Morally Offensive – Details, episodes & analysis

For the pilot episode, Bill and Cisco discuss their respective Catholic upbringings, discuss censorship and the Hayes Code, and introduce the Legion of Decency and USCCB film ratings systems, before doing a deep dive into Richard Donner's The Omen.

It shouldn't be surprising that an episode about William Friedkin's The Exorcist would be plagued with technical problems (if you believe in that kind of thing) but the episode is finally live! Cisco makes Bill watch a film that he has put off seeing for years, due to a deep-seated fear of the devil and the demonic. Bill gives his first reactions, and the guys get into the post-Exorcist panic over demons (and consequent spike in exorcisms in the US), the increase in the number of Exorcists in the US, and the film's troubled production. Tangents include why Bill has never played Dungeons and Dragons, Hot priests, New Age synth music as gateway to the devil, the actual Pope's Exorcist, and irrational Catholic fears over yoga.

What made Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), a comedy starring Dean Martin and directed by Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot), so scandalous that it became the first U.S. film since Elia Kazan’s Baby Doll (1956) to receive a "Condemned" rating from the Legion of Decency? In 1964, both Kiss Me, Stupid and The Pawnbroker shocked the Catholic censors and the Hays Office, pushing the MPAA to rethink Hollywood’s entire ratings system.

In this episode, Bill and Cisco dive into the controversy: Did Kiss Me, Stupid deserve its "C" rating? Adapted from a French sex farce, the film features Ray Walston (stepping in for both Jack Lemmon and Peter Sellers), Kim Novak (taking over roles originally meant for Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield), Felicia Farr, and Dean Martin playing... well, Dean Martin. Plus, there’s even a cameo from Bugs Bunny himself—Mel Blanc!

Joining the conversation is novelist, YouTuber, and vintage influencer Alex DeMers to break down the film’s legacy, censorship battles, and whether it really was too risqué for 1960s audiences.

🎧 Tune in for Hollywood history, classic film scandal, and a whole lot of Catholic guilt.

Missed Valentine’s Day? No worries—we’re bringing you a heartshaped box of classic horror, featuring, as Kendrick Lamar would say, "A Minerrrrrrrrrrr!" 🔪⛏️

This week, Bill and Cisco talk Damien Leone's statements in the wake of Terrifier 3, as well as the controversy surrounding the Superbowl half-time show, in relation to censorship and pearl-clutching of the past.

Plus, we go behind the scenes of this iconic slasher, deep dive into trivia and filmmaking minutae, and even dig up a hilarious Catholic review that playfully pitches “even worse” horror movies!

🔻 Listen now and subscribe for more "morally offensive" movie reviews! 🔻

#HorrorPodcast #SlasherFilms #Terrifier3 #DamienLeone #SuperbowlHalftime #HorrorCommunity #CensorshipDebate #BehindTheScenes #ClassicHorror #MovieControversy #HorrorDiscussion

"Immorality may be fun, but it isn't fun enough to take the place of one hundred percent virtue and three square meals a day."

What was it about Design for Living—the film by Ernst Lubitsch, Ben Hecht, and Noël Coward—that sent critics and the Catholic Legion of Decency into an uproar? This pre-Code classic tackled themes of polyamory, infidelity, and sexuality with a wit and sophistication that became known as The Lubitsch Touch. But its bold approach was too much for Catholic censors, who saw it as a moral threat.

Shortly after, the infamous Hays Code transitioned from loose guidelines to rigid Hollywood law, enforced by anti-Semitic Catholic crusader (and official enemy of this podcast) Joseph Breen.

Fast forward to the 1950s: a new generation of French film critics rediscovered Lubitsch’s work, cementing its place in cinema history. By the 1960s, with the Hays Code collapsing, countercultural college students embraced these once-"Condemned" films, reassessing their impact.

With President Donald Trump hinting that he wants to send Mel Gibson (another famously problematic Catholic) to be an "Ambassador" to Hollywood, it’s worth asking: Should religious groups or governments have the power to censor artists? Join us as we dive into Design for Living and the battle over artistic freedom.

Please check out the latest episode of Morally Offensive, and, as always "Go and Sin No More".

Habemus Papam!

We weren’t initially planning to cover Conclave, but since launching our podcast in late October, the film has sparked intense debate. Despite not receiving a "Morally Offensive" rating, Conclave has faced significant criticism from Catholic Bishops and prominent right-wing figures including Ben Shapiro and Megyn Kelly, who claim the movie is anti-Catholic.

