mini Dec 13, 2025 00:55:30

Transcript

[0:00] Hey, listeners, just a few quick words up the top to remind you that Flop TV is going
[0:05] on right now.
[0:07] It's the first Saturday of every month.
[0:09] If you want to watch it live and chat with other listeners in the chat, viewers in the
[0:15] chat, send us some messages to be answered perhaps at the end of the show.
[0:21] We've been having a lot of fun going through famous bad movies of the decades.
[0:27] All of that will be available video on demand as well for ticket holders up through the
[0:32] end of the Flop TV season.
[0:34] You can get a season pass and watch all of them.
[0:37] You can binge them during the holidays.
[0:40] It's a lot of fun.
[0:41] So if you're interested, go to theflophouse.simpletics.com and check out our extra flop streams.
[0:51] Hey, everyone, and welcome to the Flop House.
[0:57] I'm Dan McCoy.
[0:58] I'm Stuart Wellington.
[0:59] My name continues to be Elliot Kalin.
[1:01] I've been thinking about changing it, but I'm going to keep it the way it is since I
[1:04] have a new book out, Joke Farming, How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense.
[1:07] If I change my name, people won't know that I wrote it.
[1:09] Anyway, continue, Dan.
[1:10] What are we doing today?
[1:11] Well, first, allow me to welcome our guest, Amber Nash.
[1:17] Say hello.
[1:18] Hi.
[1:19] Thanks for having me.
[1:21] You may know Amber as Pam from Archer, and she is now doing an Archer rewatch podcast
[1:29] for maximum fun.
[1:32] Tell everyone.
[1:33] Rephrasing.
[1:34] Yes.
[1:35] Rephrasing.
[1:36] Yes.
[1:37] That's what it's called.
[1:38] Rephrasing an Archer rewatch podcast, which is when I was naming a podcast, guys.
[1:40] I was like, let me get a real bunch of words that are hard to say.
[1:45] Archer fans know the importance of phrasing, though.
[1:48] Phrasing is very important.
[1:49] I'm very excited to have you here today.
[1:50] I'm a big Archer fan, and I think Pam is such a hilarious character.
[1:53] Thank you.
[1:54] She is the best character.
[1:55] But I realized working on the show that by season three, I was like, man, I got lucky
[2:00] with this one.
[2:01] I got a really good character.
[2:02] This character who gets to say the worst things all the time and is somehow still lovable
[2:06] even though doing terrible things all the time.
[2:08] Yes.
[2:09] Definitely.
[2:10] Yeah.
[2:11] Total breakout character.
[2:12] Very lovable and just wild as well.
[2:16] But also, Amber, you mentioned that you were doing a show in Atlanta, you said.
[2:22] Is that correct?
[2:23] A Hallmark Christmas romance-based improv show?
[2:28] Yes.
[2:29] So I work at a theater called Dad's Garage that I've been at since like 97.
[2:33] So I've been there a long time.
[2:36] And it's an improv theater, but we also do scripted work.
[2:39] And through my Atlanta connections and being a theater person in Atlanta, I met a wonderful
[2:43] playwright named Topher Payne, who eventually went on to write Hallmark movies for a living.
[2:51] So he's written, I think, eight Hallmark movies, right?
[2:55] And so one year, I think it was like 2016, 2017, I was like, I should be doing a Hallmark
[3:01] improv show, a Hallmark Christmas movie improv show with Topher, who is a real writer of
[3:06] Hallmark movies.
[3:07] He's not a traditional improviser, but he's so good at it.
[3:10] So he's our narrator, and he writes the screenplay as my husband and I are the main players.
[3:17] We have other people that switch in and out with us.
[3:20] But we play all the characters in the Hallmark universe as he writes the story.
[3:25] And it's nuts.
[3:27] It's really fun.
[3:28] People love it.
[3:29] People came last year from like Denver to see it.
[3:32] It's like a Christmas tradition for people now.
[3:34] It's really wonderful.
[3:35] It's called Yallmark.
[3:36] So going from Denver to Atlanta is like negative, like opposite Christmas.
[3:42] I know, right?
[3:43] Totally.
[3:44] Well, I thought because of this, I was going to put all of you through a little game based
[3:50] on Hallmark.
[3:51] Games Master McCoy is out again.
[3:54] Dan and Roy Dungeon Master, yeah.
[3:57] It may be unfair because you're close with...
[4:00] It may be unfair.
[4:01] I'm going to ask you to name things I'm thinking of that you don't know what they are.
[4:05] What have I got in my pocket?
[4:06] Oh, let's see.
[4:07] Gumballs?
[4:08] Yeah.
[4:09] No, I...
[4:10] Let's name what we think Dan has in his pockets for a moment.
[4:11] Gumballs, probably a slingshot sticking out of the back pocket.
[4:12] Some old keys that don't go to anything anymore because nobody has keys.
[4:13] Yeah, yeah.
[4:14] His favorite Bazooka Joe comics.
[4:15] Yeah.
[4:16] And like an old Popsicle stick.
[4:17] Dan, I don't know you.
[4:18] I'm just guessing.
[4:19] Jacks.
[4:20] So accurate.
[4:21] It's just a bunch of jacks.
[4:22] Jacks are a thing, right?
[4:23] Yeah.
[4:24] Some crackers.
[4:25] Yeah.
[4:26] Yeah.
[4:27] Yeah.
[4:28] Yeah.
[4:29] Yeah.
[4:30] Yeah.
[4:31] Yeah.
[4:32] Yeah.
[4:33] Yeah.
[4:34] So, crackers, jacks.
[4:35] Are you from the 1940s?
[4:36] So, I'm a mid-century child?
[4:37] Yeah, I don't understand.
[4:38] Pemicon?
