Sweethearts (MAX - 2024) ft. Alonso Duralde

[00:00:00] Hi, I'm Bran and I love Mac's very, very, very Christmas movies. I'm Dan and I despise Mac's ultra Christmas movies. I'm Alonso and no seriously so much Christmas and this is the Deck The Hallmark Podcast. Deck The Hallmark gets this podcast and friends host this podcast. We hope you like this jolly podcast.

[00:00:34] Well hi everybody! Oh boy, look at that. We're back. Very excited to be here today talking sweethearts. Double disclaimer for this movie, no Christmas. Also, not the content that you're going to see on the Hallmark Channel. Okay, I gotta be honest with you. Earned R rating. Well, okay, so a few things happened here everybody. One, we, Dan heard, I think you heard it was a holiday movie.

[00:01:04] Yes, and then you checked it out. I looked up, I saw in the synopsis, Thanksgiving, that was enough for me. And then for some reason you and I both thought it was PG-13. Yeah. Which, it becomes clear very early on that it's not. Very early on you realize it is not PG-13. So, I want to apologize to the people out there that took our recommendation early. It was like, this is going to be a fun, a family-friendly movie and I want to get ahead. Is this more edifying than the Unicorn Christmas movie? Yes.

[00:01:34] Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Look, 10 minutes in I was just like, oh goody, another brand synopsis I can't have to hear. I'm interested to hear what he omits from this synopsis. Oh yeah. And I do want, we have this week and then next week is our final Monday with Alonzo. And it also happens to be Alonzo's birthday week, which means you get to pick the movie. Which is something we started and I still don't know why we did that.

[00:02:04] Well, it's Alonzo. I stood up for it, I don't know. Nobody else gets to do it. Literally. Nobody else is like, it's my birthday. You don't ask, you don't get. That's right. What's great is it, you just kind of said that we're doing it and we're like, well, I guess, I guess we are. And I was like gaslit into thinking it's something we've been doing forever. Everyone gets a birthday pick. Ryan Popola, Jax, Patrick Serrano, you guys get a birthday pick. When do I get to do my birthday pick? That's right.

[00:02:30] So I would like you to go ahead and let everybody know what we're going to be watching next week so that they can get ahead of it and maybe why you want to do that movie for your birthday. Sure. I would like us to watch. This is a Canadian film. Oh, boy. But it leans into its Canadian-ness, unlike most of the stuff that you see on Hallmark. This is from 2007. It's a film called Breakfast with Scott.

[00:03:00] With one T. With one T, yes. This is an LGBTQ plus comedy about a couple, one of whom is a former pro hockey player turned commentator. The other one's a lawyer. I forget what his deal is. And they wind up having to foster a very, very, let's say, flamboyant kid.

[00:03:24] And part of that kid's, you know, dazzling look at the world is that he is obsessed with Christmas. Oh! I was going to ask where the Christmas is. I think y'all will get a kick out of this. It also stars Hallmark staple Tom Cavanaugh. Okay. All right. As the former hockey player. So, yeah, there's a lot to like here.

[00:03:48] It's directed by Lori Linde, who was one of the, when people talk about the films that kind of launched the new queer cinema, Linde had a short film at Sundance that year called RSVP. So he is considered part of that generation of directors, although obviously this is much more aiming at a broader family audience. But it's a lovely little movie. And I think it's one that y'all probably never heard of. And I thought it'd be fun to talk about. I love it. I haven't heard of it.

[00:04:17] That was a really good sell, Alonzo. Great sell. I was a little unsure going into it, especially with the one T. I was not sure where we were going with this. Yeah, that's true. It could go either way. And it's on Tubi. So, you know, free with ads. Wow. Breakfast with Scoot. Well, now I just kind of want to see what comes on after on Tubi. That's always a fun game to play too. Okay. Sweethearts is what we're talking about today. It originally aired on Max on November 28th to any 24. And it went a little something like this.

[00:04:45] Ben and Jamie are best friends, like best friends. They've been besties since eighth grade. Palmer is their third best friend. And Jamie now has a boyfriend. And Claire, I'm sorry. What's going on? Did somebody break brand? I got it. I got it. They're in relationships with not with each other. That's right. That's what I'm trying to say. I worded it in the most confusing way possible.

