Season 1, Gen X — Episode 12 — The Chase (1994) + Detroit Rock City (1999) w/J.G Michael

This week, DPP is joined by prolific podcaster and Renaissance man J.G. Michael of Parallax Views to discuss two underappreciated gems by director Adam Rifkin: The Chase (1994) and Detroit Rock City (1999).

Rifkin, who got his start in the world of wrestling (could there be a more Gen X origin story?), has produced an oeuvre defined by Hollywood's commercial needs. Yet, in between, family-friendly forgetables like 1997's Mouse Hunt and 2007's Underdog, Rifkin has directed films that speak to the zeitgeist.

The Chase is a knowing satire on the car-chase genre combined with a deconstruction of 24/7 news and 'infotainment.' Detroit Rock City, meanwhile, is that strange Gen-X beast - a 1970s nostalgia film (think Summer of Sam, Dazed and Confused, etc.) entirely centred around the band Kiss.

It's our contention that Rifkin may well be the Gen-X Robert Zemeckis — someone who understands the median tastes of a generation forgotten about by history, and too often Hollywood.

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