Things go south in South Beach this week as we take another trip with the Real Housewives of New York, specifically Season 11’s “Life is Not a Cabaret.” Highlights include coercing Sonja to go to an AA meeting with recently sober Luann, which sends her spiraling out over a sandy cabana an hour later, poor little Barbara K trying to get in the game,…

The only thing we love as much as Best Supporting Actresses is The Real Housewives of New York, so we will combine the two whenever possible. And there’s no better example of that than the Season 7 episode “London Calling” when cool Carole and a debut season Dorinda go to London to retrieve the ashes of Carole’s late husband. It’s an A24 movie begg…

We’re just over the moon that Kathleen Quinlan got an Oscar nomination for playing Marilyn Lovell, the heart of 1995’s “Apollo 13”. But it’s also babe city with Ed Harris in that vest, Gary Sinise leaning against that car, Kevin Bacon’s elusive butt, a southern fried Bill Paxton and a baby faced Tom Hanks post-Gump and that line of hair. We also gi…

Not only do we queen out on “The Birdcage” this week, we also discuss some of our favorite Diane’s, a couple of Ron’s, at least two Mames, one singular Bonnie, a piece of Jason Alexander and just buckets of veteran actresses in lightweight ensemble comedies. Join us for The Best Supporting Aftershow and early access to main episodes on Patreon: www…

We’re ordering two businesswomen’s lunch specials this week and discussing the 1997 cult classic “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion”! Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow are iconically indelible (especially the Romy voice), but we also get cigarette acting from Jeneane Garafalo, Elaine Hendrix as a power lesbian Sue Snell, Julia Campbell’s cruel Chr…

This is a bestseller in our hearts! 2023’s “American Fiction” earned writer/director Cord Jefferson’s screenplay a much deserved Oscar, Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K Brown underdog nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, and introduced us to Queen Coraline, Ten Perfect Minutes of screen time from Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae in that co…

Our sampler of the 60s ends this month with “The Graduate”! We get to see Annie Sullivan in a whole new light as the OG cougar Mrs. Robinson, one of our favorite Stepford Wives as her unwitting daughter Elaine, the mayor from Jaws in a surprisingly fascinating role as the spurned husband, Roz from 9 to 5 and Mr Feeney putzing around in the pool, a …

We’re staying in the 60s this week and with Patty Duke, but instead of sparkling as Neely O’Hara she’s learning to fold her napkin and beating the crap out of Annie Sullivan in “The Miracle Worker”! Duke and Anne Bancroft deservedly both won Oscars in this portrayal of Helen Keller’s arduous journey to learn not only how to read and speak but the c…

We are ascending the Mr Everest of camp this week to plunge into 1967’s “Valley of the Dolls”! While not necessarily a good movie, it is still a GREAT movie, with Patty Duke absolutely sparkling as Neely (especially when it comes to conquering Cystic Fibrosis!), Barbara Parkins laying on the beach briefly, everything Susan Hayward does in that bath…

We’re wrapping up a month of early 2000s prestige pictures that Nick potentially owned on DVD with the quintessential modern classic, 2006’s “Babel”! Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi joined a competitive race for Best Supporting Actress against Abigail Breslin’s Rick James inspired dance moves, a scandalous Blanchett shoving Judi Dench into a cred…

We were so full of Marcia Gay Pride from last week’s episode that it was time to break a decades long blacklisting of “Pollock” to discuss her dark horse Oscar win as Lee Krasner in Ed Harris’s punch drunk biopic of Jackson Pollock. We also get Amy Madigan going full Ullman, Jennifer Connelly as Worst Supporting Ruth, John Heard from "The Sopranos"…

Nick is back with a brand new episode all about cheese! Nick talks about Ina's memoir, her recent guest spot on Julia Louis Dreyfus' podcast 'Wiser Than Me.'On the menu this week is a tomato and goat cheese tart, a savory coeur la creme, baked brie, and bleu cheese with roasted pears.Follow the Podcast on social mediaInstagram : goodvanillapodFaceb…