[00:05:15] But yes, both Jamie and Ben, they go off to college together, leaving their significant others behind. So they're both in long distance relationships. Ben's girlfriend is still in high school, but don't worry. She just, she had to repeat first grade. So it's all above board. She's a lot though. Jamie is annoyed that her roommate really wants to be her friend, but she reluctantly agrees to go to a party with them. And Ben tags along and let's just say the party does not go well.

[00:05:45] They start to wonder if the long distance relationship thing is ruining their lives at college. And so they mutually decide that it is time to break up with their significant others on Wednesday when they get home for Thanksgiving. It's right before Christmas. The plan is set. Yeah. Right before Christmas. The Christmas is coming. I know it. I know it's coming. After... So is Dr. John. That's right. After... After...

[00:06:11] After a test, they go to leave, but Ben's car is missing. Turns out Ben's roommate took it to Colorado for Thanksgiving. And so they hop on a bus instead and the plan gets pushed back a bit because you're in bus versus car, you're going to be a little bit behind, but it's going to be fine. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield plays and that's the rest of my day. You actually started singing it before we watched it. I know. Which is crazy. I know. As I do most days.

[00:06:41] Same day. They wrote Palmer into helping who was also home for Thanksgiving and he was having a gap year at Disney Paris, but not... It's outside the gates. He brings the boyfriend and the girlfriend over to his house, gives them some alcohol and says, stay here. I got to go have a change of clothes. And they sneak out drunk because they're hungry.

[00:07:07] Palmer goes to get them and ends up running into Coach Reese, the head football coach. And when Reese asks what's going on, Palmer explains and tells him that tonight, you know, I was trying to get a group of people together. It was going to be my, basically like my coming out party. I was going to tell everybody that I was gay that doesn't already know it. And so that was kind of what I had planned tonight. And to Palmer shock, to Palmer... You got it. Wait for it.

[00:07:33] To Palmer shock, Reese reveals that he is also gay and has chosen to live in small town Ohio. You don't got to go to the big city. You can be gay in a small town. And Reese takes him to a bowling alley to prove his point to meet his boyfriend and their queer bowling league. This is an eye-opening experience for Palmer. Meanwhile, Jamie and Ben are stuck trying to find their missing boyfriend and girlfriend.

[00:07:58] And they try sneaking into a bar that they think that they're at, which does not go well. And it ultimately leads to an argument between the two of them. Hurtful things are said, especially when Claire finds out that Ben is going to Copenhagen next semester and didn't tell her. Eventually, they learn that their partners are at a house party. And so they head there, they find them, and they attempt the breakup. But it does not go smoothly.

[00:08:23] And the fact that they're both breaking up at the exact same time makes Ben's girlfriend very suspicious. And she tells him that they should just get together already. Something I think we were all thinking. We were all thinking. Yeah. So this is it. We're here. It's time, right? So Ben and Jamie, they have the talk. Should they? Should they maybe? They end up sharing a kiss. One that one could describe as big ones. Kissing big ones. Absolutely. Absolutely. It is interrupted by the arrival of the fire department.

[00:08:54] They don't get to talk about it any further. Finally, it's Thanksgiving and Ben is watching When Harry Met Sally and realizes that he has to go talk to Jamie. And so he runs off in a sweater vest with no sleeves. And he's crushing it. And I would like it. And he needs to get something off his chest. Shows up. She's there. She's sitting on a stoop. She's doing some thinking.

[00:09:20] And he says, I don't have any romantic feelings for you. And the kiss didn't do it for me. What? Jamie is relieved. She felt the exact same way. Of course. Yeah. Ben heads to Europe. Six months later, he returns a day early to surprise Jamie so that they can dance in a way that two totally normal people that aren't in love with each other do. They're platonic dancing together. And they're just going to be friends.

[00:09:49] And that my friends was Sweethearts. We did it. Let's take a break. We'll come back. We'll break down Sweethearts, share our thoughts on it, on a movie. No twist. It's totally, totally like we're expecting it. Take the Hallmark. Take the Hallmark. Everybody welcome back to Take the Hallmark.

[00:10:19] It's what do we call it? Mistletoe Mondays. Mistletoe Mondays. That's right. Mistletoe Mondays with Alonzo. And today we're talking Sweethearts, the super Christmas movie. Fridays and Mondays need alliteration. Yes. That's all I'm saying. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, whatever. But Friday, Monday? Yes. Gotta have it. Our hands are tied with that. Sweethearts. Christmas movie. Let's break it down. We're starting with a hot take. It's where we share exactly how we felt about this movie. Alonzo, had you seen Sweethearts before? I had not. Okay.