[4:39] Pemicon?
[4:40] Yeah.
[4:41] He's got Pemican on him.
[4:42] Yeah.
[4:43] Because he's a 19th century child now.
[4:44] Yeah.
[4:45] Sorry.
[4:46] I was stumbling a little bit because I realized...
[4:47] Oh, there's a copy I need to...
[4:48] Well, yeah, that's probably most of it.
[4:49] No, I was going to say Amber may have an unfair advantage knowing an actual writer of these
[5:03] actual movies.
[5:04] Perhaps she knows some of these ahead of time, who knows?
[5:07] But I'm going to share my screen where I've put together a slideshow.
[5:11] Wow.
[5:12] Make sure to close all the fucked up shit you have on there, all the fucked up windows
[5:15] he has.
[5:16] Yeah.
[5:17] All this crazy stuff.
[5:18] I was going to say...
[5:19] Sharing is not turned on.
[5:20] I want to mention, we recently did some live shows in Chicago and I'm going to allow you
[5:25] to share.
[5:26] Yes, please.
[5:27] So, we at least did a live show in Chicago and Stuart has a bit that involves at one
[5:30] point showing what's supposed to be a screen from his computer and there's tabs that are
[5:34] open with like porn things in the background and I think nobody ever catches that joke
[5:39] and every time I see it, I'm like, that's hilarious.
[5:41] I think it's most funny that I don't think anyone realizes that it's a joke or sees it.
[5:45] Yeah.
[5:46] But the attention to detail, Stuart.
[5:47] Or they just feel ashamed.
[5:48] Yeah.
[5:49] Yeah.
[5:50] People are like, does that tab say, what is hentai?
[5:56] Should I go up and tell him after the show?
[5:58] That'd be cool.
[5:59] So, I'm going to share a slideshow of posters for six Hallmark movies that have been featured,
[6:08] especially this season.
[6:12] And I...
[6:13] Featured in what way?
[6:14] Well, on the Hallmark site, they are in the featured section.
[6:18] So clearly, Hallmark is like...
[6:20] I don't know if the government was sending out brochures or pamphlets.
[6:23] These are the ones that you got to pay attention to.
[6:29] So off of these posters, which I will ask at least one of you to describe, I want you
[6:37] to guess what the plot of the movie is, and then I will explain the plot and see how close
[6:45] you got.
[6:46] And then once we know the truth of it, I will ask you, did that make you intrigued by this
[6:50] particular Hallmark offering?
[6:52] Okay.
[6:53] I hope that's clear.
[6:54] What a dangerous game we're playing.
[6:56] Oops.
[6:57] Ellie, could you describe what we have here for this first poster?
[7:03] Sure.
[7:04] So this one...
[7:05] You picked me because this combines things I love, Christmas and professional sports.
[7:10] And it says, Holiday Touchdown, a Bill's love story.
[7:14] And something up top says, it's an all new Countdown to Christmas original movie.
[7:17] So it's multiple branded.
[7:20] Both the Hallmark branding and also the Buffalo Bills.
[7:22] And you see two people, it's a man and a woman.
[7:25] The woman has kind of a puckish look on her face as she looks at the camera.
[7:29] And she's got her hand on the leg of the man who's looking at her.
[7:31] He has eyes only for her.
[7:32] He doesn't even know he's in a picture.
[7:34] He just looks at her.
[7:35] And they're sitting on the uprights, or whatever it's called, the goal thingy.
[7:41] Oh, I didn't even notice that.
[7:43] They must be very high.
[7:44] They're sitting up on the top of the extra point field kick thing in a football field.
[7:49] My brother is yelling at the thing right now, but I don't know the name of this.
[7:53] And it's clearly Buffalo Bills branded.
[7:55] So they are at the Bill's stadium.
[7:57] It's snowing out.
[7:58] It's cold.
[7:59] They have risked their lives in the cold to climb to the top of this thing.
[8:03] And there's Christmas lights strewn on it.
[8:05] So my guess is that this is a couple who fell in love at the Buffalo Bills stadium.
[8:11] And they're now celebrating their Christmas there on top of it.
[8:13] So that's what it is, Holiday Touchdown, a Bill's love story.
[8:17] These are either professionals, one's a Bills player and one's a cheerleader maybe, or they're
[8:21] huge Bills fans.
[8:23] And they have snuck into this stadium because there's no one in the stands.
[8:25] And the title features three different fonts, which I love.
[8:28] It's true.
[8:29] Holiday, Touchdown, and a Bill's love story, all in different fonts.
[8:33] But they're in an abandoned stadium, snow on the field.
[8:35] Nobody has cleared it away so that they can climb up somehow to the top of this field
[8:40] goal post and sit there just loving each other and with Christmas lights around them, you
[8:45] know?
[8:46] Do you want to take a stab, Amber or Stu, at the plot of this thing?
[8:52] Ellie's sort of postulated a few things.
[8:54] I want to say, I just want to point out that somehow she's wearing some very nice satin
[9:00] pants that are also like Bills themed, which is like, where would you get these as a fan?
[9:06] She must have made them at home.
[9:08] Those must be so cold to sit on a cold metal field post when it's snowing out in satin
[9:13] pants.
[9:14] Maybe they're fleece lined.
[9:16] Yeah.
[9:17] Okay.
[9:18] So I'm going to guess that the plot of this is that her dad, before he passed away, because
[9:26] there's always one dead parent for every character, a main character in a Hallmark movie.
[9:31] Her dad, before he passed away, owned the team.
[9:36] And she always comes to this Christmas game that happens.
[9:43] And she met this young new coach on the coaching staff that's causing a bunch of ripples throughout
[9:51] the organization because he's got crazy ideas.
[9:54] But she realizes those ideas are a lot like her former dad's ideas.
