Believe in Christmas (Hallmark Channel - 2024) ft. Jen Kirkman

[00:00:11] Jen, do you want to finish that email real quick?

[00:00:14] Oh, I was trying to... Sorry, I'm trying to get help printing so I can print my notes for this.

[00:00:20] That's good. Keep going. Keep going.

[00:00:24] I like Hallmark Christmas movies.

[00:00:26] I'm Dan, I despise Hallmark Christmas movies.

[00:00:29] I'm Jen and I got caught emailing. I love... I actually like them and I just want to remind everyone because it's the proudest moment of my life.

[00:00:41] I wrote one.

[00:00:41] That's right! This is the Deck The Hallmark Podcast.

[00:00:45] Deck The Hallmark, it's his podcast.

[00:00:48] And friends host his podcast.

[00:00:55] We hope you like this jolly podcast.

[00:01:03] It's finally Christmas.

[00:01:04] Sure is.

[00:01:05] Finally Christmas.

[00:01:07] Is that Jonathan Shapiro checking in?

[00:01:09] Is he trying to get him a line?

[00:01:12] Jen Kirkman, welcome back for the seventh year in a row.

[00:01:17] Wow.

[00:01:18] This feels good.

[00:01:19] That seems...

[00:01:21] Like what?

[00:01:23] Yeah.

[00:01:23] It seems excessive.

[00:01:24] Seven years, Jen.

[00:01:25] You and Justin Kirkland and Alonzo Duraldi, I think...

[00:01:30] Doug Jones missed a year, right?

[00:01:32] Doug Jones missed a year.

[00:01:33] I think the three of you are the only three that are all seven.

[00:01:35] All seven years.

[00:01:37] Royalty.

[00:01:39] I don't hear you anymore.

[00:01:40] Oh, that's weird.

[00:01:41] Oh, that's not good.

[00:01:41] No.

[00:01:42] Now it's good. Sorry.

[00:01:43] Great.

[00:01:43] All that to say, we're very excited to have you back.

[00:01:46] Yeah.

[00:01:46] How are you?

[00:01:47] Merry Christmas to you.

[00:01:49] Merry Christmas to you guys.

[00:01:50] I am good.

[00:01:52] I'm a little scattered today.

[00:01:53] I don't know if you let your audience know, but I was supposed to do the 90s movie with

[00:01:57] y'all.

[00:01:58] Oh.

[00:01:58] We wouldn't out you like that, but if you want to, then that's fine.

[00:02:02] Well, yeah, I have ADHD and it's, you know, I'm pretty good at having it.

[00:02:11] And I even have an assistant part-time to help me with scheduling, but I forget to send

[00:02:18] her things.

[00:02:19] So then I try to handle it on my own.

[00:02:21] And brand sent me very clear instructions, December 2nd.

[00:02:24] And I'm like, yep, December 2nd, put in my calendar is the third.

[00:02:28] And then yesterday he texted me like see in an hour.

[00:02:31] And I was like, what?

[00:02:32] I can't do that.

[00:02:33] I'm at work and I haven't watched the movie.

[00:02:35] So, you know, he gave me another movie to watch.

[00:02:39] And as we were talking about before we went live, it is a God wink that I was given this

[00:02:47] movie to watch.

[00:02:48] Massive God wink.

[00:02:48] Almost a God blink.

[00:02:50] I mean, this is such a better, just a better movie to have the, the, the best.

[00:02:57] I mean, Jen Kirkman to join us to, to break down, believe in Christmas.

[00:03:00] You can't make that up.

[00:03:01] I mean, that's as good as it gets.

[00:03:02] You can't, but Jen, we, we, you, you brought it up.

[00:03:04] You did write one of these.

[00:03:06] Uh, what was that two, two years ago now?

[00:03:08] Has it been two whole years?

[00:03:10] Yeah.

[00:03:10] And it was called tis the season to be merry.

[00:03:12] I created the story.

[00:03:13] I wrote the first two drafts and then they had a very funny, great writer, punch it up,

[00:03:18] make it more hallmarky.

[00:03:19] So it definitely a co-writing, but it's repeating all throughout the year.

[00:03:24] And I remain kind of proud of it.

[00:03:28] And I do think it is the best set decoration, Christmassy stuff.

[00:03:32] Um, of all time.

[00:03:34] There you go.

[00:03:35] In the chat, in the double decker chat, people are shouting it out saying they still watch

[00:03:38] it, still love it.

[00:03:39] They love it.

[00:03:39] And they love your sweatshirt.

[00:03:41] So a lot of great.

[00:03:42] Oh, thanks.

[00:03:43] There you go.

[00:03:43] Now I believe it was one of the first hallmarks of a shirtless man.

[00:03:47] So you're welcome.

[00:03:48] Yeah.

[00:03:49] That's right.

[00:03:50] Thank you so much.

[00:03:51] Now, are you, can we expect another one?

[00:03:54] Are we going to do another one at some point?

[00:03:55] No, I tried.

[00:03:56] I tried to pitch them a sequel.

[00:03:58] And I think I told you guys this.

[00:03:59] They said sequels don't do as well because it's never stopped them before.

[00:04:05] Good gosh.

[00:04:05] They're doing pretty good now.

[00:04:07] Now's the time.

[00:04:08] I know they, they said that like in, in terms of romantic sequels, they don't do as well

[00:04:14] because you would have to set up some trouble in paradise with the couple, then bring them back

[00:04:18] again and that the audience gets too upset in the first hour.

[00:04:22] They don't like to see their couple having trouble.

[00:04:25] Yeah.

[00:04:26] And I thought, well, that's, but that's what we want them to feel in the first hour.

[00:04:29] And then the second hour they're happy again.

[00:04:31] Yeah.

[00:04:31] It makes a lot of sense.

[00:04:32] It sounds more like a real movie.

[00:04:34] Joe.

[00:04:34] So I was like, okay.

[00:04:36] And then, um, I pitched some other ideas and they were just like, Nope.

[00:04:40] And then that's it.

[00:04:41] They don't want any more from me.

[00:04:43] Oh, wow.

[00:04:44] Well, not if we can help it.

[00:04:45] I don't think we can help it, but not if we can.

[00:04:48] We can.

[00:04:50] That's exactly right.

[00:04:51] When they ask our opinion on it, we will absolutely, uh, have your back.

[00:04:55] One hundred percent.

[00:04:56] Yeah.

[00:04:57] Okay.

[00:04:57] Well, update everybody about what you've been doing for the past year.

[00:05:00] How, how, how are we?

[00:05:03] Um, well, I have a writing job on a show that hasn't come out yet, so I can't, I don't

[00:05:06] think I can, well, it's called a 12.

[00:05:08] You can watch it on Amazon in April.

[00:05:10] Um, it's like by the same people that did the marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

[00:05:14] So I worked for them.

[00:05:15] So I just kind of.

[00:05:15] And you came back for the last season of Maisel, which landed the plane beautifully.

[00:05:20] Like.

[00:05:20] Oh yeah.

[00:05:21] Yeah.

[00:05:21] And I gave you the credit there.

[00:05:23] One hundred percent.

[00:05:24] No, no, no, no, no, no.

[00:05:25] Please don't.

[00:05:26] Please don't.

[00:05:27] Please don't.

[00:05:27] But, um, and so I'm in the same like office with the same people and we've, there's a

[00:05:33] new show and you know, the writer's strike kind of got in the way, but it's coming out

[00:05:36] in April.

[00:05:37] Blah, blah, blah.

[00:05:40] We are just so happy.

[00:05:42] We're so happy.

[00:05:42] Yeah.

[00:05:42] Back with us.

[00:05:43] We got a fun one today.

[00:05:44] Believe in Christmas.

[00:05:46] Uh, so I'm going to talk about what happened and everybody can relive it.

[00:05:52] Yeah.

[00:05:53] I think we're all going to have a good time.

[00:05:54] We're all going to relive it.

[00:05:55] It's going to be a lot of fun.

[00:05:56] Uh, believe in Christmas originally aired on the Hallmark channel on November 30th,

[00:06:00] 2024.

[00:06:01] And it went a little something like this.

[00:06:03] The movie kicks off with this guy selling snow globes on the street, but no one cares.