[00:10:49] Mainly because it's not a Christmas movie. It's at all. It's not on my radar. Not a little bit. You know, when you told me we were doing it, I was like, oh, I guess it was. I guess I missed something. And it turns out, no, I did not. Not even a single family who put their tree up before Thanksgiving. Nothing. Not even a single normal person in this movie. No one goes to the mall. Like, not a, not a, not a, not a one strand of tinsel. Nobody wears red or green. No, nothing.

[00:11:19] That said, I did have a good time watching this. It's, it's goofy. It's funny. It is, it is very, the language is very naughty, but in a way that felt like how these characters would talk and would express themselves about things. Um, I don't know that all of the plot threads feel like they're in the same movie. Like, I feel like there's the, the Palmer learns that you can be gay in small town Ohio movie.

[00:11:45] And there's the, you know, Jamie and, uh, Ben try to like, you know, ditch their, their high school sweethearts, uh, uh, thing. And I don't know that those two movies ever quite come together, but separately, they're good movies. You know, um, you know, you've got, you've got Joel Kim booster popping up as the boyfriend of the, of the high school football coach.

[00:12:05] And, uh, I, I like the fact that we get such a spectrum here from like the very sort of, you know, uh, high school theater, you know, fashion-y. I, I, I feel like I'm better than you because I live in France, Palmer. And then, you know, these very sort of earthy, like football coach and fireman characters. So, you know, they all, we're, we're all in the umbrella. We're all under the, the big umbrella there. Um, yeah, it's, it's fine. It's, it's a, it's a cute, uh, you know, streaming comedy.

[00:12:35] Yeah. I agree with Alonzo. I found this movie to be a very funny movie. Lots of laughs to be had. There are a couple of moments that truly shocked me, which I don't get to say often when covering Hallmark movies, that something, uh, shocked me. Um, but I also agree with, uh, what Alonzo said about the storylines. It did like, uh, we get introduced to Palmer early on and I'm hooked.

[00:13:01] I love Palmer and he's so funny. And then he kind of goes on his own little adventure here in the middle of the movie. And it's like, uh, it, I don't know if they cut away, but it felt like they didn't. And it felt like it was like a solid 20 minute Palmer's big day, which is a movie I would watch. Palmer's day out. Palmer's day out. And I was really cool. Legacy.

[00:13:23] Yeah. And I was like real, obviously really enjoying it. Like it was, it was a lot of fun, but then we get back to the, a story and I'm like, Oh yeah. That's forgot about that. That's still happening.

[00:13:36] Uh, I don't know what, I don't know how this is related, but I guess, I guess it is. So that was a little, a little bit interesting. Luckily, both of the storylines were really engaging. And so when they did this 20 minute, uh, Palmer storyline, I was, I was having a lot of fun with it. Um, I cannot believe that they're just going to be friends.

[00:13:59] I have been, listen, I've been doing this a long time. I've been doing this a long time. They kiss at the end. They kiss at the end. They kiss at the end. They, and kissing big ones. I could not believe it. I, uh, I, I, I think I'm mad about it. Um, and so there's that, but the movie is very funny, very well written.

[00:14:18] A lot of great, uh, chemistry, not just between the two leads, but, uh, the greater cast as a whole, some really great, funny storylines and throwaway lines that just really work. And so by and large, really good, but also like, I, I am kind of confused inside on how to feel because of the ending. It doesn't compute with everything I know. It doesn't compute. Dan, this is the most I'm going to agree with brand maybe in the history of this program.

[00:14:47] There's a lot to like in this movie. Uh, the cast really funny. Uh, Kiernan Shipka. The last time I saw her, she was the bad guy in red one. I forgot about that. I'll try not to say anything else about that. Uh, she's great in this. Like she's so likable. She is so quick. Well, she was great in mad men. She's great in this. She's in red. Let it snow.

[00:15:14] Let it snow. She's great in let it snow. She's, she's in red one. And so like, like red one exists. So she's wonderful. Nico Haraga, who was in book smart. I looked that up. I, he was a character in book smart. He's really good in this Caleb Heron. I'd never seen him before. He's really good in this. There's a lot of fun to be had in this movie. It's like a raunchy teen rom-com kind of movie, but it's pretty well written and it's really funny. And it does the things that Alonzo and brand say that it does. It kind of splits off.