We’re shipping up to Boston this week for 2003’s modern day Greek tragedy, “Mystic River”! Sean Penn and Tim Robbins both took home Oscars for their rag-wrung performances, and Marcia Gay Harden was well and truly robbed of her second Oscar as the tortured Celeste. We’re of differing opinions on Laura Linney’s low-key Lady Macbeth, but eye to eye o…

It’s the Little Movie That Could of 2006, “Little Miss Sunshine”! It shined at the Oscars, including a frankly totally deserved Best Supporting Actress nomination for Abigail Breslin and equally wholly deserved wins for Michael Arndt’s screenplay and Alan Arkin as dirty grandpa. But there’s also the way Toni Collette eats that popsicle and Greg Kin…

Suburban strife in the early 2000s feels good in a place like this. This week we’re wading into a neighborhood pool full of dysfunction, premature midlife crisis and some fabulous features ensemble lady acting, it’s 2006’s “Little Children”! Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson are a veritable heat wave of extramarital chemistry but then there’s Jackie …

We’ve made an excellent choice this week covering 2001’s “I Am Sam”! Sean Penn’s performance is far from an infamous bus ride with one’s sister and he’s surrounded by an ensemble of women that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest, Laura Dern and Loretta Devine, a Best supporting bunch of friends, an Easter egg hunt of great acto…

While we took a bit of a break last week, we were in fact in Pittsburgh TOGETHER for a weekend of eating, chatting, eating some more, and encountering a series of BSAs in the wild, including an extra goosey Lucy, the no nonsense matrons of the Friday fish fry, a psychic diner waitress and just a dazzling variety of baked goods along the way.Join us…

From talking cats to supportive husbands to dancing matriarchs, we just can't get enough TikTok. This week we're taking a break from the usual Oscar bait and high profile actressing to queen out on the Best Supporting TikTokers of our lives. May our picks find their way to your For You Page!Join us for The Best Supporting Aftershow and early access…

If all you know of this movie is the steamy, swoony Andrew Scott/Paul Mescal press tour, well get ready to have your heart broken. Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers” is as much about the curious courtship of Adam and Harry as it is about grief, letting go of the past and feeling like a ghost in this world. Jamie Bell and Claire Foy’s Best Support…

Don your board shorts, your racquetball glasses and a wavering Connecticut accent and let’s help Annette Bening swim to Florida! This week we’re diving into the 2023 biopic, “Nyad,” with a deserving Best Actress/Best Supporting Actress nomination combination for Annette and Jodie Foster. The script itself may wade into the shallow end occasionally,…

Just in time for the big discounts on Valentine’s Day candy, we are going back to the good old days of 2011’s “Crazy Stupid Love”! It’s teeming with Oscar winners and nominees, including this year’s Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, a hot dog free Julianne Moore and Queen Steve Carell. To say nothing of Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon making the most with …

You've heard of Christmas in July, but have you heard of Thanksgiving in February? This week we are traveling back to November of 2023 for the release of a never-posted Thanksgiving episode! On the menu is roasted turkey, a vegetable tian, thyme popovers, and crème brûlée.By Nick Kochanov

At long last, for this week’s Birthday Girl’s Choice we’re finally discussing the classic actressing buffet that is “All About Eve”! Anne Baxter, Bette Davis, Celeste Holm and Thelma Ritter took a lion’s share of Oscar nominations that year, and Best Supporting Venomous Fishwife Addison DeWitt earned George Sanders a well deserved win. We do a lot …

Ina announced her upcoming memoir most surreptitiously via Instagram yesterday and the world will never be the same. Nick is back for a special catch-up episode to talk about the holidays, unemployment, and the future of The Good Vanilla.Follow the podcast on Instagram @goodvanillapod and join the Facebook group by searching 'The Good Vanilla'…

It’s Birthday Girl’s Choice this week and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate turning 39 than a bit of “Fun Mom Dinner”! It’s the quintessential love to hate to love kind of movie. It’s got a stacked cast with Toni Collette, Bridget Everett and Molly Shannon, but it’s also got a plot that mostly meanders around on a quiet Thursday night in …

