Stocking Stuffers 9.4 EXmas with Christmas Makepeace

Al, I love you so much. So are you in red hockey? No? His family, on the other hand, I miss them. I am sweetie.

We're so excited that you're coming from Christmas. I can't come home this year. I'm sorry. I have a deadline. You know what, I think this is about Ali because she ripped out my heart stomped on it.

Oh okay, it's a bright Graham. What are you doing here? I found all of these in the back clash. What are you doing here now? You said he was working?

Is that Ali? Shut up? You're kind of freaking out. You invited my ex fiancee to Christmas. You know I really should go.

You're not going anywhere. I have to get mom and dad to dumb Alli. Otherwise I'll not share my family forever. Huh. Oh my gosh.

My family will work up the courage and ask you to leave before Christmas morning. You're gone. You're man. How do you feel about a game night tonight? I think I'm done with King.

I had a feeling your competitors puriit. I can't into a little bit of trouble. Gotta be no, No, we're the bluggard. Does it have to be crazy? This entire holiday surrender any time you want so, either one of your dating yeah everyone everyone.

Yeah, between us girls, I'm not gonna be a fun night for you. They're passively, aggressively hating each other. How about that? But I think that they actually love each other. It's quite confusing, times changing.

If you don't change with them, you're gonna end up marrying your own hands. Thank you, I'm sorry. I'm starting to realize where we went wrong, and I think that I can forgive you what is wrong with our thuns. Welcome back to another stocking stuffer. We are chugging along the Christmas train.

We are flying over houses and dropping down presents, and those presents are in the form of cozy cardi and Christmas movies. And today I am joined by I mean, you've been asking for her. I assume I'm, you know, pre recording this, but I just assume everybody's like, when's Christine coming on? And she's here. Now I'm here.

I got down that chimney and I popped out that fireplace, and now I'm here to talk about this weird ass movie. Oh you're on fire, You're fire quick? Oh shit? Okay from the movie Yeah, too hot? It's very hot in this movie.

Watch out for space heaters. Watch out for uh. I have such a fear of space heaters. By the way, it's a legitimari like I'm not going to say, it's like an irrational fear, like the way I'm I rationally scared of caterpillars and vidrilloquas stummies. I every time I see a space heater, I'm like, that's a firehozard.

That's gonna be a problem. It is. They're not allowed in most modern offices because of that. Exactly, So there is a space heater cameo in today's movie. I need to be really clear about today's movie, because if you look for it, If I said this movie is called Xmas, there's a thousand and one ways you can find a movie called Xmas.

Christine, throw some out there. How would you go ahead and look for a movie called Xmas? How would I spell it? I would search for it on like the Internet, and I might spell it a certain way. Well, how would you spell it?

Well? I spell x with like Xmas. Yeah. But I mean if you were trying to do some kind of fun play on words, maybe you would spell it ex You might uh and if I said, oh, it's the movie is x miss like x like as in former boyfriend girlfriend? Okay, I'll look for it.

Well, then Christine, you might end up finding You pull that up on your little Roku and you search, and then suddenly you say, wait, which movie did Emily say? Was it Mary x miss? Was it Mary x dash miss? Was it Mary x e x dash miss? Was it or was it just Mary x no e no dash miss?

Or was it hashtag x miss? Or was it hashtag ex miss? Seriously, there are at least ten different, very close variations on this title. So I really hope we watched the same movie. I think we did.

I did have a flash where we didn't. But I really feel like they mind this whole like x Christmas thing, considering there's just so many variations on it. Yeah, did you watch was it The ex Girlfriends of Christmas or twelve Excess of Christmas? That one? Yeah?

Yeah, Yeah, There's a lot of ways it can go about it. Uh, and this one goes about it in a very particular way. This is a BuzzFeed production. Huh did that in the credits? I did?

It? Sounded like somebody just murdered me. I'm so sorry. I did see that in the credits. I I this is a very weird movie.

It's also on free V, yes, which is my right. So free v is like Amazon's commercial divice. I'm confused and how it all works, but yes, okay, freebee is part of Amazon. Most people started using freebe over the summer when Jury Duty aired there and since then it's become like, I don't know, I guess they're doing some original content this. I don't think it was made for freebe I think it was like made and then that's where it then did.

Yeah, it's all very strange and if you're ever worried as you watch this movie, like there's commercials during it. Not many though, actually I think I feel like I only had one round of commercials. Isn't that bad? Yeah? No, it wasn't bad at all, except the commercial was for this movie, which was very strange.

It so it's a newer movie it's from It's on free V so it is accessible if you want to watch it. This is not my I mean, as evidenced by the fact that Emily does this time of year and I don't. This is not my favorite kind of movie. So the selling point for me was Late and Measter I figured and Robbie amel Amel. I don't know how to say his last name right, But he's super handsome, and they're super handsome.

And he was very funny in The Babysitter. Oh arguably in my opinions. I didn't like The Babysitter that much, but I remember him absolutely like stealing everyone in the scenes. Yeah, I mean, he's real funny in the Mole. But well, I have so much more to say.

There's a lot to say. Uh So before we get into the plot, we'll just give the background. So again. He BuzzFeed production question Mark, directly directed by Jonah fine Gold. Definitely sounds like somebody I would pay his direction Christmas movie.

Who's done other stuff? Nothing I knew as I pull him up, and I'm to be again to look. A lot of stuff. Nothing I have heard of. I think most of it's Canadian.

Yeah, nothing I've heard of either. Yeah, and written by Dan Steele, who has a sexy name and wrote for Gossip Girl. I hope that's his real name, Dan Teele. I love your name. Yeah.

Did you watch Gossip Girl? I didn't. It's been really coming up in the Zeitgeist Lately, but I didn't you know, he wrote on Faking It Too, which is an MTV show. I am more familiar with the Gossip Girl. I watched the first I think two years of Gossip Girl, and for me, the best thing about it was Late Measter without question her.