[00:15:44] But I didn't, that didn't bother me. What did bother me was the end of this movie. Look, we have, we have watched too many rom-coms. There's rules. And here's my thing is you will note long time deck to homework listeners will note that I will on occasion say these two characters should not have ended up together or there shouldn't have been a romance at all.

[00:16:06] I am one to do that. If that, if I believe that I'll say it like in Biltmore Christmas, I think the movie is really bittersweet if they don't get to be together because of time travel, blah, blah, blah. There's some movies where I think it makes sense that the characters shouldn't be together. There's other movies where I think the chemistry is so bad. They shouldn't end up together. And then there's other movies where I think there shouldn't be a romance in this movie. It's better off without it. Like three wise men and a baby in this movie, these two leads have crazy good chemistry.

[00:16:35] Their chemistry is amazing. And then they kiss. And if you want them to not end up together, maybe have them kiss worse. They, they, they, they share a really great kiss, great chemistry, great kiss. No brainer. Do I get them not wanting to jump into a relationship before he goes to Copenhagen because they've been scarred by long distance relationships? Absolutely.

[00:17:01] But this movie, it felt like they went above and beyond to be like, no, we're not going to have them get together. It felt, it felt just like the absolute wrong decision to not have them get together at that dance. At the end of the movie, I was gobsmacked. I couldn't believe it. I, I, I, I 100% could believe the declaration of like that happens after he watches when Harry met Sally. But when they come back afterwards, I couldn't believe these two crazy kids don't get together.

[00:17:30] And it does hurt this movie for me. It does. So a good time, but I'm still scratching my head on that ending. Great. Let's get to all the feels. We were talking about what in this movie gave us feels. Alonzo. Alonzo was a big fan of them not getting together at the end. Here it comes. My feel was that they didn't get together. I said, yes, men and women are allowed to be friends. Not those two. Those two were, those two were sleeping together. Come on, Alonzo.

[00:17:59] You can't have it both ways. I'm sorry. It worked for me. No way. No way. Look, I, I didn't see. You saw that kiss and you said, that's a friend kiss. No, I, look, I think that two people can have, I think that, that it's, it's not a binary. Okay. I think that people can have known each other their entire lives. They're both at this emotionally vulnerable moment where they just ditched their significant others.

[00:18:27] And they're like, is this a thing that we've been missing out on? Should we have contemplated it? I mean, they take a very long time to get to that kiss. They're like both so hesitant as their heads come together. And yeah, the kiss itself is dynamite because they know each other really well. But the idea that a day later with, with some perspective and like a little breathing room, they're like, you know what? That ain't us. Like we're friends and, and, and we stay that way. And that works for both of them. I liked that.

[00:18:54] I thought that was refreshingly different because as you say, there are so many movies where you think you guys shouldn't wind up together. And even though these two characters are, the two actors are both super charismatic and, and like have great, you know, chemistry on screen together. I think I totally bought the idea that like, no, we are, we, we know what our lane is and we're going to stay in it. And I, I appreciated that the movie was willing to go there because very, very rarely do they do that.

[00:19:24] Alonzo doesn't love love. That's what I heard. Alonzo doesn't love love. He doesn't love love. Yeah. At the very least they are, uh, Hey, we're both not married by 35. I should pick this back up. I gotta be honest. If there's a sequel where they change their mind again, I would buy it. But as it is, I buy it. So I liked them not getting together in that scene the night after the kiss, because I agree with everything you said, because they just got, the whole movie is about long distance relationships.

[00:19:53] And they just got out of it to enter into something long distance again would be foolish. But then at the dance, when he comes back a day early to surprise her between that and the chemistry they had on movie. I just, I like, it felt like this movie thought it was the vehicle to rebut Harry met Sally. That's what it felt like. It was like, you know, there's another side to this coin. And I'm like, guys, when Harry met Sally is kind of like a minted classic. Like you guys are streaming on max.

[00:20:21] Like, I'm not saying it's not a good movie, but these two should have ended up together. Well, it's hard for me because I once showed up a day early to surprise Dan and he told me I was being weird about it. And I'm like, I don't know what to tell you, buddy. I just wanted to surprise you as a friend. It was a wonderful surprise. I should have been kind. Thank you. Support me. There are a surprise.