We may not exactly be God, but we are definitely here for Margaret this week as we queen out on 2023’s adaptation of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? it’s Me, Margaret.” Rachel McAdams glows in her mom era, giving us so many nuances in her own coming of age as Barbara Simon. We’ll buy Kathy Bates as a Jewish grandmother in New York, but what if it …

Da’Vine Joy Randolph is practically lapping the other contenders in the race for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars this year for her performance in “The Holdovers.” And we may or may not quite get why! We try to figure out why we’re not holding strong feelings over Randolph’s grieving mother Mary, but we can agree that Paul Giamatti is at his G…

There’s just never enough hot dogs in Todd Haynes’ brilliant “May December”! Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman are both monsters in sunglasses, and Charles Melton’s broken DILF makes us want to re-read Codependent No More immediately.Join us for The Best Supporting Aftershow and early access to main episodes on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bsapodEmail…

It’s a Nancy Meyers Christmas this week as we take on 2006’s harbinger of the home exchange craze, “The Holiday”! Kate Winslet goes from Bridget Jones to Elizabeth Gilbert thanks to two weeks in LA, a formative friendship with Eli Wallach, and a sort of requisite love interest in Jack Black. Meanwhile Cameron Diaz spirals out in the English country…

We’re flung out of space this week for “Carol”! We have been sleeping on potentially the best LGBT movie on the shelf, with Oscar nominated and worthy performances by Her Majesty Cate Blanchett and the BSA with the dragon tattoo herself, Rooney Mara, as well as Sarah Paulson as Best Supporting Abbie and that Glassy score by Carter Burwell, We may n…

We’re just a couple of Beths aspiring to be Jo, hoping to be Amy but happy to end up like Meg, to say nothing of Marmee! This week, we’re welcoming in the holiday season with a perfect early 90s cozy up on the couch and cry movie, “Little Women”! Kirsten Dunst nearly steals the show until Clare Danes pulls out all the stops, Winona Ryder earns her …

We’re headed to a nursing home in Buffalo in the dead of winter this week! We’re discussing Tamara Jenkins’ darkly funny “The Savages,” with two Queen Philips, Bosco and Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney giving Best Supporting Sister, and some featured ensemble standouts like Debra Monk, Gbenga Akinnagbe and Margo Martingale. (To say nothing of Burt an…

Awards season has unofficially begun with The Third Annual Westons! It is literally our biggest episode of the year, as we celebrate the best supporting friends, sisters, moms, men, assistants to the BSA, kitchen acting, score and more from this past year of episodes, induct a new batch of Queens and announce our BSA of the Year! Join us for The Be…

Ina's friends are coming over this weekend for brunch and there's no WAY she's going to make the mistake of having another omelet party again, yikes! The theme is 'make it ahead' as she whips up a batch of scones with homemade raspberry butter, homemade granola, orange yogurt, and a stunning potato and basil frittata.…

We’re dancing with our fingers and finding out what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France this week as we continue TarantiNovember/NovUMAber with the 90s modern classic, “Pulp Fiction”! Uma Thurman’s Oscar nominated performance as the mysterious and charming Mia Wallace steals the second act of the movie and much of our time in this wee…

Thanksgiving is coming early this year and thankfully Ina is giving us a foolproof plan to hosting a successful Thanksgiving dinner! Ina turns the volume up by serving an herb roasted turkey breast, gravy with a splash of brandy, along with celery root and apple puree. The guests are bringing the pies and Ina sprinkles Thanksgiving tips throughout …

TarantiNovember aka NovUMAber continues this week with Volume 2 of Beatrix Kiddo’s quest to Kill Bill. The frenetic violence of the first movie gives way to a more plaintive western, but we still get the Texas funeral, Beatrix’s training montage with Pai Mei, the Budd and Elle one act play in a trailer in the middle of the desert, Daryl Hannah serv…

Halloween might be over, but we're talking all things chocolate this week on the The Good Vanilla! Ina has friend and chocolatier Brigitte Brownie at the Garten household to help Ina make chocolate cornucopias filled with rum raisin truffles and chocolate dipped apricots. Then Ina is turning up the volume with Mexican hot chocolate with her best pa…