[10:00] and they fell in love because of it.
[10:03] And now it's Christmas and football.
[10:06] When you say crazy ideas,
[10:07] I imagine like the coach is like,
[10:09] why don't we use a basketball instead of a football?
[10:11] Exactly.
[10:13] And why don't we play on our knees?
[10:14] Let's all run around on our knees like Dorf.
[10:16] Why don't we do that?
[10:17] I have to assume that on their first date,
[10:20] maybe it wasn't intentionally a date.
[10:22] Maybe it was just a random dinner that they went to.
[10:24] They go to local regional restaurant,
[10:28] Buffalo Wild Wings.
[10:30] Okay.
[10:31] They get some of their chicken wings
[10:33] dipped in wild sauces.
[10:36] Yeah, it sounds pretty good.
[10:38] You know, I feel like Amber
[10:40] like came close to some of the elements here.
[10:44] So this is the longest synopsis.
[10:47] Don't worry, they won't all be this long.
[10:49] I did cut it down,
[10:50] but I think that because this is the earliest airing
[10:54] of the things,
[10:55] there's a more complete plot synopsis available.
[10:57] So here we go.
[10:59] The Quinns and DeLucas have been neighbors for decades
[11:01] in the shadow of Highmark Stadium.
[11:03] As members of the Buffalo Bills mafia,
[11:05] the two families share cherished traditions
[11:07] around cheering their favorite team.
[11:09] What team would that be?
[11:11] I think it's the Bills.
[11:12] Pediatric doctor Morgan Quinn
[11:15] and the Bills VP of stadium development, Gabe DeLuca
[11:19] are close friends,
[11:20] but Gabe has always carried a torch for her.
[11:23] Morgan learns from uncle Tommy, Joe Pantoliano.
[11:29] Who I'll remind everyone,
[11:30] I once stayed in his Airbnb during a vacation
[11:33] in Long Island, yeah.
[11:35] Now does this uncle Tommy have a cabin?
[11:40] Yeah, he inadvertently inspired the war.
[11:45] That someone anonymously helped her family get by
[11:49] when he was drafted 60 years ago.
[11:52] And she decides to find his benefactor
[11:54] and give her uncle a Christmas he'll always remember.
[11:57] As Morgan and Gabe work together
[11:59] to unwrap the gifter's identity,
[12:01] Gabe's love deepens and she sees him in a new light.
[12:04] Oh, in what new light?
[12:06] Like he's really a murderer?
[12:07] Yeah, she begins to suspect he's a murderer
[12:11] and gets very nervous.
[12:12] Oh, I see.
[12:14] So does that, now that you know the truth of this,
[12:18] does that plot synopsis make you wanna see it
[12:20] more or less than the poster alone?
[12:24] I think the poster made me more excited
[12:26] because I was like, how did they get up there?
[12:28] And how are they gonna get down?
[12:30] Yeah, how are they gonna get down?
[12:31] I found the synopsis more confusing
[12:33] than I thought it would be.
[12:35] It is quite confusing.
[12:36] And you know, speaking of how do they get down,
[12:38] one of the other things that we use all the time
[12:39] in our show that Topher told us about
[12:41] is the two leads almost always,
[12:43] when they first meet each other in the film,
[12:45] run into each other accidentally.
[12:48] So maybe he falls off and then she falls on top of him
[12:52] and then they kiss as it says.
[12:53] Yeah, and they kiss for the first time, yeah.
[12:55] That's such a funny, that's such a chaste,
[12:58] hallmark way to bring physical contact
[13:01] into the idea of these characters.
[13:02] So true, that's all you'll see too.
[13:04] No, yeah, I have friends who own a Buffalo Bills,
[13:08] I guess, themed or aligned bar here in Brooklyn.
[13:13] And I feel like I would try and get them to show this
[13:16] on maybe a special,
[13:17] on like a non-game day night.
[13:19] Well, they should show it either
[13:20] on Christmas or Valentine's Day.
[13:21] Yeah, both.
[13:23] Or both.
[13:24] Why not every day?
[13:25] Why not?
[13:27] Keep Christmas with you all through the year.
[13:29] Ellie, you mentioned that this is, you know,
[13:31] a more convoluted plot than you expected.
[13:34] I do think that, you know, there've been so many
[13:37] of these movies and not just hallmark movies these days,
[13:40] like every streamer wants to get into this zone,
[13:43] and it seems like that they have to milk the cow
[13:48] to the last drop.
[13:49] They have to find every possible thing
[13:52] that could be a Christmas romance.
[13:54] Any permutation of Christmas romance.
[13:56] I mean, when you've got to the Buffalo Bills level
[13:58] of Christmas romance and you're using it up,
[14:00] there's not much left, I feel like.
[14:03] Are you guys aware of the hallmark Christmas movie,
[14:05] Bingo Game?
[14:08] No.
[14:08] No, no.
[14:09] There's tons of them online.
[14:10] If you just Google hallmark Christmas bingo,
[14:14] homemade, people have made many versions of this
[14:16] where it's like you get a bingo card
[14:17] and whenever something happens
[14:19] that happens in every hallmark movie,
[14:20] you can mark off that space.
[14:22] Like they have cocoa at an outdoor market
[14:25] or they go ice skating or they cut down a Christmas tree.
[14:29] So there's always, it's great.
[14:31] And then it can also be a drinking game.
[14:33] So I highly recommend it
[14:34] if you ever are going to watch a hallmark movie.
[14:36] Yeah.
[14:36] It was a sad time to remember,
[14:38] but one of my favorite tropes of some of these,
[14:40] like during COVID, how obvious it was
[14:43] that there were just like two people in so many scenes.
[14:47] It's like, oh, a non-bustling small town at Christmas.
