That Christmas (Netflix - 2024) ft. Alonso Duralde & Jacklyn Collier

[00:00:01] Hi, I'm Bran and I love her Netflix Christmas movies. I'm Dan and I despise her Netflix Christmas movies. I'm Jax and Netflix has the far superior Christmas movies. I'm Alonso and that Christmas and this is Deck The Hallmark Podcast.

[00:00:40] Hello everybody! Happy Monday to you. It's great to be here today. So good to be here. With our friends Alonso and Jax. Jax, Merry Christmas to you. How are you doing and how are you feeling about this being our last time together before Christmas?

[00:00:56] You know, I'm a little emotional and this movie made me even more so. I love you guys and I can't wait for our adventures in 2025.

[00:01:03] That's true and we are not gonna have to wait long Jax because When Calls The Heart is kicking off in January this year.

[00:01:11] This life's not fair. We're so pumped. At least it'll be cold and dreary outside. That's gonna be great.

[00:01:18] We just keep decking the Netflix. We need more Netflix content to review with Alonso. It doesn't have to be Christmas.

[00:01:25] Netflix original movies instead of When Calls The Heart. Twist my arm right now. We'll lose a ton of listeners and I don't care.

[00:01:30] Don't get me wrong. I love When Calls The Heart. Good for you. I'm still a hearty.

[00:01:34] What is the big thing? What do we need to remember about? We can do this on episode one.

[00:01:40] Yeah, we can do a preview episode. We're good at those.

[00:01:43] Honestly, I don't remember what happened last season.

[00:01:46] I think she and the Mountie are finally acknowledging the throne.

[00:01:49] Oh, Jack is back? Oh my god.

[00:01:51] Now that is an interesting... Daniel Lissing being back with the network though is an interesting wrinkle to look for this season.

[00:01:57] And we don't know that he's dead for sure because the guy has something to tell her.

[00:02:02] But also, he died off screen. We never saw a body.

[00:02:08] Never saw a body. That is the cardinal rule.

[00:02:10] We saw a hat. We have a hat.

[00:02:11] Bring me the head of Ghost Jack.

[00:02:14] They brought a hat, not a head.

[00:02:16] If they brought the severed head of Ghost Jack of Jack, I would just...

[00:02:22] Best show of all time. Emmys, Emmys, Emmys.

[00:02:25] Mountie, Kevin McGarry, I have something for you. It is the head of...

[00:02:30] Everybody's like... Your girlfriend's ex.

[00:02:32] Ned at the Mercantiles puking in a wastebasket.

[00:02:38] Oh my goodness.

[00:02:38] Oh my goodness.

[00:02:38] Gallow plays soccer with it.

[00:02:40] May Sue is trying to do his hair.

[00:02:43] It's the whole thing.

[00:02:44] You are so right.

[00:02:45] There's really an opportunity for some like...

[00:02:49] For Florence to faint.

[00:02:51] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:02:51] Oh, you're so...

[00:02:52] Dan, you really set that scene.

[00:02:55] Jack Wagner's like, I don't even think it's a real hit.

[00:02:57] And this is the time for Ben Russell time or whatever Jack's the guy that you like.

[00:03:03] Rosenbaum.

[00:03:03] A Rosenbaum.

[00:03:04] For him to really shine and maybe do some more yoga or something.

[00:03:08] Because you have to breathe through a situation like that.

[00:03:10] You got to.

[00:03:11] So this could be a pretty big time.

[00:03:13] I would watch that man do calisthenics all day long.

[00:03:15] That's exactly right.

[00:03:16] Alonzo.

[00:03:17] Alonzo, Merry Christmas to you.

[00:03:18] You are joining us again.

[00:03:22] You just got...

[00:03:22] We saw both of them for five straight days.

[00:03:25] How was Khan though?

[00:03:25] Yes.

[00:03:26] How was Khan?

[00:03:26] Was it good for both of you?

[00:03:28] You know, it's like summer camp.

[00:03:31] You know, you see everybody and it's just a lot of feels and then bam, you're all back home again.

[00:03:37] That's right.

[00:03:37] Alonzo, it was kind of weird when we ended up near the mistletoe and people thought we were going to kiss on the cheek, but then we just did tongue.

[00:03:43] You know, you got to give the people what they want even if they don't really want it.

[00:03:47] Speaking of Ned vomiting in the wastebasket, something like that feels all wrong.

[00:03:54] How dare you?

[00:03:57] I was cheering it on.

[00:03:58] I was rude.

[00:03:59] I do feel like I was a little bit responsible.

[00:04:01] Can you believe Bran continued to gamble with that dude on Christmas Movie Magic?

[00:04:04] I mean, after he lost his shirt, it was out of control.

[00:04:07] I've never seen anyone actually wear a barrel before, but like, you know, Bran made it work.

[00:04:13] Luckily they had one.

[00:04:14] They had one.

[00:04:15] You never know what's going to happen.

[00:04:16] I know that we're always pushing the one button ad skip, but I just want to say for all of the philo.tv slash GTH people, you get to see my tree.

[00:04:24] I mean, come on.

[00:04:24] Dave and I have created like a really extraordinary tree this year.

[00:04:29] The Instagram, DXAX tree.

[00:04:31] Is that correct?

[00:04:32] That's fantastic.

[00:04:32] That is it.

[00:04:33] Yeah, it's a great follow.

[00:04:34] Remind me of how this conversation took place, but you sent me a picture of your tree and I love your tree.

[00:04:39] And I said, that tree is adorable.

[00:04:40] And what was it that Dave White came back at me with?

[00:04:43] They said, that tree is magnificent.

[00:04:45] That's right.

[00:04:45] How dare you?

[00:04:46] He was offended by my adorable comment.

