll say that at the outset.

This is a film called American Doctor, which premiered at Sundance this year. It is about three American doctors who set out to help out children and other people in Gaza. And not, you know, there's no spoil. to this, we all know. We've all seen the news. But I really like, this film is made by Posi Tang. If you need something to take you outside of your news and this obviously speaks to the doctors. And again, like no matter which side of the political divide you are, the fact is doctors want to save lives.

That's what their job demands them to do. And you see how these doctors are trying their best and sometimes succeeding and sometimes not. with such a heavy topic. I also think the film is kind of made in like the medical thriller style. So there are like parts that remind me of the pit. Again, a very heavy film, but I'm very happy that it's getting a theatrical release. So check out wherever you watch your films at. All right. American Doctor.

Thank you very much, Bedotry. Stephen Thompson, what is making you happy this week, buddy? Well, sometimes what's making me happy is a piece of great art or a transcendence. song or just a piece of dumb TV I can fold laundry to. But what is making me happy this week is the great unifying presence of a short, round little raccoon named Jimothy. Now, Jimothy, for those who don't know, is a wild raccoon lives in Seattle. No one knows Jimothy's gender, so forgive my he-him pronouns, but he's got a spinal condition. The important thing to know about Jimothy is that he is to use the correct veterinary term, a cute little

buddy. I am a sucker for a cute viral animal. I love your mu-dang. I love your punch the monkey, the dog that's supposed to do a high jump, but instead plows through the obstacle. Fritz, the dog who can't catch. I love them all. I love Fritz. Oh, I love Fritz. Stephen, you love that dog that jumps into the piles of leaves also. Oh, my gosh, for sure. Right now, though, I'm living for Jimothy. Someone built a Jimothy out of Lego. I am there. The Seattle Mariners hosted Jimothy Night sold. I'm all in. When I Google Jimothy, a little animated Jimothy runs across the screen. I want nothing more than for Jimothy to thrive and for the world to unite around our squat new overlord. I promise to love and cherish Jimothy for the next 50 years or whenever I

forget about him, whichever comes first. Also, can we acknowledge this? genius of a name like Jimity. It's the key. If he was Doug or Jim or whatever. The fact that his Jimithy is just perfect. It's kind of like the viral cat named Jorts. Yes. And like the fact that the cat was named Jorts was like 40% of why the stories were so funny.

I completely agree that the name is key. Well, I appreciate Jimothy. I appreciate all the people who have expressed their love of him. And I, too, hope that Jimothy thrives in his. environment and makes everyone happy this week as much as he makes you happy. What is making me happy this week is a guy by the name of Lewis Kelb. And this is a story out of Philadelphia. Go birds. Sorry. Go birds. Go Fills. I had to. Absolutely. The Phillies have a charity auction every year. One of the things that you can bid on is a chance to call an inning in the radio booth

with the regular broadcasters. But this guy Lewis Calb is a guy who had always dreamed of being a broadcaster, and he has experience calling other games, not Major League. You're kind of your, I think, high school even. And he came up on the mic, and everybody loved him because he was great. He sounded exactly like a broadcaster. There's a great story in the Philadelphia Inquirer from Alex Coffey about Calb. Part of what happened is he saw. He sounded exactly like a broadcaster. There's a great story in the, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, he He studied extensively ahead of time so that he knew all the players. He knew a ton about both teams so that he was ready. He was on the spot.

He called the inning. And there was just this outpouring of love for this guy where this was his dream. This is exactly what you would want this to be a chance for somebody to have a moment of doing something they always dreamed of doing and to be praised. And I will say there are people who are like, oh, it turns out he's a natural. Well, maybe. So did the work. But he also studied and worked really hard.

And I have a soft spot for people who speak extemporaneously into microphones. And often I have found over time it takes work to sound like a natural. Lily, the number four batterer in the Nationals batting order. The left hander swung on and fouled down the left field line. There will be no play on that one back into perspective. So I salute Lewis. I recommend to you the story in the inquirer about Lewis. His last name is Calb, K-A-L-L-B. The story was beautiful. It definitely was what made me happy this week. Let this be known that Linda decided to cite an inquire article by my colleague Alex Coffey and none of this was planned. So this is great. Thank you so much for reading Linda. Absolutely. It's totally organic. It just happened to happen this way. That is what is making me happy this week. That brings us to the end of our show, Bedatry D. Chaudry, Stephen Thompson. Thank you so much for being here to talk about dinosaurs. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. This episode is produced

by Liz Metzger, Lenin Sherburn, and Mike Katsif, and it was edited by our executive producer, Barton Gertwood. Our showrunner is Jessica Reedy, and Hello, Come In, provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I'm Linda Holmes, and we will see you all next week.