[14:51] Yeah.
[14:52] Okay, here's the next one.
[14:54] Stuart, do you want to take a crack
[14:56] at describing this poster?
[14:58] Yeah, it's two people who very much don't look like
[15:01] they're in the same room.
[15:02] It feels very much like they were photoshopped together.
[15:06] You have a guy who's like got one of those like
[15:08] kind of beards that's not really a full beard,
[15:11] but it's like five o'clock shadow.
[15:13] And it's double, we thought.
[15:14] Yeah, it's double.
[15:15] But like, and he's got like a little bit of a smirk,
[15:16] like he knows something you don't know.
[15:18] And his eyes, I think he's going for kind,
[15:21] but they're not quite there.
[15:23] And he's got like a little checkered shirt
[15:25] underneath a sweater.
[15:27] A green sweater.
[15:28] This is gonna sound derogatory.
[15:29] He's giving me big, most handsome of the Nazis
[15:32] that are coming to burn down your village vibes.
[15:34] Yeah, he's got a little bit,
[15:35] there's a little bit of gray in there.
[15:36] So you know, he's seen some stuff.
[15:39] And he is standing kind of in the background
[15:43] and in the foreground, looking over her shoulder
[15:45] is a blonde woman with very contoured cheekbones.
[15:49] And she also has a look like,
[15:53] like we saw you across the bar and we like your style.
[15:57] Her eyebrows are raised a little bit.
[15:59] Middle part, hair wrapped kind of around her neck
[16:03] because she is like looking over her shoulder,
[16:04] but it does almost look like it's choking her
[16:06] and framing her face.
[16:08] And she's wearing a red, she's wearing a red sweater.
[16:10] He's wearing a green sweater.
[16:11] So you know, it's Christmas time.
[16:13] And then also in the foreground are some Christmas ball
[16:18] like ornaments, yeah, ornaments.
[16:20] Yeah, spheres.
[16:21] Christmas balls.
[16:22] They're called spheres.
[16:22] Yeah, yeah.
[16:23] Because you think they're like
[16:24] phantasm Christmas ornaments.
[16:25] Yes, and in the background, there's Christmas lights.
[16:28] And then the title reads,
[16:31] melt my heart this Christmas.
[16:33] And I want to mention,
[16:34] it also is very clear that the Christmas tree
[16:36] in the background, which is blurred
[16:37] and the Christmas ornaments in the foreground,
[16:39] which are also blurred are not real.
[16:41] They're clearly graphic elements.
[16:43] Okay.
[16:44] I feel like they're all graphic elements here, Elliot.
[16:46] Yeah, even the people, yeah.
[16:47] And melt my heart this Christmas,
[16:50] there's a little bit of a flourish
[16:51] between the S and T of a little heart in the middle,
[16:54] which I think is.
[16:54] I gave you the simplest poster to explain.
[16:57] You really made a meal out of it.
[16:58] I mean, I could see it, even though I'm looking at it,
[17:01] I could see it in my mind.
[17:02] I just like to add that I think his beard's more
[17:04] like a George Michael style.
[17:06] Like it's been shaded in probably by a makeup artist.
[17:12] Yeah, so would you like to take a crack
[17:15] at guessing what melts my heart this Christmas?
[17:18] I mean, I know that this is a very undescriptive poster,
[17:21] but knowing the plot, there are elements.
[17:24] It would be so funny if it turned out
[17:26] these were not the two leads who fall in love.
[17:28] There's nothing in the picture that helps you.
[17:30] This is like an old timey horror fantasy,
[17:32] like painted Boris Valasio poster.
[17:36] Okay.
[17:37] I think I have an idea.
[17:39] Okay.
[17:40] Okay.
[17:41] I think she, to me, looks a bit sinister.
[17:45] It might be those cheekbones and the eyebrows,
[17:47] the very dark eyebrows to her blonde hair.
[17:50] And very severely groomed.
[17:51] There's very sharp outlines on those eyebrows.
[17:54] Yeah, so I think that she's a chocolatier
[18:00] that has inherited her family business, but is reluctant.
[18:07] She doesn't want to have to do it,
[18:08] but she's doing it anyway, because it's Christmas time,
[18:10] and there's a bunch of orders,
[18:11] and she can't ruin Christmas
[18:12] by people not getting their chocolate orders.
[18:15] And he is like a small town chocolate store owner,
[18:21] and her family company is doing their best
[18:25] to squash his tiny family company.
[18:29] And even though she's bad,
[18:31] he can't help but somehow falling in love with her.
[18:35] And then his love, like the chocolate, melts her heart.
[18:39] And in the end, they end up together.
[18:43] That's pretty good, yeah.
[18:45] I'm definitely getting executive
[18:48] who needs to learn how to love and have joy vibes
[18:51] from her, yeah.
[18:54] Okay, so Stu, you wanna toss in any thoughts before I?
[18:58] Yeah, I mean, I don't like, yeah, it's, I don't know.
[19:01] I'm not getting super small town from him,
[19:03] but it's really tough,
[19:04] because it's like so, everything is so crisp
[19:08] and like clean and like glossy.
[19:12] Yeah, yeah, this one's a tough one.
[19:15] As I said, there are a couple of elements in here
[19:18] that do point in the direction of what this is about.
[19:21] So here we go.
[19:22] Melt my heart this Christmas.
[19:24] A spirited glassblower lands a last minute gig
[19:28] assisting her artistic idol at a famed Christmas market.
[19:31] But as sparks fly with the uptight event manager
[19:34] standing between her and her dreams,
[19:36] she discovers that sometimes love
[19:38] is the most unexpected masterpiece of all.
[19:41] And the woman with the contoured.
[19:44] Oh, that's why it's melt, oh, okay.