[00:04:48] Yeah, because adorable just sounds a tad condescending.

[00:04:50] I'm sure you didn't mean it that way.

[00:04:51] I didn't mean it.

[00:04:52] I love an adorable tree.

[00:04:54] I really like it.

[00:04:56] Thank you.

[00:04:57] And I sent you the picture before pre-adornment.

[00:05:00] But now every single ornament we own is on this thing because it's that tall and spacious.

[00:05:05] They're on the tree and on Instagram.

[00:05:07] With that Los Angeles sun just shining through in the background.

[00:05:10] How about fantastic?

[00:05:12] You'll love to see it.

[00:05:12] We do what we can.

[00:05:13] A reminder, Christmas movie magic.

[00:05:15] It is still out and it is still plenty of time to play it.

[00:05:19] We're all going to be watching so many Christmas movies with our families over the next week or so.

[00:05:24] I watched this one with my kids.

[00:05:25] There you go.

[00:05:25] Please, no wagering.

[00:05:27] You can.

[00:05:27] No, it gets out of hand in a hurry.

[00:05:29] But you can.

[00:05:29] And we learned that lesson.

[00:05:32] You can.

[00:05:32] You can.

[00:05:33] You know, things happen.

[00:05:35] But deckedahomar.com slash game, you can get it.

[00:05:37] Let's talk that Christmas.

[00:05:39] That Christmas, our venture into animation today over on the Netflix.

[00:05:45] It originally premiered a long time ago and Alonzo saw it.

[00:05:49] And then it dropped on Netflix on December 4th and Alonzo saw it again.

[00:05:54] And it went a little something like this.

[00:05:56] The movie kicks off with Santa delivering presents.

[00:05:59] He is down to one reindeer and is facing the worst storm on record.

[00:06:04] But that's not going to stop him from delivering gifts to Wellington on sea.

[00:06:10] He falls off the roof and Santa says, I think we need to go back to the beginning, to the school play on December 22nd.

[00:06:18] On December 22nd, we meet Danny, a new kid in town who doesn't want anybody to notice him except for his crush, Sam.

[00:06:25] There's also the director of the play, a student named Bernadette, and the star of the play, Sam's twin, Charlie.

[00:06:36] Bernadette comes on stage and announces that they're going to do a fresh take on the story of Jesus featuring remakes of Wannabe, Spice Girls, little Stevie Wonder's Happy Birthday, and so much more.

[00:06:49] A school play that would watch.

[00:06:52] A school play that would watch.

[00:06:54] Of course, they all live in this charming town, which is known for their love of Christmas and for community.

[00:07:01] But everything is about to get very complicated because of the snow.

[00:07:06] No, everyone wakes up on the 23rd to a winter wonderland, and everyone is aware that it is a snow day except for Danny.

[00:07:15] Danny's mom is busy, busy with work, didn't see the text, didn't tell him.

[00:07:20] So he makes his way to school just in time to see Miss Trapper, his grumpy teacher, who tells him that he should stay and work on his studies while his mom's at work because he needs all the help that he can get.

[00:07:32] So he spends the day learning in the classroom, but mainly learning out in the snow, learning some physics via snowman and igloo.

[00:07:42] It turns out that Miss Trapper is very skilled at snow.

[00:07:46] Sam and Charlie spend the day tormenting their neighbor and getting in trouble for it.

[00:07:51] And it's clear that Sam and Charlie's parents believe that Charlie is naughty, and Sam is very concerned about this,

[00:07:59] especially after they receive the stern reminder that Santa Claus is indeed coming to town.

[00:08:05] Bernadette spends the day with her extended family, friends, this whole combination of people, wishing that they wouldn't do the same exact thing every year.

[00:08:16] It's finally Christmas Eve morning, and Charlie wastes no time getting in trouble, being a little naughty, by freeing a bunch of caged turkeys, which doesn't seem so naughty, to Sam or to me.

[00:08:31] Danny spends the day figuring out how to talk to Sam when he sees her at the family shop later in the day.

[00:08:40] He also receives some bad news from his dad that he won't be home for Christmas due to the snow.

[00:08:47] Meanwhile, all the adults in Bernadette's family head off to dance and whatnot, and they end up getting stranded in the snow with no way to get home for Christmas morning.

[00:08:58] So we are now back to the beginning.

[00:09:00] Santa is coming to save everyone's Christmas, bringing them exactly what they need.

[00:09:05] But the blizzard is really something.

[00:09:08] But, of course, Santa knows it all.

[00:09:10] He whips up something special for Danny, who is really into monster trucks.

[00:09:15] He manages to get all the presents down the chimney at Bernadette's house, despite needing multiple bags.

[00:09:21] And, of course, Sam gets what she wants.

[00:09:25] However, Santa thinks that Charlie is naughty, so he's going to leave nothing for Charlie.

[00:09:31] But accidentally, they're twins.

[00:09:33] So Santa does a little mix-up here and accidentally puts Sam's stocking and gift on Charlie's bed.

[00:09:40] So when Charlie wakes up in the middle of the night, she's pumped to find out that she got exactly what she wanted.

[00:09:45] But then looks over and sees that Sam got nothing and realizes that Santa must have goofed.

[00:09:50] So sneaks over and puts all of the presents onto Sam's bed, which causes an alert to be sent to Santa that a naughty kid has turned nice.

[00:10:00] So he turns back and makes sure that Charlie has something waiting on Christmas morning.

[00:10:06] It is Christmas morning, and Charlie is shocked to see the gifts and a little button that says an official nice lister.

[00:10:14] Bernadette decides that it is her job to guide the kids to making this Christmas special and new and fresh, just like she did with the play.