On the other hand, Conclave has earned multiple Oscar nominations and won a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay, making it a major contender this awards season. To dive deeper into this heated conversation, Bill and Cisco decided to don their metaphorical Zucchettos and watch Conclave themselves to determine if it truly deserves its controversial reputation and if they find the film morally offensive or anti-Catholic. (Spoiler alert: plenty of plot twists!)

Before tackling the weighty topics of dead Popes, vaping Cardinals, petty church politics, and oppressed nuns, the hosts take a moment to reflect on how David Lynch has shaped their careers and worldviews.

Charlize Theron's action-packed cold war passion project, Atomic Blonde, was not well received by audiences when it dropped in late Summer of 2017. Some dismissed the film as a "female John Wick" knockoff, or criticized it for it's confusing, labyrinthine plot. 8 years later, the guys re-examine this singular, unique entry into the Action genre, and look at how it's reputation has grown since it's release. The film takes place in the late 80s, and centers around a British Spy, tasked with a extracting an East German Stazi defector into the West. The officer, codenamed "Spyglass" has access to a secret list, which could have terrifying ramifications for all major powers involved in the cold war. The cast is a star-studded affair, featuring James Mcavoy, Sofia Boutella, John Goodman, Toby Jones, a young Bill Skarsgård, Sam Hargrave and James Faulkner, with direction by one of the top Stunt coordinators in the field, David Leitch. As always, the guys look at the contemporary US Catholic reactions and reviews, to determine whether or not the film truly is "Morally Offensive". Bill and Cisco are joined by Chicago comedian Thomas Bottoms as well as his co-host in radio broadcasting, Mike Borden.

What do MaXXXine, Pearl, Promising Young Woman, and Midsommar have in common with a 1933 pre-code melodrama starring Barbara Stanwyck? They all fall under the banner of the "Good for Her" film. Barbara Stanwyck stars in this pre-code film that sent the Catholic "Legion of Decency" into a rage, and which gave them the firepower they needed, to force the hand of the studio moguls to self-censor their films. Bill and Cisco are joined by Milwaukee Professor, Dr. Jess Sellin-Blanc (and Bill's wife Kelly) to talk the Hayes Code and censorship in Hollywood. They get into the making of the film, as well as the social conditions which informed it's content. In this episode, they ask the question: Is it immoral for a woman to do whatever she has to do, to survive in a world which is not built for her, and which wants her to fail?

"The death ship has a new captain!"

To celebrate the release of Robert Eggers' remake of Nosferatu, the guys decided to cover the original classic, in a slight deviation from the Catholic Legion of Decency "condemned" list. The film was released in the US in 1929, seven years after it's Berlin premiere, but it was still too early to be OFFICIALLY condemned by the American Catholic ratings system. However, being that Nosferatu is both the FIRST occult film AND one of the rare films to grace the Vatican's top 40 films list, it only seemed appropriate to cover it this month. Joining hosts Bill and Cisco, is the associate producer of the Chicago Horror Film Festival and film presenter, Stephanie Sack. Stephanie invited the boys down to Chicago, from Milwaukee, to take in a live accompaniment to Nosferatu by famed lutist Jozef van Wissem.

Deviations include eating unconsecrated communion wafers with cheese, fake Eucharistic miracles, host desecration, that time Bill ran into a family of Bulgarians roasting an entire sheep, Catholic scapegoating of minorities, goth club visuals, and, of course, SpongeBob SquarePants.

It's Christmas time in NYC, and three friends are about to embark on their very last annual Christmas rager together. Joseph Gordon Levitt is an orphan, stuck in a dead-end job with no real career prospects and no romantic partner. Seth Rogan is coming to terms with his fears over being a father, and Anthony Mackie is a pro athlete, so obsessed with fame, that he's willing to risk his family, friendships, and integrity for his career.

That's where the 2015 Holiday and Christmas future classic, The Night Before begins. What will ensue is a journey which includes Michael Shannon's weed of Christmas Past, Present, and future, a quest to deliver an illicit gift to the "messiah", and obstacles ranging from the hijinks of Ilana Glazer's "Grinch" to a psychotropic freakout during midnight mass. Diversions include that one time (or more?) Bill puked during Catholic mass, Michael Shannon skipping the Oscars to drink at Old Town Ale House in Chicago, and the very real fact that the Catholic Mass contained antisemitic language until the early 60s.

So, spike your egg nog, hang your stockings by the chimney with care, and deck the halls as we join Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie, Seth Rogan, Jillian Bell, Miley Cyrus, Lizzy Caplan, Nathan Fielder and more for 2015's The Night Before.