[19:47] I would like to point out that this is Laura Vandervoort,
[19:51] Smallville's Supergirl.
[19:53] Oh, okay.
[19:54] Yeah, melt my heart this Christmas
[19:56] is better than put my heart in a glory hole this Christmas.
[20:00] I mean, one's more descriptive, but one's getting Dan to watch.
[20:07] I'm not telling you which one it is.
[20:09] So wait, which one's the glass blower?
[20:11] The lady?
[20:12] The lady, I believe, is the glass blower.
[20:14] Okay.
[20:15] And he's the event manager?
[20:17] Yes.
[20:18] Yes.
[20:19] So he's the crusty event manager.
[20:20] The looks they have promises that they might be blowing more than glass this Christmas.
[20:25] You think there's like a steamy hot, like where she's sweating and she's got the glass
[20:30] thing and she's blowing it.
[20:32] Yeah.
[20:33] Yeah, probably.
[20:34] That's the one thing I know about Hallmark movies, is how steamy they get.
[20:39] So what do you say?
[20:40] Does this plot intrigue you?
[20:43] Does it intrigue you at least more than the poster, which is just two faces?
[20:47] It would be hard to be intrigued less by the poster, yeah.
[20:51] Yeah.
[20:52] I watched this while I was wrapping gifts, but only then, not with my full attention.
[20:57] How much footage of glass blowing is there in it, Dan?
[20:59] That's actually a really good question.
[21:00] I'd love to see-
[21:01] 45 minutes straight.
[21:02] I'd love to see glass blowers at work, perfecting their craft, you know?
[21:07] Yeah.
[21:08] Okay, well, let's move on to this next.
[21:10] Now, I don't want to put you to work, Amber, but if you want to describe this, you can
[21:17] take the plunge.
[21:18] I don't see how you wouldn't want to.
[21:19] I'm going to set the bar high for descriptive words, but okay, so there's a man and a woman,
[21:26] and they are in doctor coats.
[21:30] She is wearing a stethoscope.
[21:32] It's in her ears, but he's holding it to his heart, very cute.
[21:36] He's smiling at her, she's looking at the camera.
[21:39] They are both sitting on a gurney, it appears, so they must be doctors.
[21:47] Behind them, in this hospital room, is a full six-foot-tall Christmas tree that is decorated,
[21:57] so I'm guessing they probably work at a children's hospital because that kind of shit wouldn't
[22:00] fly at an adult hospital.
[22:05] They look very professional.
[22:07] They look very happy.
[22:08] They don't look as stressed and tired as most doctors that work in hospitals look, and it
[22:14] is called the More the Merrier, and on top of the eye, I'm just now realizing, is a pacifier,
[22:21] so that they must be OBGYNs.
[22:25] Ravers?
[22:26] What did you say?
[22:28] They're ravers?
[22:29] Yeah, they're ravers.
[22:30] The pacifier looks a lot like the Prince symbol, when Prince was formerly known as Prince.
[22:36] Or it could be a butler.
[22:37] That's a sharp eye.
[22:39] She definitely looks like she's listening to a podcast.
[22:42] Oh, or maybe he's pregnant, and that's why he's got the stethoscope against his chest.
[22:49] Could be a junior situation.
[22:50] Yeah, he has a heart baby.
[22:52] Oh, okay.
[22:53] Yeah, so there must be something.
[22:54] That's what we call xenomorphs in my house.
[22:57] There must be some kind of pregnancy going on here, I'm guessing.
[23:00] Maybe she's pregnant with, you know, sextuplets.
[23:04] Uh-huh.
[23:05] That is more.
[23:07] This is my guess.
[23:08] Can I guess what this plot of this movie is about?
[23:10] They are two doctors.
[23:12] They are OBGYNs.
[23:13] They are married doctors, but they've kind of lost the thrill of life.
[23:16] They work together, and they're at home together all the time, and they've never had children
[23:19] of their own.
[23:20] And that's a point of friction and stress.
[23:23] But one day, a woman comes in who is in labor.
[23:26] The hospital is full.
[23:28] There's no room for this woman at the hospital, and she brought all these people with her.
[23:31] There's all these guys who are just hanging around with her, and also a camel, probably.
[23:35] And so they have to go out into the snow to deliver this baby.
[23:40] And the next day, the woman, the doctor, wakes up pregnant.
[23:43] She doesn't know how it happened, but her dreams have come true, and it rekindles their
[23:48] love for each other.
[23:49] Elliot, I don't work for Hallmark, but I want to give you a contract to start writing for
[23:53] Hallmark.
[23:54] Thank you.
[23:55] I mean, it seems more overtly religious than they usually go, but you spin a tale for sure.
[24:05] Sometimes you gotta remember the reason for the season, Dan.
[24:07] That's true.
[24:08] It's not just about presents.
[24:09] It's also about a group of older men sitting around a woman who is giving birth with animals
[24:14] there.
[24:15] Possibly the worst way to give birth.
[24:16] I don't know.
[24:17] I want to give room.
[24:19] If anyone else has any guesses before I, you don't have to, you don't have to.
[24:24] Well, I mean, he's not even wearing scrubs, so I don't even know.
[24:27] No, he's wearing a half-sit sweater.
[24:30] Yeah, he looks like he works in finance.
[24:32] He's got an Apple Watch.
[24:33] Like, what's going on?
[24:34] Yeah, I mean, we, in some ways it goes without saying, but we need to make it clear that
[24:39] in all of these so far, I believe, well, maybe not the first one, the Bill's one, but in
[24:43] the last one, this one, there is a red-green, of course, scheme where the, one of them is
[24:49] in red, one of them is in green, so he has to have a half-zip green.
[24:52] Yeah, the Bill's one, they're not gonna be red-green because those aren't the Bill's
[24:55] colors.