[00:20:44] I one of the things that like I was surprised by a couple of decisions that they made in this movie. Obviously, the last one. And I don't really know what to feel about that. But this whole like storyline that they do about her best friend, childhood's best friend and how she ended up getting the nickname homewrecker and all this stuff. And the detail that they go into with this story is wild, wild and surprising.

[00:21:10] And like, it's the type of funny that I'm like, I kind of like, I know this is a movie and I know this didn't really happen, but I feel so bad for her. And so it's just not very often that I watch a rom-com or whatever even this would say that it is and that I leave surprised by certain things. And so that's a good feeling to have. Like, part of Hallmark's charm, obviously, and it's why we keep coming back to it, is that you do know what you're getting and there is comfort in that.

[00:21:40] There's also fun to be had when you get these different types of storylines and some twists and turns along the way that you couldn't imagine coming. Like, when you heard the nickname homewrecker, you couldn't have picked that story out for a million dollars. And so really just a fun movie with some fun surprises. Those type of things gave me some feels. Dana?

[00:22:03] Yeah, I mean, I don't know if I have anything in particular that sticks out to me, which is maybe why this movie is like a solid streamer comedy and not an all-timer I'm going to watch on a loop. It was a good vibe. The whole movie, by and large, is a good time. And I guess I was angry at the end, so we'll take that as my feelings. There you go. Okay, let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll get to the Wait What the What the Hallmark here on Deck the Hallmark.

[00:22:29] A weird thing happened to me on the- At the office? No, going into that break. I pressed the button for the little jingle there and I hiccuped at the same time. And for a split second, I heard doubles. You heard doubles. I don't know what that means. And if a doctor wants to let me know, you can email me. Maybe see a doctor. You can email me at deckthehomark.com. What does it mean when you hiccup and you hear a double? I don't know. Is it quadraphonic? I don't know.

[00:22:58] Let's get to Wait What. That's where we talk about what in this movie made us go, Wait What. I'll start with you, Alonzo. I have definite weather Wait What, which is that November in Ohio seems real short-sleevey in this movie. It sure does. It sure does. You know, he's wearing those sleeveless sweater vests and no one seems to be remotely cold at all. So that was just, you know, like I get the fake snow or something, but like we're at least pretend that it's autumnal here, guys.

[00:23:29] And then I have a couple of questions about Copenhagen. First of all, he is selected by a professor to go do a summer abroad during his first semester of college. Yeah, that's big. For his second semester of college. That seems like a thing that never, ever happens. A lot of the problems in these movies that they're facing are third and fourth year of college problems. Yes. Yes. Agreed. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that was, that seemed a bit of a stretch.

[00:23:58] And then also the notion that he comes rushing back from Copenhagen a day early to go to her sorority dance marathon. Like, you know, if you're doing a semester abroad and there's a summer just sitting there, it seems like you'd want to spend at least part of it in Europe before coming back to Ohio or wherever it is this college is. Like, you know, I don't think anybody is fleeing home from their semester abroad without

[00:24:25] maybe getting in a little vacation time, hopping a train and, you know, backpacking something, you know? So that just felt like a little rushed. Um, and then I guess also like Palmer just decides he wants to go to Brown and it's like, that was a big one. Did they explain that he, he got into Brown and then took a gap year and got a deferred

[00:24:49] admission or like I wrote down, I don't think that's how the Ivy league works, but he basically what he describes is, is that he was accepted to Brown and then decided, no, no Ivy league. I'm going to take a gap year. And then he decides while he's home on Thanksgiving break, he says, I'm going to Brown next semester. And then he says, uh, and then he starts wearing Brown gear. Yeah. Like the Ivy league doesn't go. Oh, thank God. He's coming. He's coming to Brown. Save a spot for you.

[00:25:19] Like this semester we have struggled, but maybe if we're lucky Palmer will be here in January. You'll save the day. That's just not how that works. It's not how that works at all. That's what I got. Um, I do have a, an, uh, uh, an answer for your, your cold weather problems and why it might not be. It's because, uh, it's August 5th and I know that because they show Palmer's phone and it says August 5th.