[00:06:10] We're all just too busy.

[00:06:13] Beatrice walks by on the phone and a car splashes her boots with water.

[00:06:18] Ah, the worst.

[00:06:19] She goes to me and her best friend, Amelia for coffee to talk about their stay, their staycation

[00:06:25] friends.

[00:06:26] Miss their staycation friends.

[00:06:28] Amelia comes up with an idea.

[00:06:30] Instead of staycation, we're going to go to Christmas land.

[00:06:33] It's a town fully devoted to Christmas, including the North Pole Inn.

[00:06:39] They make every guest feel like family and make them feel like they're in a Christmas movie.

[00:06:45] Amelia is pumped.

[00:06:47] Beatrice is less than thrilled and says, nah, man, hard pass.

[00:06:51] But after some nagging that goes on for either multiple days or an hour, I don't know.

[00:06:57] Uh, she does finally give in right as they get to Christmas land or the five mile away

[00:07:03] sign that they get to.

[00:07:05] They get a flat tire.

[00:07:06] Amelia is convinced that this is all a part of the magic of Christmas land.

[00:07:11] They put nails, they put nails in the road.

[00:07:15] They get you a flat and right on cue, a hot guy pulls up in a truck and offers to give them

[00:07:22] a ride.

[00:07:23] His name is Ethan and Amelia is pumped to get into the stranger's truck.

[00:07:28] Uh, he brings them to the magical inn and they are handed Christmas PJs and Christmas cookies.

[00:07:34] And, uh, gotta be honest, seems great to me.

[00:07:37] Uh, the next day, Ethan walks in with Beatrice around the town and explains that Christmas

[00:07:42] land is a place where reality and fantasy blur.

[00:07:47] It's it, you know, whatever that means, that's what you can do.

[00:07:50] And she's like, well, you, you gotta just roll with it.

[00:07:53] And Beatrice says, I'm a journalist.

[00:07:56] Knock.

[00:07:57] I can't just let things go.

[00:07:58] I can't just roll with the punches.

[00:08:01] Meanwhile, Amelia goes to an eggnog tasting and meets a guy named Porter who is also visiting

[00:08:06] and who could also be her dad, but he's perfect.

[00:08:10] Maybe too perfect.

[00:08:12] Is he a part of the whole charade?

[00:08:14] So this friends miss turns into the two of them not spending any time together, rather

[00:08:20] hanging out with boys.

[00:08:22] But Beatrice starts to realize that everything with Ethan has been hitting all the beats

[00:08:27] of a Christmas rom-com.

[00:08:29] So now she's like, is any of this real?

[00:08:32] They even have a couple of almost kisses, but there's one trope that hasn't happened yet.

[00:08:37] But the ex-girlfriend showing up, enter Scarlett.

[00:08:42] Scarlett is Ethan's ex-girlfriend who suddenly comes into town.

[00:08:47] Beatrice is finally like, okay, you've taken this skit way too far.

[00:08:52] You're going too far with the bit.

[00:08:54] And we've been guilty of that before.

[00:08:56] Ethan is like, I don't know what you're talking about.

[00:08:59] All of this is real, but Beatrice isn't having it.

[00:09:02] Finally, after some time of her being upset, Ethan explains to her that he's in charge of

[00:09:10] the Grinches that come into town.

[00:09:12] So she was originally just somebody that he had to like babysit, but the feelings that

[00:09:17] developed and all the things that they did, they were real.

[00:09:21] And Porter?

[00:09:22] He's real too.

[00:09:24] And real old.

[00:09:26] However, no one cares because we're in love, so whatever.

[00:09:31] Somehow Beatrice is just like totes fine with all of that.

[00:09:35] And they kiss and they have a Merry Christmas.

[00:09:39] And that my friends was...

[00:09:41] Believe in Christmas!

[00:09:44] We did it.

[00:09:45] We did do it.

[00:09:46] Let's take a quick break.

[00:09:47] We'll come back.

[00:09:48] We'll talk about Believe in Christmas with our four segments with Jen Kirkman here on...

[00:09:51] Take the Hallmark!

[00:09:58] Dan, you and I, we're both married.

[00:10:00] Yeah.

[00:10:00] And one of the things that we've learned over the years is how important it is to have

[00:10:05] access to feminine products that help make periods suck just a little bit less.

[00:10:10] And that's why we're so excited to be partnering with Joni this holiday season, a company that

[00:10:14] creates sustainable period care products and make it accessible to everybody.

[00:10:18] And they've donated over 700 products to nonprofit partners in the US and Canada to date.

[00:10:24] That's exactly right, Brandon.

[00:10:25] I've learned so much and Joni's a great company.

[00:10:27] Many conventional pads use petroleum-based plastic that takes over 300 years to break down.

[00:10:32] And it's not always the best material for your skin.

[00:10:35] Joni pads are made with a biofilm from cornstarch and break down in the right conditions in 12 months.

[00:10:41] And here's the thing.

[00:10:43] Not only are you not compromising quality, but this company has donated over 700,000 products to nonprofits across Canada and the US.

[00:10:50] Like you said, this seems like a no-brainer.

[00:10:53] Yeah.

[00:10:53] And they have a 5% give back program.

[00:10:55] They are a company that cares not only about the people that are using them, but the people that need access to these products.

[00:11:01] And that's why we're thrilled to be partnering with Joni this holiday season.

[00:11:05] You can head over to getjoni.com and give the gift that keeps on giving, period, care.

[00:11:10] Seriously, it's great for friends, kids in college, and yourself.

[00:11:14] And you don't have to worry about dangerous chemicals or unknown materials with Joni.

[00:11:19] That is J-O-N-I.

[00:11:20] It's getjoni.com to purchase a subscription and get 15% off.

[00:11:33] Welcome back.

[00:11:33] It's great to be here.

[00:11:34] We're talking Believe in Christmas.

[00:11:36] Let's break it down with our four seconds.

[00:11:39] We're going to start with a hot take as we're going to share exactly how we felt about this movie.

[00:11:42] We do not hold back.

[00:11:43] And I will start with you, Brian.

[00:11:45] Brian, what do you think about Believe in Christmas?

[00:11:48] Well, for starters, I know that Amelia, the character was not a white bearded Southern man.

[00:11:58] But you'll never convince me she was not based on you.

[00:12:02] Oh.

[00:12:02] Based on Brian.

[00:12:03] Yeah.

[00:12:03] How does it feel to have a character based on your personality?

[00:12:06] I did feel a certain kinship with Amelia, I guess.

[00:12:08] Yeah, I imagine you did.

[00:12:09] Because it is...

[00:12:10] I mean, she had the curly hair.

[00:12:11] You giving Brian any sort of kin to this movie is just mean-spirited.

[00:12:15] Oh, no.

[00:12:16] I get it.

[00:12:16] Yeah.

[00:12:17] It's not mean.

[00:12:18] You can't.

[00:12:19] And you know he feels good about it.

[00:12:20] I do.

[00:12:21] Really good idea for this movie.

[00:12:24] And I gave it a lot of chances throughout to turn the ship around, to really get on my

[00:12:28] good side, and it just couldn't do it.

[00:12:31] It just did not come together for me.

[00:12:33] Yeah.

[00:12:34] And you joke about it a lot.

[00:12:35] I've heard some people who have made these movies talk about this.

[00:12:38] A lot of these people come from horror, the horror genre.

[00:12:41] This threaded the needle of a horror movie closer than any movie I think I've ever seen.

[00:12:47] Oh my gosh.

[00:12:48] For sure.

[00:12:48] And there was even parts where I'm like, did they cut and then immediately go into

[00:12:53] the horror version?

[00:12:54] Because in the background, there are things like figures with faces.

[00:12:58] Oh my gosh.

[00:12:58] Yeah.

[00:12:59] Some of the craziest set deck I've ever seen.

[00:13:01] Yeah.

[00:13:01] So weird.

[00:13:02] And it was really quiet and no cars.

[00:13:04] It just...

[00:13:05] The atmosphere was way off.

[00:13:07] And just the behavior added to the horror of it all.

[00:13:10] So unfortunately, it just didn't work.

[00:13:13] I really wanted it to because I liked this idea a lot and it just did not for me.

[00:13:18] Jen Kirkman, what'd you think about Believe in Christmas?