[24:56] No, not at all.
[24:57] And this is a nod, of course, to Canada's great, famous, most legendary comedian, Red
[25:00] Green.
[25:01] Of course.
[25:02] Of course.
[25:03] Yeah.
[25:04] Well, let me tell you about the more the merrier.
[25:06] In this one, Alice, an emergency room doctor, volunteers to work Christmas Eve shifts at
[25:11] a rural hospital.
[25:13] During a snowy Christmas, she and Brian, a top-rated cardiologist, help deliver three
[25:18] baby booms, sparking a lasting bond.
[25:21] I don't know what it means, help deliver three baby booms.
[25:22] Three baby booms?
[25:23] Three DVD copies of Baby Boom?
[25:24] Yeah.
[25:25] Are people sticking DVD copies of Baby Boom in their vaginas, and they have to get them
[25:26] out of there, out of the uterus?
[25:27] Wow.
[25:28] What's going on?
[25:29] Yeah.
[25:30] Yeah, it's fucking hell-raising.
[25:31] It's either that, or they have to deliver three full generations.
[25:32] Exploding babies?
[25:33] Oh, they have to deliver millions of babies.
[25:34] That's what it is.
[25:35] Yeah.
[25:36] So, yeah, that was very confusing.
[25:37] Does it take place in 1946?
[25:38] Yeah.
[25:39] Probably.
[25:40] Let's take a little break for...
[25:41] Wait, but what's the Christmas...
[25:42] Oh, they're working on Christmas.
[25:43] Yeah, they're working on Christmas.
[25:44] But they fall in love, right?
[25:45] Oh, there's got to be love.
[25:46] There's always love.
[25:47] Doesn't even...
[25:48] Yeah, I was about to say it, apparently.
[25:49] Okay.
[25:50] I hope so.
[25:51] I hope so.
[25:52] I hope so.
[25:53] I hope so.
[25:54] I hope so.
[25:55] I hope so.
[25:56] I hope so.
[26:00] We'll take a little break for some words from our sponsors, and we'll be back in just a
[26:04] moment.
[26:05] Hello, this is Alden Ford.
[26:06] And Mujan Zulfikari.
[26:07] Two of the creators of Mission to Zix, your favorite improvised, obsessively sound-designed
[26:08] sci-fi sitcom here on the MaxFun Network.
[26:09] And the news is...
[26:10] We're back!
[26:11] With an all-new miniseries set in the Zix universe, The Young Old Durf Chronicles.
[26:12] Yeah.
[26:13] Will Durf find his own killer before it's too late?
[26:14] Ooh.
[26:15] To find out, join us next time on Mission to Zix.
[26:16] And we'll see you next time on Mission to Zix.
[26:17] Bye.
[26:18] Bye.
[26:19] Bye.
[26:20] Bye.
[26:21] Bye.
[26:22] Bye.
[26:23] Bye.
[26:24] Bye.
[26:25] Bye.
[26:26] Bye.
[26:27] Bye.
[26:58] I'm your host, Teresa McElroy.
[27:00] And this is a promo for Schmanners.
[27:01] It's Extraordinary Etiquette.
[27:03] For ordinary occasions.
[27:04] Every week, we're going to tell you about a bit of culture, a bit of history, how etiquette
[27:10] still applies in the modern day.
[27:11] All that stuff.
[27:12] We also love to do biographies and histories of, and, you know, general procedurals.
[27:18] How to do etiquette in today's society.
[27:22] So come check it out every Friday on MaximumFun.org or wherever you find your podcasts.
[27:27] We're Schmanners.
[27:28] Get it?
[27:29] Hey.
[27:30] The holidays are coming up.
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[29:16] Support the show by mentioning us at checkout.
[29:19] Terms and conditions apply.
[29:21] We are also sponsored this episode by HIMSS.
[29:24] Look, I'm going to be totally open and vulnerable here.
[29:27] I am a man of middle age suffering from hair loss.
[29:31] I've been suffering from hair loss for years.
[29:33] My hair is rapidly diminishing and my children love to point that out to me.
[29:37] They love to make it clear that I have less hair than before and it's very noticeable.
[29:41] And especially as a shorter gentleman, I cannot hide this fact by being taller than everybody
[29:45] else and having them just see the hair on the outside.
[29:47] Everyone can look down on my head and every time I am at the register in CVS and I see
[29:53] the security camera view of the back of my head, it is a reminder that my hair is diminishing
[29:57] and I am getting older in a way that I don't like.
[30:00] So, I've been curious about hair replacement stuff,
[30:02] how to regrow hair, and I'm tired of trying to figure out
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[30:07] and I'm sure you feel the same way.
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[31:14] I would also like to make a little plug
[31:16] for a book written by my good buddy, Elliot Kalin.
[31:21] That's right, Junk Farming on store shelves now.
[31:24] It teaches you all about how to write comedy,
[31:27] how to think about comedy, how to be comedy.
[31:30] Go to your local bookseller and ask for
[31:32] Junk Farming by Elliot, two T's, Kalin.
[31:35] Okay.
[31:36] Thank you.
[31:37] It's also the perfect time of year
[31:39] for you to consider a gift for that loved one,
[31:41] and the perfect gift right now, that's right,
[31:43] a season pass to Flop TV.
[31:46] That's our six month long, once a month,
[31:48] first Saturday of every month, virtual live show package.
[31:52] We have six of them, as I said, six months,
[31:55] one for each month, and we have two more left in this year,
[31:58] but if you get a season pass, that gives you access
[32:00] to the previously recorded ones as well.
[32:02] If you just want a single episode, that's wild.
[32:05] Get the season pass, why not?
[32:07] We have two shows coming up.