[00:10:23] Danny is excited to see his amazing Christmas present from Santa, this cool four-wheeler.

[00:10:28] But it's sad to find out that his mom unexpectedly has to go to work.

[00:10:31] While moping around, he notices that his neighbor, Miss Trapper, looks awfully lonely.

[00:10:37] And so since they had some fun together building the snowman, he figures, what could it hurt?

[00:10:42] Let me go check on her.

[00:10:43] When she finds out that his mom is at work, they decide to work together to surprise his mom with a magical winter wonderland igloo situation in the backyard,

[00:10:53] complete with Christmas lights and a wonderful Christmas dinner.

[00:10:56] As Bernadette's parents finally make it back home, they realize that they can't find Bernadette's younger sister,

[00:11:04] who has taken the game of hide-and-seek very seriously.

[00:11:07] So the whole town comes together to find her, thanks in part to Danny and Sam, who joined forces on the four-wheeler,

[00:11:14] and who are now, I think is clear to say, officially a thing.

[00:11:19] The next day, everyone shows up for the annual Boxing Day Cold Plunge,

[00:11:24] and they celebrate the beauty of Wellington on the Sea and the magic of Christmas.

[00:11:29] And that, my friends, was...

[00:11:31] That Christmas!

[00:11:34] We did it.

[00:11:35] It's so lonely.

[00:11:37] Let's take a quick break.

[00:11:38] We'll come back and we'll get to that Christmas here on Deck the Hallmark.

[00:11:48] This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[00:11:50] Dan, it's the holiday season.

[00:11:52] We love the holiday season for so many different reasons.

[00:11:54] I love it because it makes me happy.

[00:11:56] I feel cozy when I'm at home around the holiday season.

[00:12:00] And how do you...

[00:12:01] How do I stay cozy?

[00:12:02] I get in a nice blanket, a mug of hot chocolate.

[00:12:05] I put on my Hallmark Christmas movies, and I have a great time.

[00:12:09] Another way to get the most out of this holiday season and to add some comfort to your life is through therapy.

[00:12:15] And that's why we're excited to partner with BetterHelp.

[00:12:18] You said it, Brian.

[00:12:19] I know I've personally benefited a ton from therapy.

[00:12:21] And it's amazing to have someone to talk to you, to listen to you, to understand and empathize,

[00:12:27] and to help you be a better person and help you feel calm.

[00:12:30] The thing about it, though, is when times get busy, like it is for us right now, therapy can fall by the wayside.

[00:12:36] But BetterHelp is online.

[00:12:38] It's convenient.

[00:12:39] It's when you need it.

[00:12:41] BetterHelp is there.

[00:12:42] That's the big selling point for me for BetterHelp.

[00:12:44] It gives you therapy at the touch of a button.

[00:12:47] That's exactly right, Dan.

[00:12:48] You can find comfort this December with BetterHelp.

[00:12:51] Visit BetterHelp.com slash Hallmark today to get 10% off your first month.

[00:12:55] That's right.

[00:12:56] That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash Hallmark, 10% off your first month.

[00:13:05] Nice.

[00:13:10] See, if you cough right in the middle of the ad break, there's a marker there, and people, they might not know it.

[00:13:14] Yeah, that's right.

[00:13:15] Nothing you can do.

[00:13:16] Unless you're ad-free.

[00:13:18] Sometimes you have perfect timing.

[00:13:20] Then you know.

[00:13:20] Unless you mention it.

[00:13:21] Welcome back.

[00:13:22] No.

[00:13:23] We're talking that Christmas, Netflix, animated movie.

[00:13:30] Is it a new classic?

[00:13:31] Let's talk about it.

[00:13:32] We're going to share our hot takes.

[00:13:33] I'm going to start with you, Jax.

[00:13:35] Jax, what did you think of that Christmas?

[00:13:40] So in the preview episode, I don't know if you guys remember, if our listeners remember, but I'm not an animated movie girly.

[00:13:49] And I'd forgotten that this one was an animated one.

[00:13:52] And so when I turned it on, I was excited to watch the latest Netflix Christmas movie.

[00:13:56] And I turned it on, and I groaned, and I was like, ugh, this is the animated one.

[00:14:00] I'll get to it later.

[00:14:02] So then the next day, I turned it on, and boy, was I wrong.

[00:14:08] Boy, was I wrong.

[00:14:09] This was my favorite of the season.

[00:14:10] I, at one point, was screaming and keening, wailing, and watching this unfold and was moved beyond belief.

[00:14:23] This cast, well, first of all, the cast, Jodie Whittaker, who I love, Phil Nighy, Fiona Shaw, an embarrassment of riches there.

[00:14:31] But I thought that this movie really hit on something that I don't see many Christmas movies do with such grace and elegance.

[00:14:40] When it called Christmas this emotional magnifying glass.

[00:14:43] And I can feel the happiest at the season, very much so, but also feel the sadness.

[00:14:49] And that ambivalence and that paradox is something that is, you know, one of the biggest part of the experiences of being human.

[00:14:55] And I think this film captured it exquisitely.

[00:15:00] And each story I was equally invested in.

[00:15:03] I was so touched by this.

[00:15:05] I laughed.

[00:15:07] I was delighted.

[00:15:08] I felt all the things.

[00:15:10] And I loved it.

[00:15:12] Far and away.

[00:15:12] Hallmark could never.

[00:15:16] What?

[00:15:17] I love you, Hallmark, though.

[00:15:19] Hire me anytime.

[00:15:20] Maybe they could with Jax.

[00:15:22] Maybe they could.

[00:15:23] That would make the difference.

[00:15:25] Look, they might need Fiona Shaw if they really want to.

[00:15:27] But, yeah.

[00:15:30] Alonzo, you saw it when it premiered at a festival.