I mean, she played Blair Waldarf and she was kind of like your Queen Bee type, a mean girl, but she was so good at it. She was. It was one of those things too, like you look back and you're like, oh yeah, like she was mean, but she was usually right that kind of thing too. So. And again, aside from the fact that I still can't tell the difference between Late Measter and Mika Kelly, I do really like Late Measter and I am always happy to see her show up and things.

So her is the lead in a Christmas movie that Christine wanted to watch. Why not? Why not? What could go wrong? Good?

Pick? Right? Mm hmmm, So tell us tell the people the plot of this movie. And again you can spoil things because I think we all can figure out the ending. Look, I'm gonna I'm gonna go against the grain and I'm just gonna give you the IMDb Graham who is Robbie Ammel surprises his family at Christmas, only to discover his ex fiance Leyton Measter is already celebrating the holiday with his family when he arrives.

What it what? So, uh Robbie? Whose name is Graham? And I'm gonna start calling him that. So Graham and Allie were dating?

I think they were. They were because there was a flashback to him popping the question yep. So she she breaks up with him, and it's like it ends up being a reveal like why or whatever? Is it? Like I still don't really understand why they broke up.

Well I can. That's actually one of my criticisms of the movie. So so they break up, they she breaks up with him, they go their separate ways, blah blah blah. It kind of. The movie opens with her looking longingly at Christmas card she got from his family, saying like, I'm gonna break up with the guy, but not the family.

And then he he's going through his own thing and his family's like, oh, we love Christmas, come see us and he's like, no, I'm not gonna. So that's why the family says late Measter aka Ally come over and hang out with us. So now they're both there, and that's when it's like, you know what you expect to happen half time each other, but they you know, they also want to I'm making the sex motion with my hand. I can feel it from here. Well, like, I guess they have a they kind of make a deal or a bet as to like isn't At one point it's like, Okay, one of us is gonna get to keep coming back for Christmas and the other one isn't.

So whoever wins the week or something? Is that a plot point? It felt like a plot point, but then it kind of went away, I think. So what I remember is that so the gentleman his his his stance was I'm gonna make them hate you, so they make you leave, right. But I don't know if there was an additional like and you'll never be allowed back, or if like the implied was, I'm gonna make my family turn on you so you no longer feel welcome here.

Instead, he almost kills his father. That is a thing that happened. Fucking movie. So there's so I there was a lot here, Christine, there was a lot, and I'm watching this, I'm like, okay, yeah, this is like it's following the rules, we're getting things, but it's clearly for a more slightly sassier audience, Like it's I don't know what the TV rating was, but there are sex jokes. There are penis jokes.

Yeah, there is implied like threesomes, there is implied. There's there's a lot of things going on. Uh, but it's like still very lighthearted in a way that a like I don't know, it's you know, it's it is meant to be funny, it's meant to be like a little meaner, but still like ultimately, okay, I know it's gonna be a romance bla blah blah. And then it turns into like the beginning of ever After where Michael Hitchcock as like the lovable but COVID denying dad has a heart attack and for like five minutes, I'm like, the they fucking killed them. I really thought they did for a second too, because like he's giving so rob So they're playing hockey because it's one of the things where it's like, I don't know, I feel at this point there's a bet going on of who's gonna win that hockey, I guess, and Michael Hitchcock goes down and has a heart attack and Graham is giving him CPR for like, it's like a good two minute of him pumping on his chest and pumping on his chest.

It's traumatic for sure. Yeah, and it's and they actually say like no pulse, no pulse, and you're like, and there was a minute where I could not decide would it be the greatest thing in the world if he dies or would it be the worst thing in the world if he dies? For me, not for the movie. Yeah, I was kind of I hadn't written it off as a possibility because, like you mentioned, this movie takes a really strange tone. Yeah, because it it and I think this is what's gonna make going through you know, the list kind of interesting slash difficult, because it does a lot of tropic things, like very At one point, one of the notes I wrote was, the tropes are troping, Like it does a lot of like the cozy hallmarky shit that you would expect, but then there are yeah exactly.

It's it's like it's like the stuff is there, but then it's like dick joke, my dad's almost dead and it and it then starts to feel like an adult comedy. So it's a really weird balance of things, like you wouldn't expect such like wholesome hallmarky stuff to be in this movie that I genuinely laughed at a couple of things in the speech. I thought, I thought there were some actual funny jokes and Layton Measter is a gem and we've already said that Rabbie Eml's hysterical, Like it's that they're not what's wrong with this movie. Sometimes the pacing is weird and the jokes go on too long. But like I think for me, it was that not knowing what kind of movie I was watching was what made it hard for me.

Yeah, and I wish it was even like if it was going to kind of commit to not committing. I wish it did that with bigger swings. Yeah, Like I wish it kind of went for like opening on her baking cookies and like doing a cute thing and then suddenly I don't know, like taking out a dildo like and like that wouldn't be out of line for this movie, but yet it does it like it so it's this weird push pull and I kind of respect that, but I wish it just went a little further, but also like took something and grounded it. Like if one of them, if maybe Graham was like actually done as a sweet Hallmark guy, but everything else around him was a little bit escalated, it could have like really worked, but it doesn't cause it this movie I don't think really understood or had decided exactly what it wanted to do.

I'm guessing it's alsoort of those thing were like while filming, they were going one way, and then maybe in the editing room they pulled back here and there, or they pushed harder here and there, and so it just it's very weirdly inconsistent in a way that's kind of interesting. But I don't know that for me it was as satisfying, because my biggest problem is that I as much as like I like both of these actors, I liked watching them. They're both beautiful, they're both funny, they both have really good climbing timing, but I thought both of them were assholes. That that's another thing. I didn't necessarily understand that choice, because because it's so again wholesome and hallmarky and very of this genre, to then couple it with people who with so much of it just people being crappy to each other or people being like disappointed or upset.