[32:08] The next one is January 3rd, I believe,
[32:12] and that is going to be Dr. Doolittle, right?
[32:16] Yep, that's a January episode, all right.
[32:19] That's gonna be, wow, that's, time just flies, right?
[32:22] But you know what?
[32:23] It flies us toward Flop TV, Dr. Doolittle.
[32:27] In our collision course with Dr. Doolittle.
[32:30] I mean, that doctor may be little,
[32:31] but we're gonna do a lot to entertain you.
[32:33] This has been such a fun season already,
[32:35] and I'm looking forward to how we wrap it up,
[32:37] and it's gonna be great, so check that out.
[32:40] Go to theflophouse.simpletext.com.
[32:44] Also, if you can't get enough Flophouse,
[32:47] coming up, we are going to be in San Francisco
[32:50] for Sketch Fest again.
[32:52] I can't wait.
[32:53] We're doing a show on Sunday, January 25th,
[32:56] at 4.30 p.m. at Cobb's.
[32:59] I believe it's just four.
[33:00] Four o'clock, so don't show up at 4.30.
[33:01] You're gonna miss all of our hilarious presentations.
[33:05] We're gonna be at Cobb's Comedy Club,
[33:07] which we have been the last two years,
[33:09] and I really love it.
[33:10] I think it's a great venue.
[33:12] I can't wait to get to do some more live shows.
[33:14] We just did some in Chicago, and it had been a while,
[33:17] and it was really great to get to hang out
[33:19] with my buddies and make jokes.
[33:22] So if you get a chance, come out to San Francisco
[33:24] and come see us.
[33:25] Am I missing anything, guys?
[33:28] I don't think so.
[33:29] Cobb TV, San Francisco Sketch Fest,
[33:31] more shows to come in the future.
[33:34] All right, the next poster here.
[33:39] Let's have Elliot take a crack at this one again.
[33:41] What do we got here?
[33:42] This one is the one that, to me,
[33:43] looks most like a cover you would find
[33:45] on a romance novel at a supermarket or drugstore.
[33:49] Is that Dean Cameron?
[33:51] I don't know.
[33:52] What's with Dean Cameron?
[33:53] I think Dean Cameron's a lot.
[33:54] From Ski School.
[33:54] From Ski School.
[33:55] And Boulder and has bigger eyebrows.
[33:57] They went back in time and got young Dean Cameron
[33:59] and put him into this.
[34:00] So the top half, this is the way a lot of novels
[34:03] look nowadays, actually.
[34:04] The top half is two people facing the camera,
[34:07] a man and a woman.
[34:08] They both look kind of happy.
[34:09] The woman looks a little happier than the guy.
[34:11] The guy seems like he has a little bit of reticence
[34:13] in his eyes, like, okay, I guess we're doing this,
[34:15] but I'm not super happy about it.
[34:17] And of course, he has stubble.
[34:19] They're both good looking.
[34:20] And then it's the title, We Met in December,
[34:23] which has a lot of flourishes.
[34:24] And the I in in has a little star burst
[34:27] between those Christmas stars at the top of it.
[34:29] And there's like windy, like, you know,
[34:32] glowy pixie dust around the title.
[34:34] Below that is a man playing piano
[34:37] flanked by Christmas trees.
[34:39] The Christmas trees almost look like guards
[34:40] who have been sent to make sure he doesn't leave
[34:42] and continues to play piano.
[34:44] And lying on top of the piano is, I assume,
[34:46] this same woman, because she's wearing a red dress,
[34:48] and she has the same color hair.
[34:50] And she's sitting on the piano,
[34:51] and they're staring lovingly at each other.
[34:54] And it looks like they're in kind of a fancy
[34:55] Beauty and the Beast-style ballroom.
[34:57] Yeah, it's sort of a fabulous Baker Boys situation
[35:00] going on here.
[35:01] Yeah, yeah.
[35:01] Now, we do assume that these characters
[35:02] are looking at each other,
[35:04] or are they looking at something together?
[35:07] I think they're looking at each other,
[35:08] but they seem to be facing opposite directions,
[35:10] unless they're, like, watching each other's backs,
[35:12] because they're spies on a mission, you know?
[35:16] And clearly, the title implies
[35:17] that they met in December.
[35:19] Yeah.
[35:20] By, since that's the title.
[35:21] Oh, wow, good one, Columbo.
[35:23] So, you know, to quote a movie
[35:27] that involves a snowman, a December thing,
[35:32] it's giving you all the clues.
[35:33] Can you put together?
[35:35] And it really hasn't given you all the clues,
[35:37] but can you put together the plot?
[35:38] And also, they don't say that in the movie.
[35:38] It's just the poster.
[35:39] They don't actually say that in the movie.
[35:40] Yeah, Mr. Police.
[35:41] Yeah.
[35:42] What's this holiday romance about?
[35:45] Okay, so let's see.
[35:47] So, it takes place in January.
[35:51] Wow.
[35:52] And they have already experienced a month of love.
[35:57] We learn that they met in December,
[35:59] but now things are, they've fallen on harsh times,
[36:04] hard times.
[36:05] They're both on dry January,
[36:07] so they can be real fucking jerks.
[36:09] Oh, so they're realizing they didn't love each other sober.
[36:12] They loved each other.
[36:12] It was the booze.
[36:13] It was all the nog.
[36:14] Oh, wow.
[36:15] And then they go to a-
[36:17] It's the nog.
[36:18] February 1st, they go to a piano bar
[36:21] where they tip a little bit extra
[36:23] that lets her sit on top of the piano while he plays,
[36:27] and they get shit-faced, and they're like,
[36:28] you know what?
[36:29] I do love you again.
[36:31] So, that's what I think happens.
[36:32] Okay.
[36:34] And in order to stay together,
[36:35] they just have to be drunk for the rest of their lives.