[00:15:34] Yes.

[00:15:34] And now it's out for the world to see.

[00:15:36] What did you think about that Christmas?

[00:15:38] Yeah.

[00:15:38] Oh, God.

[00:15:39] This movie is just a delight.

[00:15:40] Yeah.

[00:15:41] Luckily, Netflix here in Los Angeles screened it in advance of its premiere at the London Film Festival this year.

[00:15:48] So I got to see it projected, which was fabulous.

[00:15:51] Oh, look at this.

[00:15:52] I watched it again on TV last night.

[00:15:54] And this, yeah, just to reiterate everything that Jax says, like it just emotionally lands, does so much right that movies get wrong all the time.

[00:16:04] I mean, like every Hallmark and Lifetime movie that's about a snowstorm could take notes about, like, how you actually deal with a snowstorm.

[00:16:12] Not just talking about the snow itself, because I get it's easier in animation than it is to try and fake it in real life.

[00:16:18] But just in terms of the way that things shut down and the way that things become inaccessible or whatever, you know, they really get that part.

[00:16:24] Also, a thing that has driven me nuts for years now, I'd say as far back as Hook, is the idea that parents are supposed to feel guilty for working hard and missing their kids like little league game or recital or whatever.

[00:16:41] And it's like, hi, sorry, folks, it's late stage capitalism.

[00:16:45] People got to work if they want to feed their children and like, you know, have a place for them to live.

[00:16:51] So cut them some slack.

[00:16:53] And this movie cuts the working mom some slack.

[00:16:56] And it's the kid who realizes that he needs to be more understanding.

[00:17:00] He needs to accept the realities of life and the way that things are because their dad walked out on them, that she is keeping it all together.

[00:17:08] And she needs his support, not his griping that she's not around for the thing that he wants her to be around.

[00:17:14] So for that alone, this movie gets like all the stars.

[00:17:18] But yeah, it is consistently moving and funny.

[00:17:22] A murderer's row of voice talent, including Lali Adafope from the series Shrill, I'm a big fan of, who plays Bernadette's mom.

[00:17:33] Just a delight from start to finish.

[00:17:36] Just more rave reviews.

[00:17:38] Boy, this movie put a lot of pressure on me here.

[00:17:40] This movie slaps.

[00:17:42] It's incredible.

[00:17:43] And we've talked about, you know, how beautifully they did with the stories.

[00:17:47] And I also teared up multiple times.

[00:17:51] I also just want to give a shout out to the animation of this movie, which is incredible.

[00:17:55] The texture that they have on the snow, like when he's building the snowman, the texture is so rich.

[00:18:05] Like, I honestly, I couldn't believe it.

[00:18:07] It was beautiful.

[00:18:08] I wish I could have seen it projected because I imagine it would have popped even more.

[00:18:11] But just a beautiful and bright movie that is just as rich with the animation as it is with the characters in the world in which they've built here.

[00:18:22] These characters, they're doing a lot here.

[00:18:24] Now, we are going to talk about Cherry Lane, a Hallmark movie.

[00:18:30] Hold on.

[00:18:31] We're going to talk about Cherry Lane in a while here.

[00:18:35] And we're going to continue to talk about the next couple weeks about Cherry Lane because Hallmark's doing a thing where they do this.

[00:18:42] And Hallmark could take notes about how to tell a story with multiple storylines and still give you rich characters, complex emotions, tricky storylines that all at the end, they all make you feel.

[00:19:01] They all make you feel something and something different.

[00:19:04] It's not one note.

[00:19:05] And so this movie is amazing.

[00:19:09] I do think that it is a new Christmas classic and one that I will watch every year.

[00:19:14] An absolutely stunning movie from top to bottom.

[00:19:17] Dana?

[00:19:17] This is the best Christmas movie I've seen this year.

[00:19:20] It's one I will watch again before the season is over and I will watch every year.

[00:19:24] It is a gosh darn delight.

[00:19:27] I loved every second of this.

[00:19:29] It's a movie that I'm titling Actually Love Actually.

[00:19:32] It's a movie that takes the idea of all of these stories and weaves them together.

[00:19:37] And it really is more in the Christmas spirit.

[00:19:40] This movie challenges your interpretation of Christmas, of Christmas spirit by eschewing traditions for kindness.

[00:19:50] It is a movie that honors the working parent, honors the kid who's different, honors the kid who isn't seen for who they are, honors found families.

[00:20:01] If I told you, if I told you this sentence, if I said, hey, there are kids out there growing up right now that think the world thinks the world thinks they're terrible.

[00:20:12] The world thinks they're terrible.

[00:20:14] And if you can find a way to spin the top in Inception, if you can find a way to make that kid realize that they're good and kind and they're needed, they might not look any different outside.

[00:20:26] But they will hold that kindness close to their heart and it'll change them.

[00:20:30] That's what this movie does.

[00:20:32] I was blown away by this movie.

[00:20:33] It was from start to finish, every storyline, from the time you see the Christmas pageant, they announce to you everything that you want to see in a Christmas classic is not happening here.

[00:20:44] This is better.

[00:20:45] This movie isn't about Santa Claus.

[00:20:47] Brian Cox and Bill Nighy, the two things that I thought I was really looking forward to in this movie, they're just kind of on the periphery.

[00:20:54] They're important, but they're not the show here.

[00:20:56] The show are all these wonderful people in this town coming together as a community.

[00:21:00] This movie rules.

[00:21:02] It's so good.

[00:21:03] You got to go and watch this.

[00:21:05] My kids enjoyed it.

[00:21:07] It's fantastic.

[00:21:08] I can't say enough good things about it.

[00:21:10] It's time for all the feels where we talk about what this movie gave us feels.