[00:25:49] Guys, come on. You better have a edit. That's, that's tough. It's tough when you see it right there. Especially like when it's, you know, it's the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which could be a few different days. It's not like Christmas Eve or Christmas day. It could be, you know, anywhere from like November 20th to 28th. Definitely not August 5th though. I know one day that it won't be. It's not August 5th. And the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is never August 5th unless we move from Thanksgiving

[00:26:18] to August, which. Canadian Thanksgiving? Canadian Thanksgiving maybe. Yeah. I don't know. Um, and that was my biggest thing as I saw that and I couldn't stop thinking about it. So there's that. The rest of this is, uh, is, is great. Uh, there is a, like a little remix version of Natasha Benningfield's unwritten later on in the movie. And I would like someone to put me in the direction of that. Could have been my feels. And that missed out. That's okay.

[00:26:41] Um, they, their plan to dump them on Wednesday afternoon, uh, is pretty brutal because what we're saying is dude, what's his Nico's, what's his name in the movie? Uh, I don't remember his name. Ben. Ben. Ben. Yeah. Ben's girlfriend is very nervous about singing the national anthem at the football game that evening. She hasn't had time to learn a song. I gotta be honest. I don't really care. Clearly you have some feelings for her.

[00:27:07] That is downright despicable to dump your year, like a girlfriend of a year, an hour before she's supposed to sing in front of a live audience. But Dan, the polar ice caps are melting. I just, I can't no time to delay. Just wait till after she sings the song. I, you know, that's just human decency. Uh, I do want to point out that they had, they decide to just be friends on Thanksgiving day.

[00:27:34] Uh, he doesn't go to Copenhagen on Thanksgiving day. He goes probably in December. I would assume let's say he goes December 1st. That means he returns to Kiernan Shipka's sorority dance party on June 1st, which notorious for not having college get together. Notorious for sororities are not in full swing on June 1. A lot of people are gone home. They don't, that's not what they're doing. Almost all even. Almost all of them.

[00:28:04] I wrote down more people, uh, forget their phones places in this movie than happens in all of America. I feel like every scene of importance, it's like somebody left their phone somewhere and you can maybe get away with that once they do it all movie long. Uh, the plan is for Palmer to get these two, uh, like significant others and bring them to the house. He pours them a drink. It's like a Hemingway day of the dead or whatever. I don't know what it's called. He pours them absence. So that's what let's put a flag. Yeah. That's what I was getting to.

[00:28:31] The drink he pours them is champagne with a splash of absence, which will just leave you blind in a ditch. Like it's like, it's absence. It's not like, yeah, it's not just booze. It's a hallucinogen. That's exactly right. And he goes upstairs. And when he goes upstairs, these two basically polish off a bottle of absence. They don't drink any more champagne.

[00:28:55] They're pouring full glasses of absence and mere hours later, they are both sober as the day is long. And I get it. Like your ability, your constitution when you're 22 years old is to sober up pretty quickly. This doesn't math. It just doesn't math. If you drink half a bottle of absence at eight, not there probably nine or 10 at night. And at midnight, you are, you're able to drive. I just want to meet you in person.

[00:29:23] Like that is, there's no way that was, you're waking up black Friday. That's exactly right. You're waking up. You're like, what? It's two. What day is it? Two o'clock. It's absolutely insane. There's no way. And then lastly, they show him watching when Harry met Sally and coming to the realization that he needs to go and talk to Kiernan Shipka, which is great. Fine.

[00:29:49] I love what they did there, but they do this weird thing where they do show the scene at the end where he comes in and he's like, when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want your rest, the rest of your life to start right now. Great. You know, whatever. But before that scene, they play audio from when Harry met Sally. And then he watches scenes that don't match up with the audio. Yeah. It's like, they're watching a super cut on YouTube or something. But it's in his family's living room.

[00:30:17] Like he's supposed to be watching the movie when Harry met Sally, which is a movie you would watch around that time of year. It's ends in new years. And, but they're not, it's like, they want you to, it to be a mon. It's like if a montage, it would be the equivalent of like in Rocky, if they're, he's training to a montage and then he started singing along with hearts on fire. Like that's like, it doesn't like either you're watching the movie or you're thinking about watching the movie. And so that was weird to me and definitely made me go, wait, what?