We’re wiggling all of our toes this week as we kick off TarentiNovember. The magnificence of Uma Thurman as an action star giving face journeys and nuance is enough to make both of swoon. We discover that Mr. Tarentino is the ultimate reference queen, the newfound sexiness of men in eye masks, and the magic of Lucy Liu.Join us for SEASON 1 of "SMAS…

Who will survive and what will be left of us this week as we tackle the titan of terror herself, 1974’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”! And despite the gruesome title, it’s a surprisingly beautiful movie with a lot to say about the horrors of meat eating and ultimately an account of what Queen Sally Hardesty will endure to escape becoming tomorrow n…

Nick is back for the 100th episode of The Good Vanilla! He shares the details of his hiatus and a FABULOUS trip to Palm Springs/ Los Angeles. Speaking of L.A., Ina is whipping up a three course meal for her two foodie L.A. friends Billy and Barbara. She starts with pomegranate cosmos paired with fingerling potatoes and a delicious garlicky aioli. F…

We’ll just die if we don’t get to talk about Paula Prentiss in 1975’s “The Stepford Wives” this week! The original and far superior adaptation of Ira Levin’s potentially prophetic novel features a real Mary and Rhoda duo in Katherine Ross’s Joanna and Prentiss’s Bobbie, who along with Tina Louise’s Charmaine can’t understand why the other wives in …

We’re going back to another childhood favorite this week to kick off the best supporting spooky season! “Ghostbusters” may be a perfect vehicle for Bill Murray to do the Bill Murray thing, but we’re here for some long overdue Annie Potts appreciation as bespectacled receptionist Janine and to, of course, recognize the icon that is Dana Barrett’s ap…

We're going back...back...back to sequels this week with the cult classic dud, "Grease 2"! It's off-kilter and amusing for about 45 minutes, and then it really goes into a ditch, but in the meantime we get Didi Conn, Lorna Luft, Eve Arden, Dodie Goodman, Adrian Zmed, Peter Frechette and of course, Michelle Pfeiffer as Stephanie, who's a total ketch…

We’re changing up our regularly scheduled programming to bring the Aftershow from Patreon to the main feed this week! And we go deep this episode—-as the seasons change, so do the seasons of our lives. But then we’ve got a game, Best Supporting Assignments and of course, BSA of the Week! Susie Bannion baby, whaddya got?Join us for The Best Supporti…

It’s Sequel September and we’re kicking things off with a staple from both our childhoods, the potentially superior Grumpier Old Men! Ann-Margret gets at least one of the best lines in the movie in an otherwise very supporting role, Sophia Loren takes our breath away as Spaghetti Regetti’s cousin Maria, Best Supporting Burgess shines in those outta…

We’re winding down Family Movie Month with the definitively PG-13 talking baby movie that kicked off a trilogy, “Look Who’s Talking”! Kirstie Alley and John Travolta have chemistry for days, and Olympia Dukakis was born to play Long Island mom Rosie. (But have you seen her as the lesbian cowgirl?) We also get Twink Caplan as work bestie Rona, Abe V…

Family Movie Month continues with three men, a British baby mama, a charming little lady and one hell of a BSA in 1990’s “Three Men and a Little Lady”! Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg have us hot under the collars of our purple turtlenecks, we’re fascinated by Nancy Travis’s career and we can not say enough good things about Fiona Shaw as Elspeth …

Family Movie Month takes us to the basement of the Alamo and back in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure! The comedic genius of Paul Reubens is on full display here but we also get Elizabeth Daily as Dottie, Diane Salinger’s au revoiring Simone, a swoonworthy Judd Omen as Mickey, Jan Hooks teaching us to say “adobe” as tour guide Tina and Danny Elfman’s iconic…

We're talking pasta this week and Ina is turning up the volume on all of our favorites! On the menu is a mouthwatering lobster mac and cheese, homemade pesto and marinara, and a greek inspired pasta salad. Which one will Jeffrey choose to have for dinner? Tune in to find out!By Nick Kochanov