It's just kind of like, this is strange. So that's when Michael Hitchcock is dead for a minute or whatever. I was like, well, this is gonna be the catalyst that makes Bobby realized that he wasn't good to Leighton, he wasn't prioritizing her properly, and now he's going to make amends and they're going to get back together. Obviously that inevitably happens because that's what they may do. But I thought him dying was gonna be why.

I mean, him almost shying I think was enough. But yeah, it was so strange. It was weird. It was very very strange. So with that, let's dive in because I think there's a lot more that's going to come up as we go through it.

So the first thing being our lead need of a lesson, and it's kind of like it's a twofer. I think, you know, they're they're equally billed in this. It's really both of their stories. We're introduced first to Ali, so we'll start there. So Layton mister, who again we both love.

Yeah shit, they introduce it as like, Okay, we start with her, so I think we kind of think that it's her story and we should be on her side. And yeah, it does seem sad that her boyfriend is you know, or fiance, that they're not together, but she loves a family and she just seems really sad. But then quickly you're like, yeah, but you're also kind of a cunt. I don't know that I had as much problem with her. What did she do that I'm trying to think of a thing specifically, well, the entire act of like so, I can't believe I didn't catch it, but I'm guessing she has a dead mom and a dad who's married to like a young something something, because so she has She's with her friends in the opening scene and they're like talking about Christmas and they're like, oh, yeah, we're not here, so what are you doing.

She's like, oh, well, nothing because my dad is with his new wife and oh yea, yeah, I guess I'm just going to be sad and dream about having a food truck, which you know is what you do in these movies. So instead like, okay, like I'm sad that she's lonely, but I feel like she had options, there's that. So she decides she's going to go to the family of her acts, which again, like I don't know, seems like a weird thing to do, especially because she is the one that broke up with him, and I know, the whole thing is that we don't think he's going back because he's a workaholic, but still it's a it's a weird thing. And then when she's there, she's just kind of mean. I think that I think that her showing up period is going to be pretty divisive.

Yea. I don't know that I had a super strong feeling about her going to his I mean, they invited her and they were together for five years, so she considers them extended family. So like, I'm not as weirded at out by it, but like I could definitely see somebody being like, oh, that is you know, my boundaries have been pushed and I don't like that. So, yeah, that that wasn't the best. And then there is the thing when they're when they're playing games where she gets real fired up and like he's and he's like, I knew you'd be an asshole in front of them.

Yeah, kind of like that to me, again is just more of this movie kind of telling like meaner adult even and it is. I'll tell you it's the second movie of the year that has a like very competitive female character who gets two into board games because that was also in Missletone Montana and again as a as as a female who gets really competitive when I play board games, Like I maybe it's that I see myself and I know it's not a pretty picture. Maybe it's not. I don't know, but she's I don't know, she's just kind of and the thing too, I think is that she's just really mean to Graham the entire time and the other thing. So then we get sort of like beat not bees love stories, but like, but there's other love interests that are introduced.

There's Brady, who is the head salesman at Michael Hitchcock's car lot, who also was Graham's rival in high school. And then there's Jess, who's just some chick that shows up. And Ellie is like very quickly like, oh Brady, who's hot, but who's also like very clearly somebody that Rile's Graham because Graham has this insecurity with him, and like she's just kind of I don't know, like I thought all of the way she acted with him, like if if my friend was doing that in front of her axe, I'd be like, hey, that's kind of fucked up. I think for me, both of them were being so ridiculous that I can't point fingers at anybody because and the weird thing, and you you kind of hinted at it, the weird thing is that it really does kind of pretend it's going to be like Mester's movie, and then it really is about the male has the arc.

Yeah, I mean he's the one that makes a decision. And so I sometimes was left feeling like do they even what are they even doing with her? Like what what journey am I on with her? Because it felt like she was just kind of spinning her wheels. And yeah, like just I think they were set up as like rivals so that like they could continue to just be funny and mean to each other, which is a strange backdrop for this type of movie.

Very true, it's two people being antagonistic for two hours or however long. Well that let's move into then number two or bland love interest, which in this case is kind of your also lead need to a lesson. So Graham, who I guess has the Christmas name of anybody in here, right, like, because you use Graham crackers to Graham crafts, you do, right, I mean you could? Well, I mean okay, I do so Graham, Okay, Graham's job is video games. Graham's job is video games.

And that's all I can tell you about it. And that's all I know, because it was very strange and not at all how they make video games, because I'm married to somebody who makes videos. What was the other movie that, oh gosh, came out the last few years where it was like, we have a video game that has to get released before Christmas or and it was one of those things where it's like, no, that's not how it works. I don't remember. Oh man.

It was something like I don't might have been a Christmas movie. I don't remember, uh, but it's yeah, it's become the thing of like how to make a character cool, but also like have a job that nobody understands. Nobody understands. You can just have to click it on a mouse and be like, yeah, working on that video game. Yeah.

And when they when you meet him, like his he actually his like third line of dialogue is just like you know me, I work work work, work, work, work, work, work work work work, work work work work work work. So that is so she's a baker who wanted more from their relationship and he is a guy who works too much, and that is the entirety of their character development. Yes, I mean, which you could argue is enough for this kind of movie, and I mean true, true, no, no, that's that's very fair. And but like what did I So if she wants to own her own food truck, you need money to do that, so maybe appreciate your partner like work working. That was all see again, And now now we're in the situation where we've been presented with just enough detail that we're we need to know more and we don't have it.