[00:21:13] Jax?

[00:21:16] I'm already crying based on everyone's reviews and also just like looking down, thinking about the movie and looking down at the few notes I wrote around and things that touched me.

[00:21:29] I could go on and on, but I know we all have feels for this one, which is great, right?

[00:21:35] Like we all felt something.

[00:21:38] When Danny and Sam meet up at the store and she hands him the wine gummy with the flu on it and she's like, needs a bit of clean.

[00:21:49] And I just could not.

[00:21:50] I lost it then.

[00:21:51] I was like, these two, this lonely kid, this girl with anxiety.

[00:21:55] I can feel the loneliness and like these little live wires, vulnerable children, like just connecting in this like profound way.

[00:22:07] And he falls and he says, I'm the feeblest human alive.

[00:22:10] It's just like, oh my, oh my word.

[00:22:13] Just, just so much.

[00:22:14] Also, she's hilarious.

[00:22:15] And she's talking about the rapidly evolving climate change disaster.

[00:22:19] And he's like, okay.

[00:22:20] Like, it's so funny.

[00:22:21] So it's like an equal measure of like, I'm crying and then I'm like, that's really funny.

[00:22:27] And then just, just the lines that absolutely I was watching this alone and absolutely like I was like doubling over is when Danny's mom, you know, says it's not nice to die without somebody like holding your hand.

[00:22:43] And she just says it's so matter of factly.

[00:22:45] And, you know, you realize like she is going to do her job, which is like, like we're talking about and rightfully so this late stage capitalism, which is very problematic in lots of ways.

[00:22:58] But it's also a calling of hers.

[00:23:00] And she's trying to like explain this to her son.

[00:23:02] And then when, you know, his teacher is like, who do you think is having a harder time right now?

[00:23:08] And I think when we watch kids learn that there's a world outside of themselves.

[00:23:13] So when he creates the mom, my hero or mom and she comes home and then it's time to celebrate the wins and live with the losses also said with such unsentimentality.

[00:23:27] And then finally, you know, Bill Nighy having one last Christmas with his mom.

[00:23:30] I mean, you did me in.

[00:23:32] You did me in that Christmas.

[00:23:34] I just, I, and I loved it.

[00:23:36] I loved it so much.

[00:23:38] Who knew that I could really like animation?

[00:23:40] Yeah.

[00:23:41] You weren't excited about Wicked or animation.

[00:23:44] Look at you.

[00:23:44] Just look at you.

[00:23:45] What happened to me?

[00:23:48] I'm lonely.

[00:23:51] Alonzo?

[00:23:51] Any feels for you?

[00:23:52] Oh, God.

[00:23:53] Jack, you're making me a clip now too.

[00:23:56] Yeah.

[00:23:57] So much here.

[00:23:58] A day after making out under the mistletoe.

[00:24:03] Maybe we both have dengue fever at this point.

[00:24:05] I don't know.

[00:24:07] The stuff with the mistrapper, like the fact that she has these walls in place that she sort of starts to let down over the course of the film, but then can still use them to get stuff done, to intimidate the turkey guy to go rescue the parents or whatever.

[00:24:24] I loved her arc.

[00:24:25] It was never too easy or facile, but it was still very moving.

[00:24:30] Sam's big speech where she explains why Charlie is actually nice and not naughty and that all the stuff she does that seems naughty on the outside has a genuine, you know, like, oh, God.

[00:24:41] So, yeah, lots of feels.

[00:24:44] Many, many feels.

[00:24:46] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:24:47] Everything that everyone's mentioned, of course.

[00:24:49] And Jackson, you brought it up in your hot take, but the explanation that Christmas is this emotional magnifying glass is like kind of like revel.

[00:25:01] Like, it's just, it's how I feel.

[00:25:03] Like, I've always been at, like, what is your deal?

[00:25:06] Like, why do you love Christmas so much?

[00:25:08] And I know Alonzo has some news.

[00:25:09] What if I just kept the magnifying glass on me the whole time and burned this sucker to the ground?

[00:25:13] But there's something, there's just something about, something about Christmas time that just slaps.

[00:25:20] And it is this idea.

[00:25:21] It just is this emotional magnifying glass.

[00:25:23] And, man, I thought that was so well put.

[00:25:27] And if it was, if this was like Hallmark, they would have said it, reminded you of that line ten times.

[00:25:34] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:25:35] This movie's ability to just like give you.

[00:25:38] I just don't know if she likes me for me or better for my money.

[00:25:41] I know.

[00:25:41] So this movie's ability to give you these, like, humdingers and then never go back to it.

[00:25:48] So British.

[00:25:49] It's just like a whole slowdown.

[00:25:51] Yeah.

[00:25:51] And their ability to do all of this in an hour and 30 minutes was a marvel to behold.

[00:25:58] We haven't said the name Richard Curtis yet.

[00:26:00] Which is just bonkers.

[00:26:02] The guy directed Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral and About Time.

[00:26:07] Yeah.

[00:26:07] And he wrote this movie.

[00:26:08] And to that point.

[00:26:09] He wrote Four Weddings.

[00:26:10] Yeah.

[00:26:10] Oh, my bad.

[00:26:11] He wrote it.

[00:26:11] My bad.

[00:26:12] Them having a little bit, or him specifically having some fun at the expense of Love Actually in this movie was very funny and made me laugh out loud.

[00:26:21] Dan?

[00:26:22] Yeah.

[00:26:23] Yeah.

[00:26:23] If I talk about the twins and the speech, I will cry.

[00:26:27] And that's not our journey today.

[00:26:29] I'm going to go with soundtrack.

[00:26:30] You saw your twins in this movie.

[00:26:32] That's so crazy.