[00:13:22] Well, I'm going to give you...

[00:13:23] Because this wasn't the original movie I was supposed to watch.

[00:13:25] That's right.

[00:13:26] My hot take involves sort of the fact that I sat down to watch this movie, but I ended

[00:13:32] up doing kind of like a self-sociology experiment because I think it depends on the headspace

[00:13:37] you're in whether you like or don't like some of these movies.

[00:13:40] And the first time I tried to watch it, I'm not trying to be funny, I felt so physically

[00:13:45] anxious.

[00:13:46] I had to stop.

[00:13:49] And so this is what I wrote during the first time I tried to watch it.

[00:13:54] This movie is very quiet.

[00:13:56] Like something's going on with the audio.

[00:13:58] They didn't do background music or something.

[00:14:00] It's an unsettling feeling.

[00:14:02] It feels like I'm watching a horror movie or like I'm having...

[00:14:06] I'm anxious because I'm eating dinner with passive aggressive people who won't speak

[00:14:10] to me.

[00:14:11] Also, the music at the beginning is so timid and plinky-plinky.

[00:14:16] I can't tell if it's supposed to be jazzy.

[00:14:18] The way she's dressed, is this supposed to be the 40s?

[00:14:21] These movies usually start with a big, bold, fake Christmas song that sounds like Darlene

[00:14:25] Love but isn't.

[00:14:27] And I just...

[00:14:28] Someone is quietly playing piano because they're also trying not to disturb these passive aggressive

[00:14:34] people that they're having dinner with.

[00:14:36] Is this movie timid?

[00:14:37] Was it filmed in 2001 or 2021?

[00:14:39] I can't tell what year it's supposed to be.

[00:14:41] And then that's when I just got too anxious.

[00:14:43] Yeah, that's fair.

[00:14:44] But then I watched it yesterday in maybe a different headspace and I thought, oh, I like

[00:14:53] so many things about this movie.

[00:14:55] Wow.

[00:14:56] How about that?

[00:14:56] Tell us about it.

[00:14:58] I didn't feel anxious.

[00:14:59] I felt...

[00:15:00] I loved the narration, the way that Amelia describes Christmasland in the brochure and it kind of

[00:15:07] frames it and you had that animation and so then it cuts to Ethan and the end.

[00:15:12] And I thought that was a good way to frame it.

[00:15:14] I like that she likes Christmas.

[00:15:17] Like her friend likes Christmas.

[00:15:19] She's not a hater, but she's just not into the whole holly jolly part of it.

[00:15:23] I thought that was good and subtle.

[00:15:25] I thought it was funny.

[00:15:26] She kept calling it crazy town, not Christmas land.

[00:15:29] I liked that she had to write an article, but it wasn't the boss that sent her somewhere.

[00:15:33] It actually wove in the friendship story nicely, like a new angle on an old trope.

[00:15:40] I thought it was cool that her friend thought, oh, this must be an experience.

[00:15:46] Like they put the nails in the road.

[00:15:48] It was a way to wink at all the Hallmark tropes in a totally new way.

[00:15:52] Like maybe this village is supposed to give us this experience.

[00:15:57] I did say, I can't believe we're still doing black coffee versus peppermint flavored as a personality trait.

[00:16:02] But I did like that the two love interests both like black coffee.

[00:16:06] That was refreshing.

[00:16:07] I liked the mystery of them trying to figure out are these guys for real or are they acting?

[00:16:12] I mean, I thought there were so many good new things about it.

[00:16:16] But overall, as the movie went on, I just, it just fell apart for me.

[00:16:24] And as though, even though I wasn't having a panic attack the second time through, I did still like what Brian said.

[00:16:30] It was quiet.

[00:16:31] It was something was missing.

[00:16:34] And, and, and those figurines were daunting.

[00:16:37] Oh yeah.

[00:16:38] Cool.

[00:16:38] Insane figurines.

[00:16:39] Yeah.

[00:16:40] I can't, I just, where would you, would you say that you liked it?

[00:16:45] I liked watching it.

[00:16:46] I don't think I'd watch it again, but I liked watching it because I was watching it from a writing perspective of that's new.

[00:16:53] You know, you, you kept the trope, but so, yeah, I mean, I liked watching it.

[00:16:57] I don't need to ever watch it again.

[00:16:59] Nobody was memorable or likable.

[00:17:01] I wouldn't recommend you do that.

[00:17:03] No.

[00:17:05] Um, this has been an interesting year for the movies.

[00:17:08] Cause I feel like there's been a lot of movies that have been, uh, quite good.

[00:17:11] And then there's been a lot of movies that have been quite bad and the quite bad ones are just boring.

[00:17:16] And so it's like, oh man, I can't wait for this to be over five gold rings.

[00:17:19] This is not, no, this is not a boring movie.

[00:17:23] This is the most bizarre movie that I've seen this year.

[00:17:29] And in quite a few years, a truly wild ride that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[00:17:36] This movie is nuts.

[00:17:39] This movie is insane.

[00:17:41] This movie gave me tons of weight.

[00:17:45] What's which I love.

[00:17:46] And this movie is not good, but it is great.

[00:17:52] If you know what I mean, it is an absolute blast.

[00:17:56] I didn't see it coming this a Dan, you and I got to watch this one together.

[00:18:01] And the amount of times that I just hit you and went, bro, bro.

[00:18:06] Like so many times it was an incredible experience.

[00:18:10] Uh, so, so many weird things.

[00:18:14] And it did.

[00:18:15] It was giving me Truman show vibes in that like things are happening.

[00:18:21] No, no, no.

[00:18:22] Truman show out of your mouth.

[00:18:23] No, no.

[00:18:24] You understand what I'm saying?

[00:18:25] This, this is a town where she realizes, she realizes that there's a lot of this.

[00:18:30] It's not real.

[00:18:32] And part of the unsettling feeling of this movie is as the viewer, we're like, what is this?

[00:18:39] What is real?

[00:18:40] What is not?

[00:18:42] And unlike Truman show, I still don't know.

[00:18:46] Yeah.

[00:18:46] I'm still not entirely sure what happened or what is real and what is not.

[00:18:51] Uh, but boy, did I have a good time trying to figure it out.

[00:18:55] Dano.

[00:18:56] So I think the creator of the film, the writer, I would guess probably set out to do something really fun.

[00:19:03] Like turned the, the Hallmark trope on its head, but along the way it was like Jurassic Park.

[00:19:13] It was like, we never bothered to think if we should, uh, do this.

[00:19:18] We just wondered if we could, because I'm going to say this sentence and I will take no other response.

[00:19:24] Aside from the Megan ory character, everyone else in this movie is a monster.

[00:19:28] They're an absolute monster.

[00:19:31] You have set up a town without giving any sort of written or verbal consent to where something might be real.

[00:19:42] It might be fake.

[00:19:43] And we know the difference, but we're not going to tell you the difference because wouldn't that be fun?

[00:19:50] Ha ha ha ha ha.

[00:19:51] That is what this movie is.

[00:19:53] It is terrifying.

[00:19:54] It is a terrifying experiment that is more akin to the Island of Dr. Moreau than it is the Truman Show.

[00:20:02] I was horrified by what was taking place in this movie on a second by second base basis.

[00:20:09] The, the stuff in the background was silent hill level horror.

[00:20:14] It was disturbing.

[00:20:16] It's scarier than 75% of the stuff on shutter.

[00:20:19] It's terrifying.

[00:20:21] It's terrifying.

[00:20:21] Listen, like terrifying stuff.

[00:20:22] The, the stuff in this movie where they get a flat tire and they gleefully go, they must

[00:20:28] have put nails in the road.

[00:20:29] Let's get in this stranger's truck.

[00:20:33] Like guys, like that's not funny.

[00:20:39] It's fundamentally like, what are we doing here?

[00:20:43] Like where there were nails in the road.

[00:20:45] I mean, it's funny for us.

[00:20:46] That, that was where I slaughtered you like that.

[00:20:49] Like that, that is the, you, this is bonkers and not, it was fun watching it with brand.

[00:20:56] Oh, I bet.

[00:20:57] Like there's no doubt about the fact that we numerous times were like, I can't believe this

[00:21:02] is on screen.