So now I have way too many questions because I did say something like and then I'm not to jump ahead. But then at the end, he buys her a food truck after a year, and I was like, why didn't they just go out and buy that first thing, because it's not a big food truck, like it's it's a it looks like a zip car food truck, right, Like it's that little tiny car that like you can Parallel Park in New York really easily, Like, what are you baking in there? Not much? Yeah, I guess she's just bringing it around to local areas and but yeah, it's it's it's tough because you want to flesh out the world, right, and you want me to like know things about these characters. But now you've got the tiniest food truck and somebody somebody sitting on the laptop saying they're doing a video game and I'm like, I don't think you know, showing off well, and that too so the end because we get a coda and then we get a second coda.

But in the coda we find out Graham now works for himself. And this is the thing movies are doing, and I am tired of it. It's this whole like, if you love something, let your passion be your job. It's the whole like, right, if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. Except actually, no, if you love something and you decide to turn it into your job, you will not love that thing anymore because it becomes work and it's your job.

Yes, yeah, And in this case it's more like, oh, he works for himself now, so how does he have any time for anything? Because if you're running your own business, that takes up a hell of a lot more time than clocking into work and saying, okay, my hours are over now. It's definitely used as like a fix all kind of solution in these kinds of movies. Yeah, it's like being an architect in these movies. We don't really know what architects do, but we know that you work in a big office and carry your around a big prop that's convenient.

So we're gonna make an architect and you might make a lot of money. Yeah, it's just like these these shell occupations where we can just tell you enough. But the tech ones are always tough because like I'm looking at what you're working with and I don't think it's right. I know enough about it to know you don't. Yes, So number three is our setting?

Typically a big, bad city of charmy small town or a magical winter wonderland. Where are they? Did they tear like Missouri or something? Yeah, he's at the airport or like picking up a car or something, and that that tells us that they've left. I think they're in LA.

You're definitely in La to start or in California. It come to like where he's from, so Missouri, Montana, I can't remember, definitely, I don't. Yeah, so small town, I mean it does. I think I mean it does all the small town stuff, like local bar or like place we used to go to, familiar people. So yeah, so number four is the dead parent or dead wife.

Maybe almost almost almost and maybe maybe and almost. I am mad at myself. I almost debated because I watched this. I guess it was Monday and Tuesday morning. Today's Wednesday, and I debated today.

I was like, damn it, I never found out if her mother was dead. I should rewatch the beginning to see if she actually says it out loud, because I've been trying to timestamp exactly at what point in the movie we hear about the dead parent. So I missed it. It might have been there, but both you and I missed it, so I don't know if it was actually spoken out loud. But well, it doesn't matter because like Trump card, right here, we almost get Michael Hitchcock dying.

Yeah, yeah, very dramatically in an ice rink. Yeah, but a day later he's back home running the same day, same day, running he's back home running out of breath. It was. I was very worried for him at that point. I'm like, well, if he didn't die, then he's definitely to die in the montage.

Definitely. All right. So number five is our sassy sidekick, typically a coworker, friend, sister, somebody who wears big earring, somebody wears big sweaters. Perhaps I'm so excited about this, all right, tell me tell me about sister. Right, So, Robbie and Mel's character has a lesbian sister who's just a delight.

She's great, very funny. Yeah, And so it is the younger brother. I really liked him too. Yeah. He every time he came in, every every like he had a lot of the kind of like I don't know what you'd call them, just the little like dead pan like ringer lines.

And he every time I chuckled at what he said. Hmm. Yeah. So that's fun, fun to have that. And number six is our evil woman or our also oft an evil boss.

I guess Robbie's boss is evil and kind of a dick, right, yeah, I can I can I pitch you on this please? The evil woman and the male boss obsessed with the bottom line are our protagonary, our protagonists, Yes, and they have to stop being that way to be happy at Christmas with each other. Man, it's another this entire last like two years, I have not had a good villain and I'm watching this and it's making me even matter because Leyton Measter can play mean so well. Yep, And I like, I will take one of those Christmas movies that hallmarky stuff bang out ten years ago, all the time of big city lawyer who's going to destroy a town, basically Corella Delville who ends up having a memory lapse and you know, falls in love with magical Santa Falls.

I will take a movie of that with Layton Measter, just to get those early scenes of her being mean, because she's so great at being mean, and we don't get enough of it. No, I feel like some of those like classic setups have really gone gone away because because we're trying to be fresh, we don't want to just recycle the same stuff, which I love. But then you end up you know, you don't make any slashes anymore, but you know you don't make any evil ladies. This is business lady movies. It's it's a shame I miss a type then, I really do so we also, I guess we have like our other sidekickslash, like potentially villains of the partners of would be partners of Graham and Ali.

Definitely, yeah, yeah, and they're they're fun. I kind of liked where some of that went. Yeah, So Brady is Michael Hitchcock's the right hand man to the car lot, and again like he's hot, he's uh, he's very tall, and there's a great scene where like Ali's trying to get the moves on him, like she thinks it's going somewhere, and then she realizes he's just trying to sell her a car. Yep, that do make number Then is our montage, and we have a few of them. There are some montages get but not like your typical decking the Hall's montage.

No, no, not not really. Yeah, there's one that's a bit seasonal, but most of them aren't. The I think the first one the game night, and I feel like that was scored to some music, but I might have been wrong. Is that the one I wrote down some of the music, but I can't remember which was which. Yeah, the music didn't actually stick out to me.

I don't have any notes about them. Yeah, right, and I really tried to take copious notes. Wonderful. We'll get to the details of that. So there's a game night montage.

There's like a breakup, there's a both a. The engagement was an actual scene and we'll get there later. But there is a breakup montage that's doing like that time lapse thing. Yeah, that you know, honestly I got. I felt like I got a lot of information from that's lots of good story.

