Entertainment
Raunchy, R-Rated 90s Comedy So Filthy That Its Stars Want You To Forget It Exists
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Mid to late 90s sci-fi comedies had a lot of fun with the “unsanctioned medical experiments going terribly wrong” plot, and with pretty solid results. 1996’s PG-13 rated The Nutty Professor cleaned house at the box office with $274 million, as did 1997’s G-rated Flubber with $178 million. Both of these family-friendly remakes proved there was a real market for this kind of humor. So much so that Marlon Wayans wanted in on the action, but with a little more R-rated edge in the form of 1998’s Senseless.
If there’s ever been a word to describe Senseless, look no further than the title. All of the familiar “unsanctioned medical experiment gone wrong” beats are here, but with a whole lot more flatulence, low-brow humor, and sexual innuendo. Senseless earned just $13 million at the box office against its reported $15 million budget, effectively putting it in the red. Even worse, it currently sits on Rotten Tomatoes’ wall of shame with an unthinkable 6 percent critical score, alongside a slightly more forgiving 45 percent approval rating on the Popcornmeter.
If you’re looking for the kind of punisher that performed so poorly it now only exists on ad-supported streaming, probably in a last-ditch attempt to recoup losses, Senseless is exactly what you should seek out. Personally, I don’t hate the film, but you really have to be in the right mood to choke this one down.
Co-Written By Craig Mazin
Co-written by Craig Mazin, best known for Chernobyl and The Last of Us, Senseless is a far cry from what the filmmaker would later prove himself capable of. Honestly, you can say the same about Marlon Wayans, David Spade, Matthew Lillard, and Rip Torn. The problem with Senseless is not the talent involved, but the cinematic experiment they embarked on here. They are all funny people in the right context, but somehow never quite figure out how to channel that energy.
Senseless centers on Darryl Witherspoon (Marlon Wayans), a struggling economics student working multiple odd jobs to make ends meet while also supporting his family back home. To stay in the black, Darryl engages in questionable practices like selling blood, plasma, and other bodily fluids to the appropriate venues for extra cash. When he learns about a controversial drug experiment overseen by Dr. Thomas Wheedon (Brad Dourif), Darryl jumps at the chance to get paid.
The experiment is simple on paper. Darryl injects a glowing green substance into his butt, which increases each of his five senses tenfold. Here’s the catch. If he messes up the dosage, he will lose one sense entirely while the remaining four go completely out of control. As you’d expect, this is exactly what happens in Senseless.
David Spade Doing His Usual Slappable Jerk Shtick
The primary conflict outside of the questionable chemicals coursing through Darryl’s bloodstream comes in the form of David Spade’s Scott Thorpe. Scott comes from a life of privilege and serves as Darryl’s direct competitor in an academic competition overseen by Randall Tyson (Rip Torn). Whoever wins gets fast tracked to a high paying Wall Street job, something Darryl desperately needs.
Spade is fully typecast as the same slappable jerk he played in films like PCU, Tommy Boy, and Black Sheep, and you get more of the same here. As much as I hate Scott Thorpe as a character, I have to give Spade credit where it’s due. He plays this kind of role so convincingly that I genuinely hated him as a person for years because I didn’t think it was humanly possible to fake that level of smugness.
At first, Darryl uses his heightened senses to impress Randall and undermine Scott, seemingly recalling stock figures from memory when he’s actually just reading a newspaper planted across the room that he can zoom in on. But things quickly spiral when Darryl is struck with sudden bouts of blindness, hypersensitive smell and taste, and the ability to hear what goes on in the women’s room in graphic detail as his love interest, Janice (Tamara Taylor), chats with her gassy friend behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, Darryl’s roommate Tim (Matthew Lillard), a straight-edge punk and hockey player, suspects he’s abusing hard drugs and intervenes whenever possible to keep him from going down the wrong path. If I had to describe Lillard’s vibe here, it’s what Machine Gun Kelly thought looked cool and then based his entire pop punk persona on.
Why It Failed
Senseless is a fascinating failure because everyone involved reliably brings exactly what you expect from them. The problem is that in this context, we get too much toilet humor and too many gross-out gags without fully leaning into their characterization. There are plenty of cheap laughs, most of them built on farts and funny faces. As a concept, Senseless has potential, but it simply does not work as a feature-length film because those gags can only stretch so far without being properly grounded.
I could easily see Senseless working as a recurring sketch where Darryl, or someone like him, keeps getting into ridiculous situations thanks to the drug, with the whole thing wrapped up in a few minutes. Some of the standalone gags would absolutely work in that format, but that’s not what we got. Instead, the film becomes an exhausting exercise in seeing just how far it’s willing to push things.
Senseless is streaming for free on Pluto TV as of this writing.
Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 19, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you have a sweet tooth.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
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Yellow: Lippy
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Green: Gowns
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Blue: Played in Vegas
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Purple: Sweet treats
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: Cheeky
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Green: Dress measurements
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Blue: Cards in Texas Hold ‘Em
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Purple: Last words of candy brands in the singular
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections #1043 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Cheeky: ARCH, FRESH, SASSY, WISE
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Dress measurements: BUST, HIPS, LENGTH, WAIST
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Cards in Texas Hold ‘Em: FLOP, HOLE, RIVER, TURN
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Last words of candy brands in the singular: CAP, DUD, KID, MINT
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for April 19, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re constantly changing.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Small change
The words are related to changes.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe fine-tuning.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is There I Fixed It.
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NYT Strands word list for April 19
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There I Fixed It
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Adjust
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Modify
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Alter
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Improve
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Tweak
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Refine
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 19, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you can never sit down.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
To rise.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
There are no recurring letters.
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Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter T.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
STAND
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
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