[00:21:03] And, and I also have an undying adoration for Lindora who was in an up TV movie that was

[00:21:10] also terrible and she was great in that.

[00:21:14] But aside from those two things, this movie is terrifying in the worst way.

[00:21:19] It's doesn't commit the cardinal sin of being boring.

[00:21:21] I would give you that.

[00:21:22] So it doesn't wind up in that bottom three, two, three, four ish.

[00:21:25] I don't think where those movies are just a slog to sit through, but make no mistake.

[00:21:30] This is a train wreck.

[00:21:32] This is a train wreck of a movie and it was tough to sit through.

[00:21:35] Uh, and I'm still trying to piece it all together.

[00:21:38] Now, one thing this movie does have going for us and Aaron, you can speak to this, but you

[00:21:41] did play Christmas movie magic while watching this, our card game.

[00:21:45] And I understand it scored the highest of the year so far.

[00:21:48] Yeah.

[00:21:48] This one scored the highest.

[00:21:49] Most cards played in Christmas land.

[00:21:51] I only had five or six left in my deck.

[00:21:53] How about that?

[00:21:55] Yeah.

[00:21:55] I mean, you are in a Christmas town.

[00:21:57] That's true.

[00:21:57] I know.

[00:21:58] I might watch it again and pay even more attention and try to get those last couple of cards

[00:22:04] on the board.

[00:22:04] I mean, some of the hardest ones like advent calendar, nativity scene, those are both in

[00:22:09] this.

[00:22:09] And if you're going to give me some of the hardest ones right off the bat, I mean, I

[00:22:14] didn't see a Christmas card, but there had to be one.

[00:22:17] I will say, Dan, you and I, we had a meeting with old Nick Fink from we did in games.

[00:22:21] We were talking about expansion packs and I didn't know we need to put horror movie stuff

[00:22:25] in there.

[00:22:25] Oh my gosh.

[00:22:26] This movie gave us a lot of inspiration for future cards to be played in Christmas.

[00:22:30] So many people are about to be killed in this, but I can't explain to you how many people

[00:22:34] in the sequel are dead.

[00:22:36] Like we open up and half the town, the streets are just filled with.

[00:22:40] They've dug a ditch.

[00:22:40] It's like games in New York after that big battle.

[00:22:43] Like it's just terrible.

[00:22:45] Let's do feels.

[00:22:46] Let's talk about our Christmas feels or feels of fear.

[00:22:50] Bri.

[00:22:51] Yeah.

[00:22:51] Creep creeped out for sure.

[00:22:52] That downtown strip was really cool.

[00:22:54] Obviously I Google map that thing.

[00:22:56] It's found out exactly where that was.

[00:22:59] So we know where it goes.

[00:23:00] Of course you did.

[00:23:00] Right when the credit starts, it says, thanks to this town.

[00:23:03] Nova Scotia.

[00:23:04] Yeah.

[00:23:04] Whatever it is.

[00:23:05] Shout out.

[00:23:06] Shout out.

[00:23:07] It's a good town to murder a body in.

[00:23:09] Yeah.

[00:23:10] Pretty easy.

[00:23:10] A lot of water.

[00:23:11] A lot of water.

[00:23:11] A lot of water.

[00:23:12] The go tell it on the mountain sing along was great.

[00:23:16] I wanted more of that.

[00:23:17] When they stopped that, I was like, why are we stopping?

[00:23:20] I liked that a lot.

[00:23:21] Okay.

[00:23:21] Around the piano.

[00:23:23] I mean, it wasn't the song.

[00:23:25] It wasn't the song.

[00:23:26] It wasn't the melody.

[00:23:26] They changed all the words to go tell it on the mountain.

[00:23:29] But they sounded good.

[00:23:31] What they were doing is what I'm saying.

[00:23:32] Sure.

[00:23:32] Yeah.

[00:23:32] It did?

[00:23:33] Yeah.

[00:23:33] I liked it.

[00:23:35] I mean, that is a take.

[00:23:37] Jane, give us your thoughts on go tell it on the mountain and then also your feels.

[00:23:40] Well, my thoughts were that's like the worst Christmas song and it makes me feel not at

[00:23:45] all jolly or holly.

[00:23:47] And those are the lyrics.

[00:23:48] Those aren't the lyrics.

[00:23:49] Yeah.

[00:23:50] The lyrics are that Jesus Christ is Lord, not that it is Christmas more.

[00:23:54] Now I do enjoy a, you know, if you want to have a non secular take, but I'm always

[00:23:59] confused by this, this network.

[00:24:01] Why do they shy away from Jesus?

[00:24:03] I, it doesn't mean that it's suddenly a religious movie and it's certainly not a, um, it's a

[00:24:09] very chaste network.

[00:24:10] So I'm also confused by your like silent night.

[00:24:13] Oh, holy night.

[00:24:14] They're a part of Christmas regardless.

[00:24:16] Like it is what it is.

[00:24:17] And I'm not, I'm not like offended.

[00:24:19] I'm not like super religious, but I just was like, what?

[00:24:22] Well, okay.

[00:24:22] But I also just thought the singing was terrible and the song is boring.

[00:24:26] Yeah.

[00:24:26] Yeah.

[00:24:26] Happy for Brian.

[00:24:28] Oh, oh, oh, no.

[00:24:30] Oh, no.

[00:24:31] But my take is what are you saying?

[00:24:33] Yeah.

[00:24:34] Do you, I just Googled the lyrics.

[00:24:36] Jesus Christ is born.

[00:24:37] Uh, it's Jesus Christ is born, but there is a verse that ends with Christmas more.

[00:24:42] Okay.

[00:24:43] Oh, okay.

[00:24:44] So they like mashed up.

[00:24:46] It's a mashup.

[00:24:48] It's a mashup.

[00:24:48] It's a mashup.

[00:24:48] It's a mashup.

[00:24:49] It's a mashup.

[00:24:49] DJ Christmas land.

[00:24:50] Yeah.

[00:24:51] I'm double wrong.

[00:24:51] I thought it was Jesus Christ is Lord.

[00:24:53] We're all learning stuff today.

[00:24:54] Never stop learning.

[00:24:55] There are more verses to this song than I thought.

[00:24:58] It's a very high mountain.

[00:25:01] You need lots of verses.

[00:25:02] We're learning things.

[00:25:03] I'm sorry, Jen.

[00:25:04] Go ahead.

[00:25:05] Oh, my feels are very simple.

[00:25:06] The kitchen.

[00:25:07] I loved the all white kitchen with all the decorations.

[00:25:10] A small Christmas tree on the kitchen counter.

[00:25:13] Never thought of that.

[00:25:14] Amazing.

[00:25:15] I live in a small New York city apartment there.

[00:25:17] I do not have the counter space for that, but if I ever leave New York and get some big

[00:25:23] place, a Christmas tree on the counter.

[00:25:25] Yeah.

[00:25:26] Come on down to Greenville.

[00:25:27] Yeah.

[00:25:27] We got plenty of time.

[00:25:28] We'll have you.

[00:25:30] We got to get you down to Greenville.

[00:25:31] We got to.

[00:25:32] I would love to go, but I will never leave if I come as a problem.

[00:25:36] I will insert myself as the fourth post.

[00:25:40] Oh, it'd be so much fun.

[00:25:41] We can get rid of Brian.

[00:25:43] It's not a big deal.

[00:25:44] That's a good trade.

[00:25:45] I want to be the fourth.

[00:25:47] Okay.

[00:25:47] All right.

[00:25:47] All right.

[00:25:48] Just know Brian getting rid of him is on the table.

[00:25:52] You say the word and Brian's gone.

[00:25:53] You said that so fast.

[00:25:54] You say the word, Brian's gone.

[00:25:55] I realize.

[00:25:56] I think Brian, you get it.

[00:25:57] You have fear.

[00:25:58] I'm like, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[00:25:59] I couldn't argue.

[00:26:00] I couldn't argue.

[00:26:01] I'll start packing.

[00:26:05] Everything you said about the town is correct.

[00:26:08] I want it.

[00:26:09] I want it.

[00:26:11] This, the idea of going to a town that drops you in a Christmas movie and you're constantly

[00:26:18] like wondering what's real and what's not real.