[00:26:33] Right?

[00:26:35] Oh, yeah.

[00:26:35] They were watching it with me.

[00:26:36] I was a mess.

[00:26:38] I'm going to go with the soundtrack.

[00:26:39] That's safe.

[00:26:40] That's not too emotional.

[00:26:42] Ed Sheeran writes a ballad for this movie.

[00:26:45] It's lovely.

[00:26:46] You should go listen.

[00:26:48] Ed Sheeran, you've probably never heard me mention Ed Sheeran in all the years we've done this.

[00:26:51] Shout out Ed Sheeran.

[00:26:52] I don't have a take on Ed Sheeran.

[00:26:54] He's fine.

[00:26:55] This song is lovely.

[00:26:56] It's a sweet piano ballad.

[00:26:57] Add in some Kelly Clarkson.

[00:26:58] Add in some Coldplay.

[00:27:00] Yeah.

[00:27:00] The soundtrack is representative of the folks in the movie and not all of these 1950s bangers.

[00:27:06] And I appreciated that so, so very much.

[00:27:09] And it really took this movie to another level.

[00:27:11] Let's take a quick break.

[00:27:13] We'll come back.

[00:27:13] We'll get to the way what and the what the hallmark here on.

[00:27:15] Take the hallmark.

[00:27:16] I got it.

[00:27:17] You got it.

[00:27:17] I got it.

[00:27:18] You got it.

[00:27:19] You got it.

[00:27:26] Welcome back, everybody.

[00:27:27] We're talking about that Christmas.

[00:27:31] It's time for the way what.

[00:27:32] So we're talking about what in this movie that made us all cry also made us go, wait, what?

[00:27:38] Hold on.

[00:27:38] What?

[00:27:39] So many wait, what's here.

[00:27:40] So let's get to it.

[00:27:41] Jax, what made you go, wait, what?

[00:27:44] I'm just laughing thinking about the fact that, you know, all of us here, Alonzo and I crying.

[00:27:54] I think you guys are right on the cusp of it.

[00:27:56] And like, you know, eventually when we shovel off this mortal coil at our actual funerals,

[00:28:03] we'll be like, wow, we cried harder on that Christmas episode than we are right now.

[00:28:07] That's right.

[00:28:08] I'm going to give your eulogy, Jax.

[00:28:10] All the eyes will be dry.

[00:28:12] No one will cry at all.

[00:28:13] Be like, yeah, I mean, she lived a good one.

[00:28:15] You know.

[00:28:16] That's good.

[00:28:16] I don't know how she died before Dan, but she lived.

[00:28:22] And we're, you know, get Philo TV because we're really giving you your money.

[00:28:26] That's right.

[00:28:27] We all love watching people cry.

[00:28:29] It's their favorite.

[00:28:30] This is the uplifting bit heavy episode everyone was anticipating this week.

[00:28:34] Which it certainly was not.

[00:28:36] I think my biggest wait was that after I watched this and it wasn't yet time to talk with my friends about it and I watched it alone,

[00:28:42] I was like, oh, I'm going to go read the reviews to see how much everyone liked it just as much as I did and how touched we are.

[00:28:50] Is it not raves?

[00:28:51] Okay, so a lot of raves, but I made the mistake of like looking on Google reviews and seeing a lot of five star reviews and then a bunch of one star.

[00:29:00] Oh my gosh.

[00:29:01] So I just wanted to let you guys know that a movie that I think and that obviously was so touching.

[00:29:06] And as you really astutely put Dan, it eschews Christmas traditions in favor of kindness.

[00:29:13] Is that what you said?

[00:29:14] That's exactly what I said.

[00:29:15] Yeah.

[00:29:15] I think and so much of that, like, look, I don't think we need to break it down like religion wise,

[00:29:21] but if you are someone who identifies as a Christian, I think those are Christian values.

[00:29:25] I think there are values in almost every religion, but that's not what the people on Google thought.

[00:29:33] And they said that this was a far right, woke movie.

[00:29:37] Far left, I would assume.

[00:29:38] Yeah.

[00:29:39] Oh, yeah.

[00:29:40] Sorry.

[00:29:40] Sorry.

[00:29:40] Oh my gosh.

[00:29:41] Yes, yes, please.

[00:29:42] That would be completely different.

[00:29:44] That this woke liberal agenda and like really took down the play in the beginning, which I just thought, honestly, it didn't even occur to me.

[00:29:52] I just thought it was really funny and they were trying to do something different and didn't occur to me as something that even people would think of as blasphemous.

[00:29:58] But then there was a review on Google that was like, hey, if you're feeling triggered by the beginning, just don't watch it.

[00:30:04] It doesn't affect the rest of it.

[00:30:05] At all.

[00:30:05] It's a beautiful movie that you'll love.

[00:30:07] Go watch The Chosen, you know.

[00:30:09] Yeah.

[00:30:09] But also like, guys, these are kids.

[00:30:12] Like last night, my kid loves to make up songs and sing a song about Abraham Lincoln as Jesus.

[00:30:17] It was hysterical.

[00:30:19] It was really, if you think your God is that fragile, he's not God.

[00:30:25] Like, just stop it.

[00:30:27] That's crazy.

[00:30:27] When your dad is a history teacher.

[00:30:29] Yeah.

[00:30:30] Yeah.

[00:30:30] Yeah.

[00:30:30] Yeah.

[00:30:31] God loves each and every little of his chickpeas.

[00:30:34] You know what I'm saying?

[00:30:35] It's crazy.

[00:30:36] Even if they look like potatoes.

[00:30:37] Yeah.

[00:30:38] I handed Grizz and Gab earmuffs.

[00:30:41] Yeah.

[00:30:41] Yeah.