They did convey it, even though I still didn't. Again, I didn't really understand why they broke up, but I, yep, I don't. I don't pick up on vibes. Well, h we have a bakeoff montage yep, yep. That has a good kind of stinger at the end, very very silly.

I really actually, we'll get there, I guess when we talk about secret recipes, because I thought that was going in a different direction. Hockey game which is very frantic and ends in art attack and then the the Again. Another scene that I did actually laugh quite a bit at was the getting to the airport montage. That was very funny. Yes, it had a good payoff.

Yeah, so can you set that up for the folks at home. So they Robbie has decided that he loves Layton Mester and he wants to be with her, and his family is like, yes, you're so right, go to the airport right now. We're gonna go with you. And so he's like, I guess you're gonna go with me. So all of them are rushing to get ready and get out, to get everything together and get out to the car.

All these people five people, like six people, I don't know, five people run into the car and they opened the door and like late neust to just standing right there. Yep. Well, also there's they get in the one car and the car doesn't start. They're getting in the other car and like they're like still tying their shoes and Robbie's like, come on, dive and they're playing Hallelujah. So it's very frantic, and you know, his dad who has just had a heart attack running around, which was worrisome.

That made me uncomfortable, But aside from that, it was actually it was very funny. Yeah, I had I thought it was good. Yeah, I thought it was a clever way of kind of playing with that tripe. Yeah, and number eight is slapstick, of which there is a little bit. There is a little bit, isn't there there is?

Obviously we have the hockey game that they get very darkly. We get kind of this ongoing joke that I guess we'll go here is the uh his parents kind of being when they're drunk and sort of like this constant them saying the wrong The mom is played by Catherine Greenwood, who's very funny in this. I mean not all of her lines are as far as she makes them. I think she really like works hard to make this work, and she just is one of those like doesn't understand a lot of like sexual innuendo and thinks it's like casual talks. There's that We get a like an establishment of you know, how how messed up things are for Graham.

When I think when we're introduced to him, do you remember like the first shot of him, it's pretty gross. I don't think so. It's him on his couch with like a laptop on his chest as he eats like Chinese takeout above it Like it's just one of those like we're like, okay, I get when you're trying to make a character like Slovenly, but it's also like unbecoming. I don't see that. So it was so funny though, because then he immediately spills the food all over himself.

It was just really that was when I like my first big laugh, I think, and I was like, oh, we're laughing early yours. We get toilet over okay. That was that was absolutely ridiculous. And again like one of those things where I'm like, Ali is a cunt, Like, you're right she at one point, so she she hides the little sign that says to like hold the flusher down, so the toilet overflows, and you see all you see is her like running out of the bathroom with the plunger. So later she could run in with the plunger and be a hero.

And it is a dick move, but at that point the sister was like, oh, you're such a hero. It was so it was funny. Yeah, I don't know, I think I like this. There's nothing wrong with that. We also had a goat goat attack.

Oh the goat. That was stupid. It was very stupid, Like, look, I get being afraid of unreasonable animals. Like I said earlier, For some reason, I don't like to publicly say it because I'm scared somebody who doesn't like me will like mail me a box of them. I have a thing about caterpillars.

They freak me out. Fuzzy caterpillars ma me like squirm. Goats are adorable, but goats can be pretty badass if they want to be sure. But there is a Alley's like weird secret fears goats, and there is a goat coming after her, and it's very upsetting but also kind of cute because the goats are pretty cute. Yes, he puts goat feed in her pocket.

Everybody, Yes, And it's very fun. Everybody should watch this movie. Ah, right stage old people, the parents. Yeah, I think you know. Jeanie is there to get you know.

She talks up the relationship, gives some advice about her marriage, which seems very happy. Yeah, yeah, i'd say so. Sadly we don't have a real Santa Claus. It's it's so interesting for all the tropes that we get, there's this weird inversion and then we don't get Santa Like. It would have just I don't know, I feel like this movie could have just had him, Like at the end when Robbie like pulls out up in the food truck that like Santa walks by and like sprinkles it and makes it bigger, you know, makes it like an actual truck and not a go Bert.

That would have been great. I have a real love hate relationship with Santa randomly doing magic things in these movies. Reason it's such a cop out and I don't like it. But then also when it happens, I'm like, why not, right? Why Christmas?

Yeah, if we can't have Santa magic at Christmas, when can we have Santa page? And you yeah? True? All right? So moving on so again like kind of missing some things, but it's it's there.

This is a a cozy Cardigan Christmas movie with like with the Cardigan kind of torn I guess sure. It's a very hip Cardigan Cardigan. Oh gosh, yeah this is. And it's like one of those ones that you get from like H and M or Cheyenne. Like it's one that like you see on Facebook and you click the ad and then you get it and then it falls apart the first time you watch it.

Yeah, this is kind of that. Uh so the bonus rounds. The first thing is the music, so uh, you know a lot of do we have a lot of public domain Christmas carols and what else do we have? So we do get we get jingle bells early on when he's coming home from the airport, when I think we just when we when he discovers that ally is there, it's a really intense carol of the bells. Yeah, yeah, I do remember that now.

And then my favorite thing that comes up now is when you get the word salad. Christmas songs, I know what you mean. I think there was one in one of the ones we watched last year. Oh, yes, there definitely was Christmas too. This one definitely had one.

Actually, when I think of these were two different songs are the same with different lyrics, But the words I caught from it was by yourself a Christmas tree mistletoe for you and me? Ah a right and all. Oh, this was like a whole song. All I want for Christmas is my Is that? Maybe all I want for Christmas is my baby.

You can keep your Christmas bows white and blue, because all I want is you. Hmm yeah, white and blue? Like what a Christmas bow is blue? Like a honokable might be blue, but a Christmas bow is not usually blue. Yes, it rhymes with you, but other words do too, like the word too, which I just said, Yeah, I'm sure if you've got creative you could even come up with a color.