[00:26:20] Yes.

[00:26:21] Is it anxiety inducing for some?

[00:26:24] Absolutely.

[00:26:24] Is it rightfully so?

[00:26:26] Is it predatory against the law?

[00:26:27] 100%.

[00:26:27] Yeah.

[00:26:28] 100%.

[00:26:29] But at Christmas, anything goes.

[00:26:30] We all know that.

[00:26:32] I would sign whatever waivers, you know, people go into haunted houses around Halloween time.

[00:26:37] You sign the waiver.

[00:26:38] They can't touch you.

[00:26:38] They can't touch you.

[00:26:39] They can't touch you.

[00:26:40] So this is, no.

[00:26:43] So this is Christmas, Halloween haunted house.

[00:26:48] This is a Christmas haunted house.

[00:26:50] You tell them on the front end and they sign a bunch of papers and whatever.

[00:26:53] That's exactly right.

[00:26:53] That's what I'm talking about.

[00:26:54] I want that.

[00:26:55] I'll sign the waivers.

[00:26:56] I'll sign the waivers is all I'm saying.

[00:26:58] Dan?

[00:26:59] Three words.

[00:27:01] Eggnog flight.

[00:27:02] Yeah.

[00:27:03] Eggnog flight.

[00:27:03] That's a good feels.

[00:27:04] You get a flight.

[00:27:05] We do a little thing around here occasionally every Tuesday at noon without fail called Nog

[00:27:10] O'Clock.

[00:27:10] Where Aaron, Brian and myself taste a different nog of the season.

[00:27:15] And Jen when she moves down.

[00:27:15] Yeah, Jen when she moves down.

[00:27:17] And eggnog is delightful.

[00:27:18] Ice cold.

[00:27:19] You need a correct viscosity is important there.

[00:27:22] There's some spices that you need.

[00:27:24] An eggnog flight.

[00:27:25] Are you kidding me right now?

[00:27:26] Well, best thing about this movie.

[00:27:28] No question.

[00:27:29] No questions asked.

[00:27:30] I was almost willing to give it the fact that people are being murdered regularly because

[00:27:34] they serve eggnog flights.

[00:27:36] I can't.

[00:27:36] City of Greenville has everything.

[00:27:37] You know that.

[00:27:38] We know that.

[00:27:39] Tell me where I can get an eggnog flight in Greenville.

[00:27:40] You're listening in Greenville.

[00:27:41] You tell me where I can get one.

[00:27:42] I'm there.

[00:27:43] You know what I'm going to do?

[00:27:44] I'm going to.

[00:27:44] I'm going to.

[00:27:45] If there's one person that would know us or friends at Greenville today, I will email

[00:27:48] them and I bet they're going to find this.

[00:27:50] Thank you.

[00:27:50] Yeah.

[00:27:51] If there's anybody that can, it's them.

[00:27:52] They know everything.

[00:27:53] Hey, let's take a break.

[00:27:54] We'll come back.

[00:27:54] We'll get to wait.

[00:27:55] What?

[00:27:55] And we'll get to what the hallmarks here on the hallmark.

[00:27:59] Thanks, Dan.

[00:28:00] Oh, double freedom.

[00:28:04] Dan, I know we're busy.

[00:28:07] We're here.

[00:28:08] We're covering a lot of movies, but we have to run.

[00:28:12] Yeah, I walk run to the movie theater because we got to see the for King and Country little

[00:28:17] drummer boy cinematic.

[00:28:18] It's a cinematic experience.

[00:28:19] That's exactly right.

[00:28:20] Brand.

[00:28:20] This is for King and Country.

[00:28:21] They don't just show up and play their instruments and sing.

[00:28:24] This is a light show.

[00:28:25] It's an aerial show.

[00:28:26] You're going to be blown away by this.

[00:28:28] And while they are performing this live in a few big cities, across the country, over

[00:28:33] 1200 screens, you can go and see for King and Country perform this Christmas Spectacular

[00:28:39] live on the big screen the way it was meant to be seen.

[00:28:42] It's a rare opportunity and you need to take advantage of it.

[00:28:45] That's right.

[00:28:45] And it's possible that you saw for King and Country during the CMA Country Christmas earlier

[00:28:49] this week.

[00:28:50] And you're like, who is this band?

[00:28:51] Again, they're phenomenal.

[00:28:53] They joined us earlier in the season to review a movie and they put on one heck of a show.

[00:28:58] You're not going to want to miss it.

[00:28:59] Head to your local theater.

[00:29:01] It's in 1200 theaters nationwide.

[00:29:03] So chances are there's one near you that has it playing only for the next couple of

[00:29:08] days.

[00:29:08] It's only through the ninth.

[00:29:09] So make sure you go check it out.

[00:29:10] The for King and Country little drummer boy cinematic experience out right now.

[00:29:21] Welcome back.

[00:29:23] Oh, we disappeared Dan.

[00:29:25] Dan, buddy.

[00:29:27] Hey, he was.

[00:29:29] The seat is now open.

[00:29:31] This one actually is interesting too.

[00:29:33] That's interesting.

[00:29:34] I like that.

[00:29:35] Let's get to the, the wait what's this where we're talking about when this movie is going

[00:29:38] up, Brian.

[00:29:39] Yeah.

[00:29:39] Since you're already here.

[00:29:40] Thanks.

[00:29:41] You're here.

[00:29:41] I stay.

[00:29:42] Yes.

[00:29:42] 80% of it is just showing up.

[00:29:44] What do you got?

[00:29:44] Uh, a bunch, a truckload are just encapsulated under the question.

[00:29:50] Is this a bit?

[00:29:51] And so I have a bulleted list of things that at the end of the movie I classified as is

[00:29:56] this part of the bit.

[00:29:58] And I don't, I don't know.

[00:29:59] I assume so.

[00:30:00] Basically like, is it real or is it fiction?

[00:30:02] Yeah.

[00:30:03] Like he never, like, does he never pay for a cupcake when he goes in?

[00:30:06] He says, Hey, what did he say?

[00:30:08] He said, could you hook me up with one of those?

[00:30:10] Do you just have to say, could you hook me up with a cupcake?

[00:30:12] And you don't ever pay?

[00:30:13] Like they hand you the candied apple.

[00:30:16] Well, she has a crush on him, I guess.

[00:30:18] So maybe.

[00:30:19] Yeah.

[00:30:19] Yeah.

[00:30:19] Maybe it's just, he's taking advantage of that leaning into that thing.

[00:30:22] But so much of it was just classified under, is it a bit, but there were a few things

[00:30:26] that fall outside this category.

[00:30:29] One of them was Carol, the in owner just walked right into her room when, uh, when the

[00:30:34] two girls in the morning, they got there hanging out in bed and Carol just helps herself

[00:30:38] right in there.

[00:30:39] Like, Oh, Hey, here's a, all the stuff you should do.

[00:30:41] I'm just going to walk into your room whenever I want to.

[00:30:43] Don't worry about it.

[00:30:44] My in my rules.

[00:30:45] Uh, that's what the, that's what it says when you walk in.

[00:30:49] That's right.

[00:30:49] Right above the check-in desk.

[00:30:50] Yeah.

[00:30:50] And if you go in my rules, that's right.

[00:30:52] And you, that's you accepting, uh, the at dusk virtual reality tobogganing in the middle

[00:30:56] of the day.

[00:30:58] Oh boy.

[00:30:59] And they showed it twice that sledding scene.

[00:31:01] And I wrote it down.

[00:31:02] Brutal.

[00:31:03] It, it, uh, for anybody that has seen the toy, uh, shot movie from lifetime.

[00:31:08] Yeah.

[00:31:10] It's like one second of that.

[00:31:11] An amazing sequence.

[00:31:13] And this fine.

[00:31:14] Finally, we've been looking for years to find a scene that rivals it.

[00:31:17] Finally, we have it an amazing moment.

[00:31:20] Uh, I would like to see both of those things from the toys, toy shop movie and this one side

[00:31:25] by side.

[00:31:26] So we can, maybe I'll do that for the socials.

[00:31:28] I'll try to, I'll try to pair them up because I think we can vote on it, which, which one's

[00:31:33] better.

[00:31:33] By better.

[00:31:34] I mean worse.