[00:30:42] They couldn't possibly.

[00:30:42] We heard that song from across the fence and I was like, hey, kids, you get in here.

[00:30:46] Yeah.

[00:30:46] You can't hold fast.

[00:30:48] You can't listen to that.

[00:30:48] Yes, man.

[00:30:49] Hold fast.

[00:30:49] Hold fast.

[00:30:50] Anything else, Jax?

[00:30:51] No, that was my truly my wait what.

[00:30:54] And then I went to Reddit and, you know, they agreed with me.

[00:30:57] I can't believe that I just looked the Rotten Tomatoes score up on this and it's crazy.

[00:31:01] It's just crazy.

[00:31:02] I don't.

[00:31:03] Yeah.

[00:31:04] Yeah.

[00:31:04] Our friend Bibbs, not a fan.

[00:31:06] Yeah.

[00:31:06] Yeah.

[00:31:06] I saw that.

[00:31:07] Your friend Bibbs.

[00:31:11] What about you, Alonzo?

[00:31:12] Anyway, what?

[00:31:13] You know, I think the movie does a pretty good job of sticking to its own internal logic.

[00:31:18] Um, my, the only things that I would question would be, uh, is there heat in that barn?

[00:31:24] Always.

[00:31:25] You know, cause like it's a barn.

[00:31:27] Uh, and then also, uh, you know, can you shoot, uh, a Brussels sprouts out of a, uh, a, a, a, a Nerf gun?

[00:31:38] I know exactly what you're talking about.

[00:31:39] I had the same thought.

[00:31:40] Without gumming up the works.

[00:31:41] I'll give you an update on Christmas.

[00:31:44] I'll give it, I'll give it, I'll give it a shot.

[00:31:45] Of course you will.

[00:31:45] I'll give you a shot.

[00:31:47] Um, I have a couple, one, I just felt sad that the kids, uh, even had to have a snow

[00:31:53] day on December 23rd.

[00:31:54] Guys, it's just too late.

[00:31:55] It's too late.

[00:31:56] Those kids should be out of school.

[00:31:58] Get out of here.

[00:31:59] And my advice to Danny would be if, if Danny asked, Hey, Hey, Brian, what advice would you

[00:32:06] give to me?

[00:32:06] I would say you just because your teacher tells you, Hey, come on into school on this

[00:32:14] snow day.

[00:32:15] You just say, no, you say, no, you don't have to.

[00:32:19] It's a snow day.

[00:32:20] And also it's what Nancy Reagan taught me.

[00:32:23] Also, it's weird.

[00:32:24] If one teacher asks you to come into a closed down school on a snow day, you say no.

[00:32:33] And you don't take candy from strangers.

[00:32:35] Those are the two things.

[00:32:36] The latter is true.

[00:32:37] But I think we see in this movie that nobody says no to misprime.

[00:32:40] Nobody said that.

[00:32:41] That is more, more than fair.

[00:32:42] Yes.

[00:32:42] But that would be the advice.

[00:32:44] She can't keep you there.

[00:32:44] She can't keep you there.

[00:32:45] It's a snow day.

[00:32:46] A school's closed.

[00:32:47] She can't keep you there.

[00:32:47] Yeah, this is, you know, we're bringing in other deities like Santa Claus here, but Santa

[00:32:52] has time to flip back around and go and deliver those gifts.

[00:32:55] Cannot help a group of adults fighting for their life on ice.

[00:32:59] Can't swing by and just grab them.

[00:33:02] That reindeer is freaking strong, man.

[00:33:05] You can't give him a nudge.

[00:33:06] He's nothing.

[00:33:07] He got all the info on his little receipt.

[00:33:09] No parents on Christmas morning.

[00:33:10] He's like, well, my hand.

[00:33:11] If anybody's like, I can't believe in God because bad things happen to good people.

[00:33:15] But Santa, Santa's out here letting adults die on the ice out there.

[00:33:22] That's crazy.

[00:33:23] Did they ask Santa for help?

[00:33:24] They didn't.

[00:33:25] Oh, that's so maybe they didn't believe.

[00:33:26] Write the letter.

[00:33:27] Yeah.

[00:33:27] It is very weird to me when the parents do make it home safely and they embrace all of

[00:33:33] their children and they do a really great job with Bernadette going, hey, we asked you

[00:33:37] to do too much.

[00:33:38] You did the best you could.

[00:33:39] We get, you lost Evie.

[00:33:40] We got to go find her.

[00:33:41] I thought that was wonderful.

[00:33:42] But then they proceed to cut those kids all loose in the snow without any adult supervision.

[00:33:47] They're like, we're so glad we made it home.

[00:33:50] We missed you so much.

[00:33:51] You survived 24 hours without us.

[00:33:53] We're going to stay here in the fire if you want to go find your sister.

[00:33:57] One, you can't send one adult out there just to keep watch.

[00:34:01] They literally all stand there while their kids into the gray once more.

[00:34:07] It was wild.

[00:34:08] We're going to wait for Miss Trapper.

[00:34:11] It was a wild experience watching these parents who had missed their children and the holiday

[00:34:16] watch them walk away into the driving snow.

[00:34:19] That was the one moment of this whole movie that took me out of it.

[00:34:22] I was like, I don't think that that tracks.

[00:34:26] And then this is very nitpicky, but the post-it notes are so cute in this movie.

[00:34:31] But a mom that is working as hard as she is, the shift she is, it's just not efficient.

[00:34:38] There's so many ways to tell your kid everything.

[00:34:41] The post-it notes are costing you time at the hospital, time with your kid.

[00:34:46] It's a lot.

[00:34:47] It's a lot.

[00:34:48] There's so many things you can do that aren't that.