Yeah. I feel like for all of the use, Like, maybe that's the next movie that I want. I want the movie about the character who dreams of writing words out Christmas songs for these kinds of movies and gets her dream at the end. That's very meta. I would love.

I know. Let's do it all right, So number two is our either secret family recipe and or needlessly complicated holiday themed cocktail. We get some recipe, we get some baking. We do we know it is a huge part of this character's personality. Yes, she is a baker.

Let us not forget that she is a baker. It's very important that everybody remembers she's a baker. Yeah, which is a very hard thing to be in California. I guess again, he waited a year to get her that truck. He could have gotten it right away.

She had a whole story in La Weekly. Well, but I'm so confused too, because that was the whole thing, was that? Like, he finds out because Jeanie has saved the article from La Weekly about about Alie not opening up her own thing. But I thought she just like took over a cafe as like the new baker at this cafe. And that was the write up because Graham was like, Oh, wow, you left your job to bake full time.

That's great, but you're still not working for yourself. He says accusingly. Yeah, I do remember that now. I thought that was very strange because I guess I was like, oh, I don't I guess I don't know what she does either at this point. I mean, I thought she was just like I thought she was an activated baker who was actively baking in her very beautiful home.

I think she is a like like what is the opposite of active, but not full opposite of active, Like she is a stationary baker. She is I'm trying to do it, like, oh, active active yeast, instant yeast whatever the equivalent of that is, Like the yeast that's sitting in my fridge that I need to I can't just use in a recipe. I have to like mix it with water to get to bread. I think that's what she is. Inactivated inactivating yeast.

That's yeah, that's definitely it. But so there is a you know a recipe scene where they're like, oh, who's like, Ali, are you gonna make your famous cookies? And she does, but Graham is trying to sabotage her, so he takes all the butter. So Alie goes to the garage. Yeah, and this movie is jam packed with things.

So what does she use in place of traditional butter? So she goes into the fridge and honestly, this is good because in other movies it would have been like seamen or something. And she gets like a jar of butter, and I was like, oh God, what's wrong with this butter? And then quickly I'm like, oh, this is gonna be Michael Hitchcock's drug butter because he has back problems so he does edibles at the house. So this is like a THCHC infused butter.

And at one point so they get all high and it's very funny. But late us to she's like, I used this thick butter, and she said THHC is thick, and it made me laugh so hard, like I like when people say acronyms. It was very funny to me. I really thought the reveal was that it was going to be boy butter. Yeah, I thought it was semen.

I use that's weak, like, but that's who's keeping semen in a jar in the fridge. I don't know, because they didn't like dick jokes and sex jokes. So I was like, all right, so we're doing seman jokes. Let's let's do some jizz jokes. And I thought that's what they were.

So when it was really Butter, I was like, oh good, I'm glad that was really. I really thought it was going to be like the most surprising reveal because like boy Butter is become like a famous brand, like the advertising rup Paul. I thought it was going to be like, whoa, our product placement is boy Butter? But No, it wasn't. No, it wasn't.

It was It was THHC Butter, which again I'm not a huge fan of like drug scenes, but like everybody was very cute in fun at least it's cute. It's handled well. I thought, see, next is the small business in danger, which I guess we don't really get right. There's no no, her business is never in danger. No, she means yeah.

It's funny though, because it's still an element, right, both of them get having their own businesses. Starting small businesses is still like in there, which is interesting and weird. Yes, because for her it makes a little bit of sense because it's like, Okay, baking, I know what it means to want to be a baker in charge of yourself. Okay, great. I don't know what it means to want to be your own game developer.

I'm not really sure what he's what he's get in there there, Like it just seems like something you can't just easily start one day and activate and raise a family in California on such a dream. If you will, uh now? Product placement yep? Okay, okay, so yes, I can't wait to hear them. We do not get boy Butter, although I thought we did.

Uh we do? I got a commercial for x mess uh while watching x mess so product placement of its own movie inside of itself? What are some of the products you call it? So? CA Jewelers.

Yes you are, Christine, I wrote in my notes Christine appearance equals K Jewelers. Yep, because second year in a row. I have never seen Ca Jewelers in Christmas movie before until I met you. I was so excited, I said, I yelled, Oh is this going to be another CA Jewelers commercial because the other one was like legit, yes, K Jewelers said, here's some money. Yes, every Christmas kiss begins with CA Jewelers.

Yeah. But also eighty T, which was very strange ad T security when when what's his face that works at the car dealership is like, wait a second, I just have to lock up. He grabs his phone and it's just like pauses on a big bright screen of like in the ad T app I guess and I was like, oh eight somebody, why not? Why not? Good for them?

Yeah. There was a lot of Heineken drink throughout the movie, so much lots of lots of Heineken. Yep. Yeah. I was trying to figure out if the like big box store that they were in was something because it looked it looked instead like they were in a Walmart or it's like an Ace Hardware, but that they didn't get permission or didn't get the name, so they just made sure to cut underneath any logo, like it was all filmed like a weird angle to where you're like, I do feel like I should see the ceiling, but I don't see the ceiling.

It was very nondescript. Yeah, so my my theorition is a BuzzFeed movie is that, like you know, BuzzFeed probably sells ad space to millions of companies on the site. And this was the like bump up in tear like look, I know that you're Heineken. You usually advertise on our like you know, our listicles of best Macaulay Culkin movies you've never seen. But instead, what if you chip in a little more and we feature you heavily in Xmas?

I mean I'm sold, obviously, where do I sign now? Number I think that was all the product that's you. You're tuned into music. I'm over here spotting well and now I know what that means. Number five cloying child.