[00:31:35] The other one was so long.

[00:31:36] Yeah.

[00:31:36] This one was like two.

[00:31:37] So fast.

[00:31:38] Yeah.

[00:31:38] So they tried to hide it, but it was, they do go.

[00:31:40] They show it twice.

[00:31:41] They show it twice.

[00:31:41] They go back to it in the, they do like a recap.

[00:31:44] Oh, in the montage of the last few days.

[00:31:45] Of course.

[00:31:45] Of course it belongs to the montage.

[00:31:47] You know it's a good movie when they do the montage of the last few days.

[00:31:49] Of course it belongs to that.

[00:31:50] I love the montage.

[00:31:51] Uh, they are again, measuring flour wrong.

[00:31:54] I don't know why they do this.

[00:31:56] When you're measuring flour to bake, you don't put the cup in the flour bag and scoop it up.

[00:32:01] You spoon it into the cup and you level it.

[00:32:04] Yeah.

[00:32:04] That's how you do it.

[00:32:05] Like, let's just do it right.

[00:32:07] Let's just do it right.

[00:32:08] Let's just do it right.

[00:32:09] I don't think so.

[00:32:10] Of course those cookies are trash.

[00:32:11] You didn't measure the flour bag.

[00:32:13] So this is actually quite helpful.

[00:32:14] This is quite helpful because-

[00:32:15] I dig my hand in, I just grab a lump of flour.

[00:32:17] That's better than what they did.

[00:32:18] So do you think, so I just made some cookies.

[00:32:21] I was like, I'm going to do this.

[00:32:22] Yeah.

[00:32:22] I want to try to make some cookies and they were a bit dry.

[00:32:24] Is it because I didn't do that?

[00:32:25] Probably.

[00:32:26] Too heavy on the flour.

[00:32:27] Heavy scoop.

[00:32:28] Yeah.

[00:32:28] It packs it down.

[00:32:29] No, we're not scooping brown sugar.

[00:32:31] I mean, come on now.

[00:32:32] You just shoot that.

[00:32:33] Of course not.

[00:32:34] Yeah.

[00:32:34] But I'll stop there because there's just so-

[00:32:36] Jen, Jen, what do you got?

[00:32:38] Yeah.

[00:32:39] Well, yeah.

[00:32:41] The Goatown on the Mountain was one of them, but we talked about that.

[00:32:45] When, what's her name, the lead, is asking Ethan about his mom.

[00:32:49] She goes, is her name really Carol as in Christmas Carol?

[00:32:52] Like, that's the least, like I get it, but it's not like his mother's name is Rudolph

[00:32:58] Red Nose Reindeer or Good King Wenceslas.

[00:33:01] You know, it's like not that crazy.

[00:33:03] Yeah.

[00:33:03] Has he never met a Carol before?

[00:33:05] Yeah.

[00:33:05] It's, so then like, also speaking of this mother who walks into everyone's room, you know,

[00:33:11] she just like walks in on Ethan and whatever that girl's name are about to kiss and interrupts

[00:33:19] it and then like keeps standing there until what's her name leaves.

[00:33:23] And then the mother's like, or is her name Beatrice?

[00:33:26] Beatrice.

[00:33:27] That's right.

[00:33:28] And then the mother's like, hmm, maybe something's going on with Beatrice.

[00:33:31] It's like, it would have been you B, but you stood there like a three.

[00:33:35] That's right.

[00:33:35] Like, I didn't like it.

[00:33:38] Everyone knows you, like mom walks in and goes, whoa.

[00:33:43] You just slide.

[00:33:44] You don't say anything.

[00:33:45] You slide out.

[00:33:45] You give people their space.

[00:33:47] You pump on out of there.

[00:33:47] Be cool, mom.

[00:33:48] Your grown son is, the slow dance was,

[00:33:53] to the least Christmassy song of all time.

[00:33:56] It actually made me miss when people slow dance to Silent Night.

[00:33:59] Oh boy.

[00:34:00] Yeah.

[00:34:01] That song I thought too, because I shazam that song.

[00:34:04] It's not even a Christmas song.

[00:34:06] It's just a new song that came out this year.

[00:34:08] And obviously somehow he had the record of this brand new song in this cabin.

[00:34:12] He hasn't been to you.

[00:34:12] Duh.

[00:34:13] Very random.

[00:34:13] That's what I thought.

[00:34:15] Then there's this one moment at the beginning of the movie where Amelia's saying

[00:34:19] she's got to mail her nephews gifts so that they're by Christmas or else they want a

[00:34:23] presence under the tree.

[00:34:24] And Beatrice goes, oh, the horror.

[00:34:26] And I'm not sure if it was just like a bad line read, but like she was being sarcastic.

[00:34:31] But I'm like, no, that would be a horror for if they're young kids.

[00:34:35] Do not have like, yeah, they want presence under the tree.

[00:34:38] Right.

[00:34:40] Like monster.

[00:34:41] And then lastly, the boots, she's standing near the curb.

[00:34:44] A car splashes her and only gets her black leather.

[00:34:47] I assume waterproof boots wet, which doesn't stain the color black.

[00:34:52] And she's like, but like, it doesn't get on her coat.

[00:34:55] There's no like.

[00:34:56] It's the best case scenario.

[00:34:58] Best case.

[00:34:58] Yeah.

[00:34:59] It's like what you wear boots.

[00:35:01] And her friend sees her and goes, what happened to you with those boots?

[00:35:06] Literally nothing.

[00:35:08] It's like, there's no like white stains on them for whatever.

[00:35:12] That's a good one.

[00:35:13] Yeah.

[00:35:13] The boots were doing what they were assigned.

[00:35:14] Absolutely.

[00:35:15] That's the job.

[00:35:16] Boots were made for walking.

[00:35:18] That's just, that's just what they're going to do.

[00:35:21] I have a couple.

[00:35:24] One, when she first says, hey, I'm not going to go to Christmas land.

[00:35:27] And then they do the montage of her like asking, keep asking.

[00:35:31] At one point she picks up her landline that's next to her bed.

[00:35:37] Yeah.

[00:35:38] What year is this movie?

[00:35:40] Yeah.

[00:35:40] It's crazy to me.

[00:35:42] I don't, I don't understand what was happening and why, but it happened.

[00:35:46] And apparently she has a landline 2024.

[00:35:47] So, no, you need to.

[00:35:49] Um, the, the, you talked about the end owner.

[00:35:53] It's her and it's her rules.

[00:35:55] Um, she walks in and she gives them cookies and she says, these aren't store-bought.

[00:36:00] I thought these are homemade.

[00:36:01] Okay.

[00:36:02] As somebody who is eating a lot of store-bought cookies,

[00:36:06] thrown many of them up.

[00:36:08] I know that cookie.

[00:36:09] I love that cookie.

[00:36:11] You bought that sucker from a store.

[00:36:13] One hundred percent.

[00:36:14] Um, there's a dog behind the counter at a bakery.

[00:36:17] And again, I love dogs or good boys, but that seems like it again,

[00:36:21] but anything goes in this town, but that does seem like it goes against some sort of

[00:36:25] violations.

[00:36:26] That's a lot of business.

[00:36:27] Some sort of code for sure.

[00:36:29] Um, all right, let's talk Porter.

[00:36:32] Okay.

[00:36:33] Okay.

[00:36:34] Let's talk.

[00:36:34] We gotta do it.

[00:36:35] Porter is the love interest to, um, the best friend.

[00:36:41] Yes.

[00:36:41] Uh, Alice.

[00:36:42] Amelia.

[00:36:43] Amelia.

[00:36:43] Em.

[00:36:46] So what, what, what, listen.

[00:36:49] Yeah.

[00:36:49] Love, love, love is love.

[00:36:51] Yeah.

[00:36:51] Two consenting adults.

[00:36:53] Um, but it wasn't all the way consenting actually.

[00:36:56] So what, what, what, hi, hi, hi.

[00:36:59] Um, so what happened in, uh, this particular movie is something that we've seen the opposite

[00:37:04] of where, um, you see sometimes a, a parent in these movies and you're like, that person's

[00:37:10] not old enough to be a pair 45 years old.

[00:37:12] They're not old enough to be that person's parent.

[00:37:14] The opposite happened in this movie where this character is introduced.

