Nathan Rabin

Nathan Rabin was the first and only head writer of The A.V Club, a site that employed him in various capacities for eighteen years. It was in this capacity that he coined the phrase “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” in the very first entry in My World of Flops, a column about cinematic failure that he has been writing for fifteen years.

He is the author of eight books, including 2013’s You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me, which got four stars from Rolling Stone and made its list of the top 20 music books of the year, and 2012’s Weird Al: The Book, a coffee table book he wrote with, and about “Weird Al” Yankovic. Rabin went on to write multiple subsequent books about Yankovic, including 2020’s The Weird Accordion to Al, an exhaustive guide to his life’s work and the 2021 coloring book The Weird A-Coloring to Al, which he created with illustrator Felipe Sobreiro.

Since 2017, Rabin has written for Nathan Rabin’s Happy Place, his personal website, and for the last few years has cohosted Travolta/Cage, a podcast that explores the complete filmographies of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. He lives in Alpharetta with his wife, dog and two sons.

Old Friends

30 Years Ago, One Timeless Comedy Taught Men A Valuable Lesson

Groundhog Day is hilarious. But what it has to say about masculinity is perhaps even more valuable.

Modern Classics

15 Years Later, The Greatest Stop Motion Duo Will Finally Get A New Movie

Yes! Wallace and Gromit are back.

Listen To This

'Turning Red' and Billie Eilish Deserved A Best Original Song Oscar Nom. Here's Why.

4*Town 4 ever.

Old Friends

You Need To Watch The Greatest Summer Camp Movie Before It Leaves Netflix

Addams Family Values is better than you remember.

WTF

'MILF Manor' Is A Real Version of '30 Rock’s' MILF Island

You haven’t even begun to cringe.

Old Frenemies

20 Years Ago, One Bizarre Kids' Movie Pull Off A Shameless Bait-And-Switch

Do you remember Kangaroo Jack? Are you sure?

Classics

How to Stream Classic ‘Looney Tunes’ Online Right Now

Here’s where to find the old-school stuff.

Streaming Wars

HBO Max Just Killed Classic Looney Tunes. Here’s Where To Watch It Now.

Families can still stream missing Looney Tunes episodes elsewhere. But what’s the endgame here?

Old Friends

46 Years Ago The Pointer Sisters Secretly Made The Best Sesame Street Song Ever

Anita Pointer has died at the age of 74. But children can still benefit from this enduring Sesame Street classic.

Old Friends

15 Years Ago, 'Walk Hard' Bombed At The Box Office. Now Its Songs Are Immortal

In 2007, Walk Hard wasn’t a hit. But now, it's brilliant.

Holiday Bangers

The Dumb, Enduring Genius of Adam Sandler’s “The Chanukah Song”

28 years ago, Adam Sandler helped Jewish kids feel seen in the most hilarious way possible.

Old Frenemies

Why Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights Still Sucks For Jewish Dads

It's the most popular Chanukah movie of all time, which, for most of us, is a real bummer.

A Blue Christmas

Watching A Charlie Brown Christmas Is Depressing. That’s Why It’s Great

The morose feeling of this 1965 classic is a feature, not a bug.

Old Friends

80 Years Ago, One Classic Movie Fought Toxic Masculinity And Nazis At The Same Time

‘Casablanca’ is classic for a reason. But, this 1942 film is also very relevant right now.

Old Friends

The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special Is Weirder, And Way Darker Than You Remember

For Charlie Brown, the holidays are all about sadness, rejection, and disappointment.

Old Friends

29 Years Ago, Henry Selick Brought Us The Darkest (And Best) Christmas Movie Ever

Let's give credit where credit is due.

Watch Together

The 100 Greatest Kids Movies Of All Time, According To Movie Critic Dads

From golden oldies to 21st-century instant classics, here’s our deeply curated, and surely controversial, ultimate ranking of 100 movies kids must see before they hit their 10th birthday.

Normal Stuff

31 Weirdest Easter Eggs In 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story'

The world’s foremost expert on Weird Al explains all the weird — and hilarious — deep cuts you might have missed in the new movie.

Shoot Your Eye Out

Shut Up, Ralphie! No One Asked For 'A Christmas Story Christmas'

Here’s how we got from the surprising charm of A Christmas Story, to whatever this is.

Old Friends

'The Great Pumpkin' Is The Most Brilliantly Melancholy Holiday Special Of All Time

And, it’s only gotten better with age.