I don't think we had any children in the movie at all. No, No, I don't know. Yeah again, I'm seeing that more and more because again, kids are expensive because you gotta get tutors and permission and all that, and a lot of times it's easier just to not But number six so finding the perfect Christmas Tree. There's a twist on that is they're not because it's not a Christmas tree that they have to keep finding. Oh the baby Jesus thing.

Yeah, that is that is funny as well. Somebody keeps stealing Baby Jesus from the manger, so they have to go and replace it. You know how you can just go to a store usually, but like, oh, the baby Jesus is are picked over. So somebody had glued stuff on like a big rubber duck, like a big rubber duck. So it's a rubber duck with like a Jesus beard and like a little robe.

And also there's a t rex baby Jesus. It was very absurd but also funny. It was absurd and it was one and I wondered if that was written or if that was just the actors improving, because it felt really like, okay, guys, here's the van. Just go for it. Like it had that energy to it, and it was where like you really also got to see the two of them as comic timing and like they know what they're doing doing in a comic scene.

Because it was that. I did laugh out loud, not just at the concept but the way they played that moment. It was very it was very funny. Yeah, uh okay, number seven empty coffee cup acting This is my favorite. And I did not see it.

I didn't either, and that's shocking. And I feel like there's definitely like mugs being held, but I think they actually again, like this is maybe the dividing line between the actors in the Hallmark movies and real actors like Late Easter and Michael Hitchcock. Like they've done these movies, they've done real movies. They know that if you're holding a coffee cup, you pretend it has wait and you act as if there is weight in that coffee cup. Mm hm, So yeah, good job, good job here, folks.

Number eight actors trying very hard to not actually eat, but to take a bite on camera. I think they were drinking this entire movie. Yeah, And at the beginning, Layton takes like a bite out of like a very aggressive bite out of a cookie, and I was like, look, she's and the gamera state on her it was like, no, no, you're gonna chew, and then it was kind of weird. You're gonna chew and you're gonna swallow, and it, you know, weird, govern weird. Yeah, but now like they everybody and like anytime they were drinking, it looked like they were drinking so great, all that height and again did not go to waste.

Number nine canadianisms or obvious notes that this movie was not filmed on location. A lot of these actors are Canadian. When I was going through their IMDb's, I think you can hear it here and there, Yes, definitely, Yeah, I thought I could too. But there wasn't anything that like screamed to me that they were like on the streets of Vancouver, which does happen, And you're like, yes, sometimes literally sometimes there will be a sign that says Ontario. I don't think so.

I felt like it felt like they were keeping things like you mentioned about the store. Everybody was real deliberate, yeah about what I was and was yep. And I think in terms of like accents, like you're like Michael Hitchcock and Catherine Greenwood doing very like Midwestern accents of some kind to where they just sort of like helped like disorientate us to where you had no idea where you were, but you knew you were in the middle of the country somewhere. Yes, okay, and now we're ten warm weather watch. It didn't look cold.

It did not look cold. Uh, and yet they go ice fishing. Yeah, they did go ice fishing. I feel like there was a scene of like very fake snow, like a dividing line of snow and green grass. Yeah to end to me Like yeah, Like I was like, okay, well, they're not saying where they are they started in California.

But then when they go ice fishing and they're complaining about being freezing and dying of cold, but yet nobody's wearing a coat. They're only wearing vests over long sleeve shirts. That's where I got a little mad. Yeah, it definitely did not the weight of the cold was not present. Yes, yes, number eleven old people aggressively matchmaking our leads.

I mean, oddly enough, Like it seemed like Jeanie and Dennis didn't really care if Graham and Ali stayed together. They just wanted to keep Ali as like part of the family. Yeah, it seemed like they were super happy about it because they like her, but they weren't like being weird, which is nice because sometimes it's like it was weird. Yeah. And similarly, because we find out Mindy and her girlfriend broke up.

Actually, let's talk about that coda, because so Mindy seems secretive, so we know something's going on, and then we find out that like, yeah, her and her girlfriend broke up and we don't really know why. We get a coda that's one year later where the family goes to visit California where Ali and Graham have set up life, and Mindy brings the girl she met at the bar in this movie, so it's like, oh, here's my new girlfriend. And then we get another coda that's one year later where Mindy shows up and surprise, Graham has invited Mindy's x of two years now. Yeah, yeah, I didn't. I didn't.

I didn't like that. I thought that was ridiculous and unnecessary. Like okay, so in the context of this the movie, which is not real life, I thought it was a terrible thing for a brother to do. I didn't think it was necessary or appropriate. And it wasn't even her fault that late Mester came in the first place, so like why last time her?

But then just as like from like a storytelling standpoint, I didn't find it additive and it seemed needlessly like vindictive again because she didn't do anything wrong. Yeah, and it also like loaded this weird thing where we saw you know, and this is in the course of five seconds that a year ago, she had moved on, she was with somebody else, and now it's a year later. Now again we have no idea what happened that year but or two years now. But like I don't know the idea that my ex boyfriend of two from two years ago, my brother decides I should get back with him after a second relationship, and whoever knows what else. Like again, it's where this movie because it is smart in a lot of ways.

When it makes choices, it's hard for like somebody, I mean, okay, for people that decided to do a podcast on the movie to not overthink that. Yeah, definitely. I even before we were talking, I caught myself like wondering these really weird things that I guess didn't matter. But when you present me with this level of information, I'm going to want follow up, right, especially when it's like the last beat of the movie is, oh my god, you invited my exomist to xmiss. You're like, okay, and it's fine if they do x Mists two starring Veronica Slowitz Osca.

Sure, great, Okay, I guess that's what we'll do. But I don't think that's what I was gonna do. I think it was just there is a as a punchline, and it felt weird to end the movie that way. Yeah, I agree, I just was I didn't think it was additive. Yeah, but don't worry.