[00:37:19] And I assume, oh, this is going to be some sort of like, that's her father.

[00:37:24] Oh, I like, I, we were going to get this.

[00:37:25] Uh, and then they start talking and, and you start squinting and you're like, what's happening?

[00:37:31] What's happening here?

[00:37:33] And then the eggnog flight happens and you're like, oh, they're, this is happening.

[00:37:38] This is a romantic situation.

[00:37:39] And it just, every time it was, I, I don't, I just, I mean, we're, we're saying this is

[00:37:46] a 15 to 20 year age gap between those.

[00:37:48] I would say so safely.

[00:37:51] It might be more again, nothing wrong with it.

[00:37:54] It's just, I've never seen it on a homework.

[00:37:57] A thousand plus movies at this point.

[00:37:59] A 50 year old dating, maybe a 30 year old.

[00:38:02] I've never, I've never, we don't know how old her is.

[00:38:05] She's been acting since 2017.

[00:38:07] This guy's 50.

[00:38:08] We've never seen anything near it on the, on the channel.

[00:38:12] Not even close.

[00:38:13] Yeah.

[00:38:13] Jen, have you ever seen anything like that?

[00:38:15] No, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I,

[00:38:16] It was shocking.

[00:38:17] Yeah.

[00:38:18] It was crazy.

[00:38:19] It's just one of us, you know, now we've now done it.

[00:38:22] So it's, is this going to be in every movie?

[00:38:23] I don't know, but it was, it was wild.

[00:38:27] But at one point, so she's like starting to think maybe Porter's too good to be true.

[00:38:32] Maybe Porter's doing, they see him practicing lines and something else happens.

[00:38:37] And she says to Porter, hey, let's get out.

[00:38:39] Like, I got to talk to you.

[00:38:40] And she, we're like, oh, she's going to confront him.

[00:38:43] It's going to be great.

[00:38:44] A few moments pass and Beatrice and Ethan walk out.

[00:38:48] She storms out.

[00:38:50] And on the stoop is Porter just singing.

[00:38:54] Yeah.

[00:38:55] Yeah.

[00:38:55] Singing to her.

[00:38:57] That's right.

[00:38:57] He loves to sing.

[00:38:58] It's like, I can't imagine a, a, a, a more intimidating moment for somebody than to be standing with someone on a stoop and them just start breaking out in song.

[00:39:10] Oh my God.

[00:39:11] And you just, what do I do?

[00:39:13] Sit there and take it.

[00:39:13] What do I do?

[00:39:14] I, yes.

[00:39:15] You got to sit there and take it.

[00:39:16] You got to cheer.

[00:39:16] What do I do with my hands?

[00:39:17] I don't, I don't know what to do.

[00:39:19] Can't check your phone.

[00:39:20] You run away.

[00:39:21] Absolutely.

[00:39:22] You run away.

[00:39:22] Um, the bell on the front desk.

[00:39:25] Doesn't work.

[00:39:26] Awful bell.

[00:39:27] But whatever.

[00:39:28] Bang.

[00:39:29] Really weird.

[00:39:30] And last but not least, um, this movie ended like a Looney Tunes special.

[00:39:37] Yeah.

[00:39:38] Yeah.

[00:39:38] The circle comes in and says the end.

[00:39:41] And, gotta be honest.

[00:39:43] That's all folks.

[00:39:43] Gotta be honest.

[00:39:44] It fit more than it should have.

[00:39:45] It felt right.

[00:39:47] It felt right.

[00:39:48] Uh, so there you go.

[00:39:49] Uh, Dan.

[00:39:49] A few lines of dialogue we need to go over, uh, off the top.

[00:39:52] First of all, before they're in this crazy Christmas murder land and they're just in this big city.

[00:39:57] She, uh, I believe, uh, M's character says, you know, that radio station that plays all the Muppet Christmas songs that everyone finds annoying.

[00:40:06] Uh, first of all, how dare you?

[00:40:08] Uh, how dare you?

[00:40:10] First of all, the Muppets are, you know, fantastic.

[00:40:13] And second of all, there's a station that just plays Muppet Christmas.

[00:40:16] Like how many of them are there?

[00:40:18] Aren't there like, like a handful for Muppet Christmas Carol and that's it.

[00:40:21] But those aren't even the ones I get, I hear on the radio.

[00:40:24] I hear the 12 days of Christmas with John Denver.

[00:40:25] And that's probably about it.

[00:40:28] I just don't like what, what's what were, are they already in the Christmas murder land?

[00:40:33] And I don't know.

[00:40:33] Can you send me a link?

[00:40:35] Can you send me a station?

[00:40:36] Yeah.

[00:40:37] When they fought, when they get a flat tire and fate has, uh, Hallmark hunk picked them up in the truck and he's like getting the truck.

[00:40:44] They both climb in the front seat of that.

[00:40:47] The back cabin, the back cabin is wide.

[00:40:51] Like there's a good boy back there.

[00:40:53] Yeah.

[00:40:53] But Ford F one 50s have a, a pretty luxurious space.

[00:40:58] That back seat is a lot of space and they both climb in the front and the, the better to murder you with.

[00:41:04] I mean, he, you're, you're literally like at least get in the back seat where he can't reach you with his knife or crowbar that he has in the glove box.

[00:41:11] Like they are just, that was wild.

[00:41:14] I couldn't believe that.

[00:41:15] That was crazy.

[00:41:16] Um, at one point someone says, uh, the line, if there was ever an analogy to be, to be had, I think that was it.

[00:41:24] And I don't know why I found that funny.

[00:41:26] I don't know.

[00:41:26] I don't think had is wrong there.

[00:41:28] I don't know why.

[00:41:29] Like that's a good analogy would be a fine line to say there.

[00:41:33] If ever there was an analogy be had, I think it was it.

[00:41:35] And then, uh, Beatrice says this with a straight face.

[00:41:39] Christmas land isn't a place where people get hurt.

[00:41:41] To my knowledge, nobody ever has.

[00:41:46] To our knowledge.

[00:41:47] Wow.

[00:41:49] You said that like Norman Bates, his mom.

[00:41:52] Like you said that line, like there are bodies everywhere.

[00:41:56] Like to my knowledge, like you may as well wink at the camera.

[00:42:00] To my, like, yeah, that was me out of it.

[00:42:02] I don't show up to those meetings.

[00:42:03] Terrifying.

[00:42:04] As far as we know, no one's ever gotten hurt listening to this show.

[00:42:07] As far as we know.

[00:42:08] As far as we know.

[00:42:09] To my knowledge, no one's ever gotten hurt.

[00:42:12] Um, I do want to point out at any point he could have told her what things were acting and what things weren't.

[00:42:17] And instead we get a twist that he's in charge of the Grinches.

[00:42:21] So I want to be clear.

[00:42:22] Their thing was an act.

[00:42:24] Like, even though they say it wasn't, it was an act.

[00:42:27] And then lastly, this line drove me nuts for this.

[00:42:30] This scene drove me nuts for the entire movie.

[00:42:33] They, and I sneak up on Porter running lines in the mirror.

[00:42:39] And I put sneak in air quotes because they're so loud.

[00:42:43] So loud.

[00:42:43] They are three feet away from him and they're so loud.

[00:42:45] And that begs the question.

[00:42:48] If he, he did hear them, he had to.

[00:42:51] And so either he's going over lines because he knows it's his role and he's acting or he should be embarrassed that he's been caught because he's in love.

[00:43:00] And they never address any of that.

[00:43:02] They just basically say, look how sweet it was.

[00:43:05] He was practicing his lines.

[00:43:06] Maybe he couldn't hear.

[00:43:06] Maybe he didn't have his hearing aid.

[00:43:07] That could have been it.

[00:43:09] Could have been that.

[00:43:09] It could have been that.

[00:43:10] Come on.

[00:43:11] That's all I got.

[00:43:11] His right ear is his bad ear.

[00:43:13] Yeah, that's right.

[00:43:13] Come on.

[00:43:14] Yeah.

[00:43:15] It's time for silver man.

[00:43:16] It's time for what the hallmark is where we wonder what could have been.

[00:43:18] Maybe have it given some clarity.

[00:43:19] Any questions that we still have?