[00:34:50] Also, with my luck, I'd read them out of order and be very confused.

[00:34:53] Yeah, exactly.

[00:34:55] You do that, and then the stuff.

[00:34:57] There's stuff over there.

[00:35:00] Let's get to what the hallmarks were.

[00:35:01] We wonder what it could have been.

[00:35:02] Maybe have a couple of clarity and questions we still have.

[00:35:04] What are we still wondering about after we see that Christmas?

[00:35:09] Jax?

[00:35:10] So this is one of those movies that's like, I agree with you guys.

[00:35:13] It's going to be an every year watch for me.

[00:35:16] But I don't need a sequel.

[00:35:18] I love this movie existing in the way that it is.

[00:35:22] I guess I just am really curious.

[00:35:26] He's a deadbeat dad, right?

[00:35:27] It's not good things that are keeping him from his son.

[00:35:31] He's just a deadbeat dad.

[00:35:32] He ran over the hygienist.

[00:35:34] That's what I was...

[00:35:35] Yes!

[00:35:35] He's a bad father.

[00:35:36] Yeah, he's a bad dad.

[00:35:37] Okay, really?

[00:35:38] Then you guys just answered it.

[00:35:39] I'm not wondering about anything.

[00:35:40] And he can go just slog right off as they say.

[00:35:43] Slog right off.

[00:35:44] Just slog right off.

[00:35:46] Slog right off.

[00:35:47] Alonzo?

[00:35:48] Yeah, I mean, they even tell you...

[00:35:50] They even show you in the closing credits what the following Christmas looked like.

[00:35:53] So that's pretty much answered for you.

[00:35:55] I did go to Google because I wasn't entirely sure what a wine gum was.

[00:36:00] I don't know what it is.

[00:36:01] It's basically a gummy candy, but it doesn't have wine in it.

[00:36:06] Although it often will be named for like champagne or port or whatever.

[00:36:11] But they are, with few exceptions, non-alcoholic.

[00:36:14] So yeah, they're basically like gummy bears, but they're shaped like ovals or whatever.

[00:36:21] Shout out wine gum.

[00:36:22] Shout out wine gum.

[00:36:23] That's right.

[00:36:24] I could do for a sequel of this movie, but with different characters.

[00:36:31] Same Santa.

[00:36:31] Same Santa.

[00:36:32] This Santa's dope.

[00:36:33] This Santa is very cool.

[00:36:35] He doesn't have hat.

[00:36:35] He has hood.

[00:36:36] He's got the shaved buzz coat going on over there.

[00:36:40] Brian Cox was a great Santa.

[00:36:41] Very cool guy.

[00:36:43] And if I have any complaint, I kind of want a little bit, just a smidge more of him because

[00:36:47] I thought he was so good.

[00:36:49] Yeah.

[00:36:49] But I could do for another one of these type of movies.

[00:36:54] The way that Richard Curtis told this and had all these things work together with this

[00:36:59] Santa, I think it does make for a potential for a sequel that could be really good.

[00:37:03] And so I'd be down to do that.

[00:37:04] This is based on a book.

[00:37:05] And I think there are three books.

[00:37:07] And mine was, is this, and I could have Googled this obviously.

[00:37:11] Could we do another one of the books or did they combine the three books?

[00:37:15] It said that it was based on the three books.

[00:37:17] Okay.

[00:37:18] All right.

[00:37:18] So they did combine.

[00:37:19] Oh, wait.

[00:37:19] Is that right, Alonzo?

[00:37:20] I feel like people did.

[00:37:21] I think so.

[00:37:21] Yeah.

[00:37:21] I think they took three discrete stories and intertwined them because this is the Love

[00:37:27] Actually guy after all.

[00:37:28] Yeah.

[00:37:28] It's the Love Actually guy.

[00:37:29] More than fair.

[00:37:29] More than fair.

[00:37:30] Well, we did it, everybody.

[00:37:31] Yeah, we did.

[00:37:32] Congratulations to us.

[00:37:33] It is not the last that we're going to hear from Jax for the calendar year.

[00:37:37] And that is very sad, but she will be back in January.

[00:37:40] Winkles the heart.

[00:37:41] It's going to be a lot of fun.

[00:37:42] Not the last that we're going to hear of Alonzo.

[00:37:43] Alonzo is going to be back.

[00:37:45] Is it later this week?

[00:37:46] Yes.

[00:37:46] Later this week covering the Santa class, which is going to be a lot of fun.

[00:37:50] And of course, Dave White will be joining us to close out the holiday season with happy

[00:37:55] holidays.

[00:37:55] It's going to be a great time.

[00:37:56] What a time.

[00:37:57] So come on back.

[00:37:58] We're going to be back tomorrow with another episode.

[00:38:00] Until then, maybe we're the first to wish you a Merry Christmas.

[00:38:03] Deck the Hallmark is a Bramble Jam podcast is produced by Aaron Shea.

[00:38:06] What?

[00:38:07] For more information on Deck the Hallmark, you can go to deckthehallmark.com.

[00:38:10] For more information on the Deck the Hallmark family, you can go to bramblejamplus.com.

[00:38:14] Deck the Hallmark is presented by Philo TV.

[00:38:16] For a free trial of Philo, go to philo.tv slash dth.

[00:38:26] You're about to hear some ads that help keep the lights on here in the old studio.

[00:38:32] Thanks for listening or don't listen.

[00:38:34] It's really up to you at this point.

[00:38:37] It's at the end of the show.

[00:38:38] I mean, you're listening to me.

[00:38:40] Hi.

[00:38:40] But here they come.

[00:38:41] I promise they're coming.

[00:38:43] Yep.

[00:38:43] Here they are.

[00:38:44] Happy day.

[00:38:45] Happy day.