We don't end our discussion that way because we get to my new favorite fashion watch. I didn't see this on the list, and I didn't pay attention anybody was wearing. No, it's my fault. I always skimmed it because I thought I had seen everything that was different. You know what I should have done, like a different fond or italics for new things.

Oh, you don't have to highlight next year, I'll do reading. No, I'm sorry, I'll do blue and red, blue and white ribbons as according to the Christmas traditions. Yeah. So I've been watching and I'm just trying to find fashion things that pop out, so we get some Christmas sweaters. We get also like Graham.

Graham lost his luggage, so he has to wear like Michael Hitchcock's clothes. There is a funny I did. I forgot about this, But the moment where grammed the whole time is like, I'm so sorry I don't have your Christmas presents because they lost my luggage, and then Brady the car salesman brings his luggage because that's apparently thing that you do if you're a volunteer for the Nights of Columbus, and so of course they're excited of like, oh, good Graham, you can give us our presents now. And he got everybody, uh head neck put neck pillows. That was very fun.

Again, Yeah, I have a neck pillow and I love my neck pillow, So don't knock them until you try them. Yeah, it's not a terrible gift. It's not a great gift. Mine's pink and polke a dot it though, so so that I won't lose it easily. But I did.

I my fashion moment for this. I thought, when we have a Christmas party in this movie, it's not a ball, right, we don't. We don't have the big glitz and glamb of Christmas prom, but we do at a Christmas party. So everybody's a little snatched up. And Jeanie is wearing this gold top that is like sort of how do you describe it?

Like it's not like pirate sleeves, but it's kind of like like drew By sleeves. It's gold, it has like, is it like the pussy bow on there, like the nice like big bow at the top. I think I can picture this. Yeah, oh yeah, I thought that was you know, as a woman who was getting older, I like to see what fashionable older women wear and figure out what I can make work. And I thought to myself, I might be able to make that work.

So you were just looking for like fashion in spoke. Yeah, I mean there's like late measter in a really cute like summer sort of like what do you call it, like linen white dress, coulottes stinging, and I'm like, oh, she's really pretty. I could never wear that. I would sweat right through it and it'd be disgusting. But then there's Catherine Greenwood and like a you know, snazzy gold lamet outfit.

I'm like, yeah, all right, I got that bad I can do. Yeah, let me see if they who do they think for wardrobe because I got to fund that. Yeah. So overall, then we've come to the end of the list. So my final question to you, Christine, do you recommend X mis ex caps miss I think that I do.

It's been a journey. It has been a journey. Sometimes it's not perfect. And there are there are probably better Christmas movies that you can watch. But if you're in the mood and you like Layton Mester, I feel like it really delivers on that front.

Yeah, And oddly enough, I feel like if this needed more of something, that needed a little more definition to Layton Measter's character, just because I know she can bring more and I feel like she can't quite get to. Yeah. But yeah, but it was funny. It was funny. Yeah, Like I did laugh and it didn't.

I wasn't like personally offended or like board watching it, So you could definitely do worse. So where does it rank for you as far as I mean, because you're the expert here. Yeah, but this is like outside of the wheelhouse because it it falls into the category. But it also I think kind of sits to the edge of it because the same person sitting down to watch Lifetime, you know it's a one Lifetime, might watch five minutes of this movie and say, oh, absolutely not. But it's doing this like, you would not have this movie in this format if you did not have the success of those movies in that format.

For real, it is so reliant on that that genre, that subgenre and It's just really interesting that it was like, but no, we're gonna do totally different things. Yeah, it's sort of like a like a I don't know what the word for it is, but like a sort of slight adaptation of that genre and that style and that tone take, you know, for the BuzzFeed audience. I guess just like like twist it a little bit with a little more adult, a little more risque, but still like firmly in line with these things, so that you might not turn it on at like Christmas at your Grandma's, but you can have it on after everybody's watched Hallmark movies and like the few adults still drinking are awake, Hey, let's watch this one.

Like I feel like it fits in there, and I don't, like, I'm not gonna watch this again, but I did laugh. I've had a lot of it. Very funny. I mean, Michael Hitchcock is always great, Catherine Greenwood was very funny. There were things in it that worked.

The cast. The cast was fantastic, and there were some really clever, wellked, comedically timed things. For me, just that I wish I liked the characters more. I just wish the characters weren't such jerks. Yeah, I do.

I do get what you're saying, but it's not the actress fault. And they're delightful to watch so and everybody's very pretty. Yeah, it's it's it's a good one of these in my opinion. Yeah, So, Christine, what are you watching the rest of the season? Are you gonna, you know, dive into the Hallmark train or do you?

Is it Muppets and and up from here? Probably? Probably not. I I watched Home alone and I'll be watching The Night Before, which is my Christmas tradition. It's Michael Share.

I still have not seen that. It's I say, I lead with Michael Shannon. It's literally Seth Green. Uh No, Seth Green, Seth Rogan. But you know your audience, You're you're saying that to get me to watch it.

There there are so many people in it. But yeah, that's my Christmas movie. And other than that, I just really haven't dive dived in except for this, which is something I wanted to watch with you. Well, thank you for for bringing your candy Cane Sprinkle and th HC Boy Butter in my corner. It's always appreciated.

You're very welcome. Yeah, bitchus looks so cute. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. You're lovely time fleet and you smile. Oh my God, Baby Jesus, Baby Jesus, see your tiny feet, you would know these feeds will walk on water.

Who would know that this little baby would want day raise the dad to life? Angels are saying in the sky, Angels are telling daniels of your bird. Shepherd's are walking down the hill. Shepherd's welcome? And where ship you?

Baby Jesus, perfect bundle of joy? As you laid there, just like a baby, who would have known that you're the son of God? Who would have all you're the same, your flower as they bayes, as you came from heaven. You are fully human and holly God. But for right now you were just a baby, abundant of joy, tiny feet, tiny hands,