[00:43:20] What are we still wondering about Brian?

[00:43:22] Yeah.

[00:43:22] I'm just like Porter's there to invest in the town, I guess.

[00:43:25] I guess.

[00:43:26] And I'm wondering like, is he just writing a check to the town?

[00:43:29] Like what's that memo line say?

[00:43:31] Like what?

[00:43:33] Where does it go?

[00:43:34] And then they bring out some green blueprints at the end.

[00:43:36] Yeah.

[00:43:36] This is what we're going to.

[00:43:37] Are they making another one to murder more people?

[00:43:40] Are they are they adding to the current town?

[00:43:42] Are the residents allowed to just make changes to the town?

[00:43:46] Like it's crazy.

[00:43:46] It's so very confused about just this vague.

[00:43:49] He's investing in the town and here are the town blueprints.

[00:43:52] And we're going to, you know, this is where the bodies are going type of situation.

[00:43:55] That's right.

[00:43:55] It's to buy more of those weird life sized figures.

[00:43:58] Yeah.

[00:43:59] Those are the good.

[00:44:00] Surprisingly.

[00:44:00] Yeah.

[00:44:01] Surprisingly.

[00:44:01] You need a billionaire for that.

[00:44:02] You can't do that with millionaires.

[00:44:04] That's a billionaire activity.

[00:44:05] The quality they need.

[00:44:06] That's right.

[00:44:07] What are you, what are you still wondering about?

[00:44:09] Well, this is kind of a weird one, but at the beginning when what's your face is narrating

[00:44:14] and saying, you know, you go to this town and they treat you like your family and we're

[00:44:18] cutting to Ethan coming home.

[00:44:20] Yes.

[00:44:21] I wasn't sure in that moment, is that this woman's son or does he stay there every year

[00:44:26] and they're doing this improv where he's pretending he's your son.

[00:44:30] And then it was clear that no, that's really son.

[00:44:32] And I thought I'd love to see a movie where people without a family just come and everyone

[00:44:38] pretends they're related.

[00:44:40] I thought that might be a cool idea.

[00:44:42] And then no on the front end.

[00:44:43] I think that'd be great.

[00:44:45] Yeah.

[00:44:45] You come in and like, you just, you know, you, you don't like your own family or you

[00:44:49] don't have one.

[00:44:49] And so you stay at this in every year.

[00:44:50] And this woman pretends she's your mom and get the Christmas fits.

[00:44:54] Yeah.

[00:44:55] I like that.

[00:44:56] Yeah.

[00:44:56] I thought that was really good.

[00:44:57] Fun movie to watch or maybe a fun thing to do in real life for people that need that

[00:45:01] kind of support.

[00:45:02] Yeah.

[00:45:02] Yeah.

[00:45:02] That's fair.

[00:45:03] If you do it in real life, then you can write the movie based on a real story.

[00:45:06] There you go.

[00:45:07] That's great, Brian.

[00:45:08] Double profit.

[00:45:09] Look at this guy.

[00:45:10] You should write movies, man.

[00:45:11] That's good.

[00:45:12] Yeah, that's good.

[00:45:13] Um, so I have one that's based off of another, uh, wonderful Ethan line.

[00:45:18] Ethan in his declaration of love, where I guess like in this case, he's talking to

[00:45:24] Beatrice and he says, um, these are feelings I've never had before.

[00:45:30] I like you.

[00:45:31] Uh, the problem with this is we just met Scarlett, his ex-girlfriend.

[00:45:38] That's true.

[00:45:39] Yeah.

[00:45:39] I'm, I'm, I first, I just want to say sorry to Scarlett.

[00:45:43] Like he never, he's not only like, not only was he just not that right.

[00:45:48] He wasn't into you at all.

[00:45:50] Um, but what, what?

[00:45:52] Like that's such an, I thought it was going to be like, I love you, but it's like, I've

[00:45:55] never had these feelings before.

[00:45:57] I like you.

[00:45:57] I've met, he's never liked someone before.

[00:46:01] He's never had the feelings of, Oh, this person is attractive.

[00:46:05] I think they're funny.

[00:46:06] I have this funny feeling in my gut.

[00:46:08] I've heard about it on the movies.

[00:46:10] I've never had it before.

[00:46:13] Um, I think he, I, I have to believe that that's not true, but I would like to hear

[00:46:18] it from you.

[00:46:19] Red flag.

[00:46:19] Don't be thinking, Oh, there's gotta be an explanation.

[00:46:22] Just red flag.

[00:46:23] Just red flag.

[00:46:24] And also a lot of serial killers.

[00:46:25] They don't feel, they don't feel anything.

[00:46:27] That's true.

[00:46:28] You know, believe when people tell you who they are.

[00:46:31] That's right.

[00:46:32] That's right.

[00:46:32] Exactly right.

[00:46:33] Dan, I want to know how long it takes, uh, Beatrice to forgive Amelia for taking her

[00:46:38] whatever the F this was instead of what they describe as the perfect Christmas staycation.

[00:46:44] Uh, a few years ago, my wife and I, when our kids were getting older decided we love

[00:46:48] the family stuff we do at the holidays with my extended family.

[00:46:50] And we do that on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th and Christmas now for us is we don't, we don't

[00:46:56] get out of our PJs.

[00:46:57] We literally the whole day it's food all day that we love to eat.

[00:47:00] Uh, it's like, it's crab legs.

[00:47:03] It's lobster.

[00:47:03] It's egg rolls.

[00:47:04] It's all day long.

[00:47:05] It's just different.

[00:47:05] You just like, let's do this to charcuterie, whatever it's movies.

[00:47:08] It's video games with the boys.

[00:47:09] We don't leave the house.

[00:47:10] It's perfect.

[00:47:11] What Amelia, what, uh, Beatrice describes is we're going to do a Christmas staycation.

[00:47:15] We're not going to leave our pajamas.

[00:47:16] We're going to watch movies all day.

[00:47:18] Talk about a chill, amazingly relaxing, mentally helpful and helpful Christmas day.

[00:47:24] And instead you got what you got.

[00:47:26] I mean, how long, how long is she going to be mad about that?

[00:47:29] Cause I've been mad since I heard it.

[00:47:31] So I, I'm just curious.

[00:47:34] That's fair.

[00:47:35] I'll be there this year, Dan.

[00:47:36] That sounds great.

[00:47:37] Of course you're invited.

[00:47:38] Come on.

[00:47:38] Come on.

[00:47:39] Again, you're not allowed.

[00:47:40] Once you get here though, you're not allowed to leave.

[00:47:42] That's actually what I understood you to say.

[00:47:45] Uh, Jen, thank you so much for joining us.

[00:47:46] Once again, it's one of our favorite Christmas tradition tradition.

[00:47:49] You're the absolute, uh, absolute best.

[00:47:51] Is there anything else you want to leave with the people?

[00:47:54] No, I love Merry Christmas.

[00:47:56] Love y'all.

[00:47:57] Listen to my podcast about ADHD autism called you are a lot.

[00:48:00] If you relate, if not, then just, you know, see ya.

[00:48:03] See ya.

[00:48:03] Love it.

[00:48:04] Love it.

[00:48:05] Love you.

[00:48:06] And we will talk to you soon and we'll be back tomorrow.

[00:48:08] Another episode.

[00:48:09] Another day, another episode until then, may we the first to wish you a Merry Christmas.

[00:48:13] The Bramble Jam podcast is produced by Aaron Shay.

[00:48:16] What?

[00:48:17] For more information on deck, the Homer, you can go to deck, the hallmark.com for

[00:48:21] information on the deck, the hallmark family.

[00:48:22] You can go to bramble jam plus.com deck.

[00:48:24] The hallmark is presented by Philo TV for a free trial of Philo.

[00:48:28] Go to philo.tv slash DTH.

[00:48:36] You're about to hear some ads that help keep the lights on here in the old studio.

[00:48:42] Thanks for listening or don't listen.

[00:48:44] It's really up to you at this point.

[00:48:46] It's at the end of the show.

[00:48:48] I mean, you're listening to me.

[00:48:49] Hi.

[00:48:50] But here they come.

[00:48:51] I promise they're coming.

[00:48:52] Yep.

[00:48:52] Here they are.

[00:48:54] Happy day.