My Summer Lair Chapter #269: Did You Adopt A Cabbage Patch Kid?
Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids is a documentary on the “Kids” has been playing in select cinemas since Black Friday.
(Including here at Hot Docs Cinema and Cineplex Cinemas in Toronto. Here’s a link for additional cities throughout the United States.)
This documentary is wild. The ‘80s, yo! Behold:
Yes that’s Connie Chung in the trailer…remember the official Cabbage Patch Kid signature on their booty? She didn’t say bum she went with tushy. I haven’t heard the word tushy in like 20 years?!
In this My Summer Lair conversation with the director of the Billion Dollar Babies Andrew Jenks; he and I laughed about that. It has been a long time since we’ve heard someone say tushy.
And yes that’s Neil Patrick Harris narrating Billion Dollar Babies. He’s funny talking about how much “cabbage” these dolls made.
The things we’ve seen; the things we can’t unsee…the ‘80s, yo!
Andrew is the face and voice of What Really Happened? a documentary podcast produced by The Rock. In terms of documentaries he’s made a 30 for 30 (Posterized) and Room 335 when he moved into a seniors home and lived with the old folks for several weeks.
In this conversation with Andrew he and I explore the strange origins of the Cabbage Patch Kids; he uses the word zany and Connie Chung who is in the documentary uses the word tushy.
As if that wasn’t tantalizing enough, wait until you hear about Babyland General Hospital. The Babyland General Hospital footage in the doc Billion Dollar Babies is stunning and surreal.
I can’t even process what I saw; Andrew shares his experience in that bizarre hospital.
It’s the 40th anniversary of the Cabbage Patch Kids. Sure there are no more riots yet these dolls have lasted 40 years…they are still sold and they still generate an emotional resonance. Nobody is gonna make a doc about the Brooke Shields doll right?
Here’s a My Summer Lair conversation with director Andrew Jenks talking about Billion Dollar Babies; a Cabbage Patch Kids documentary. Oh and you better believe I brought up Garbage Pail Kids. 100% no doubts.
Billion Dollar Babies @ W • T • F
Host Sammy Younan
Recorded: Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 2:30 pm (EST)
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