[00:30:47] It's time for what the homework is where you wonder what could have been taken to the max. Take it to the max. Uh, longer, what are you, what are you still wondering about? Uh, my, my, what the homework was going to be about the absinthe, but I guess, uh, now we can just sort of talk about the fact that, uh, this is probably the most frontal male nudity we've had in one of the movies that we've done here. Most? You think so? I don't know. Timeless Christmas. I think we probably, I think it's probably the most. Yeah.

[00:31:15] I did have a full five minute explanation about Luther's peen. I really like go into it and I decided to cut it, but Alonso's bringing it up. It does bear mentioning that this movie does contain frontal nudity. It does. For those that are on the fence about watching it. It brings a new meaning to a unicorn for Christmas. But anyway, a different Christmas unicorn. I see what you did there. I guess my question is now that Ben is back at school after his dizzying semester in Denmark,

[00:31:46] is he now required to become a frat guy because his best friend is clearly deeply enmeshed in her sorority? It's a good question. Great question. So I had a question while I was watching this. There is a scene where, uh, early on she's like, I got, I'm taking your phone because you just need a day without, you know, talking to her. And it'll be a whole thing. So he goes and he gets on his skateboard and he like skates around the, the university.

[00:32:14] And I was like, I feel like he's, he's really quite, quite good on that skateboard. Yeah. And that's, I just, I thought about it. And then as I looked him up, one of the things is it says he's an actor and a skateboarder. And I was like, oh, they used it. They used it. They used it. At one point he walks on a tightrope. So clearly he's got like really good balance. Got a lot, a lot going for him. But I like the skateboarding was good enough for me to notice that. And then I just was like, uh, when I looked up, I was like, oh, well that explains it.

[00:32:43] He said, I'll, I'll, yeah, I'll do the skateboarding. Don't, don't worry guys. No need to bring in the stunt guy for this. I'll take care of it. So that was, that was fun. This is another sort of teen rom-com where like the regular guy has like a model body. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Classic. I, I literally said when we were watching, I was like, can you imagine watching Harry met Sally in between your parents wearing that sweater vest? Like, yeah, I would just, I would constantly be thinking, man, my parents are going to, they're going to say something. They're going to be like, really?

[00:33:13] Like, yeah, but he not only does 19 year old dude on the couch with a sleeveless sweater vest watching when Harry met Sally with his parents. It's what you do. And that's his second sweater vest. I know. Yeah. He puts one on Kiernan Shipka at the frat party that goes wrong. He looks great in that. He looks great. Yeah. It looks great. My, what the Hallmark take it to the max is this guy's roommate and the car privileges. I know that the purpose of this is to show that dude is a pushover and doesn't stand up

[00:33:42] to anyone, but they have a plan to leave, to go home for Christmas for Thanksgiving break. And they literally walk from their classroom to their car to find that the car is missing and the roommate has it. Does his roommate have a copy of his car key? Did he take two car keys and go, Hey, roomie, here's one. And I will keep one. That's a weird thing to do. Like, you know, it'd be one thing if it was a misunderstanding about going to the bar or

[00:34:11] whatever, he's going home for Thanksgiving and he, he goes straight from the classroom. So he, how did he not know he didn't have, it was a whole thing. I, unless he leaves the keys in the car. It just, it also just drove, it also just drove me nuts. It drove me nuts that someone is just doing this to this guy and he's not being like, Hey man, you need to stop it right now. So I wanted to fix it. That's what I wanted to do. Fair. Fair. Well, we did it everybody. Congratulations to us next week.

[00:34:41] Birthday week for Alonzo breakfast with Scott. It's going to be a lot of fun. So come on back for that. And then of course we'll be back tomorrow, Dan. That's right. Another day until then. Maybe the first to wish you a Merry Christmas. Oh, the Hallmark is a Bramble Jam podcast is produced by Aaron Shay. For more information on deck, the Hallmark, you can go to deck, the Hallmark.com for more information on the deck, the Hallmark family. You can go to Bramble, jam plus.com deck. The Hallmark is presented by Philo TV for a free trial of Philo. Go to philo.tv slash DTH.

[00:35:17] You're about to hear some ads that help keep the lights on here in the old studio. Thanks for listening or don't listen. It's really up to you at this point. It's at the end of the show. I mean, you're listening to me. Hi, but here they come. I promise they're coming. Yep. Here they are. Happy day. Happy day. Happy day. Happy day. Happy day.