[36:37] Yes, no matter how, you know,
[36:39] that obviously is a very, very plausible plot,
[36:42] but do we have any other thoughts?
[36:43] Yeah, I think Hallmark is actually doing a plot
[36:46] where these people have to be alcoholics
[36:49] to stay in love together.
[36:50] It seems like a Hallmark thing.
[36:51] And I mean, it makes sense,
[36:51] because they want viewers in January, too,
[36:53] so to have a movie that was set in January
[36:55] comes out after the holidays.
[36:57] Great, great marketing.
[36:58] There's not a lot of January movies out there.
[37:00] They've got the market to themselves, you know?
[37:02] Yeah.
[37:03] That's true.
[37:04] Wow, Jan, it sounds like I crushed it.
[37:05] Okay.
[37:05] Yeah, I mean, there's January Essex Park.
[37:07] There's that movie.
[37:08] Yeah, there's January, I mean, I'm starring January,
[37:11] but that's not really a part of January.
[37:15] It should be January Essex Park, you're right.
[37:17] That's right, I said it wrong, yeah.
[37:20] No, the true tale of We Met in December,
[37:22] and by true, I mean it's fictional.
[37:24] It's close, right?
[37:25] The actual synopsis is what you're saying.
[37:26] The actual scenario is Annie Lane and Dave Weeks.
[37:30] Okay, I didn't get their names right, calm down.
[37:34] Meet by chance in a hot, meet by chance.
[37:37] How many people meet?
[37:38] Many people meet that way, by chance.
[37:40] I don't know what that means.
[37:40] I wasn't expecting this.
[37:44] There's no puppet master pulling the strings.
[37:46] I can assume that they physically bump into each other.
[37:49] Yes, probably they puppet each other.
[37:52] Meet by chance in a holiday decorated hotel
[37:54] during a layover and have a magical night.
[37:57] They fail to exchange contact information
[37:59] and are separated, but the connection inspires them
[38:03] to embark on separate quests to find each other
[38:05] before Christmas using only the clues they shared.
[38:09] And you can see that this stars Autumn Reeser,
[38:11] who I remember fondly as Taylor Townsend from the OC.
[38:15] So many names I don't recognize.
[38:17] Yeah.
[38:18] So it's kind of like Dr. Zhivago.
[38:20] No.
[38:21] Exactly.
[38:24] Not at all.
[38:25] Are you intrigued by We Met in December?
[38:27] Does this speak to you in any way?
[38:28] This sounds fun to me.
[38:29] I like this idea.
[38:30] It's got some mystery elements, which I think are fun.
[38:34] Yeah, I like the idea of them having to parse through
[38:36] what they remember about the other person,
[38:38] like what they mentioned, to try to track them down.
[38:40] There's an element of stalking,
[38:41] which I always like in my romance.
[38:42] Yeah, that's one of your kinks, yeah.
[38:44] Yeah, yeah.
[38:45] And there's also probably an old kind of magical character
[38:48] that might be Santa Claus that helps them find each other.
[38:52] There's gotta be, there's gotta be.
[38:53] Oh my God, you're right.
[38:55] Yeah, some sort of-
[38:56] Maybe it's played by an elderly Irish actor
[38:57] or something like that, yeah, yeah.
[38:59] All right, well, I guess we're all gonna get together
[39:02] and watch We Met in December.
[39:03] There's a magical character
[39:04] and it's the most frightening witch you could ever imagine.
[39:07] And she's like, mm, your eyes or your soul,
[39:09] which shall it be to find your love?
[39:12] I guess I can't lose my soul, my eyes.
[39:14] And it's like, oh, you're so beautiful,
[39:16] but I can't see you because I gave my eyes to find you.
[39:18] Yeah, that's the gift of the magi thing,
[39:20] the person who had bought some glasses for them.
[39:23] Oh Henry and Dean Kuntz worked together on this one, yeah.
[39:26] I mean, buying glasses and then giving up eyes,
[39:29] that's not fair.
[39:30] No, and buying glasses is not a great gift.
[39:33] That's an equal.
[39:33] That's the thing about the gift of the magi,
[39:35] is they really knew a good gift for the other person.
[39:38] I didn't really know your prescriptions.
[39:41] You know, weirdly shaped face.
[39:43] These might fit you, maybe.
[39:48] So what, Dan, describe more of the night that they had.
[39:51] You know, steamy.
[39:53] Was it steamy?
[39:54] Okay, Hallmark steamy, yeah.
[39:55] Mm-hmm, okay, we got here.
[39:57] The hotel room was destroyed, yeah.
[39:59] This one.
[40:00] I think I'm going to give this one to Amber as a treat to describe, because this one...
[40:05] This is a treat indeed.
[40:07] It really speaks to my theatrical background.
[40:10] Okay, so there is a couple, a man and a woman.
[40:15] And I've noticed now that I've seen all these together, the man's always wearing green,
[40:18] the woman's always wearing red.
[40:19] It's never reversed.
[40:21] And he's got on a plaid shirt, which means he's probably a small town guy.
[40:28] He uses his hands in some way, probably.
[40:30] Yeah, exactly.
[40:31] That's why they're prominent in the poster.
[40:33] He's got his hand on her elbow and they're face to face, touching.
[40:39] Their whole bodies are touching like in an embrace.
[40:42] And they are obviously on the set of a Christmas production.
[40:46] There in the background is some fantastical snowy mountains with cute little warm homes
[40:54] lit up on them.
[40:55] It's dusk in this snowy little town.
[40:58] And then there's a big grand curtain that's on either side of the set, and they're standing
[41:04] in front of it on the boards of the stage.
[41:09] And there's some stars hanging from the ceiling there at the theater, and they're both smiling
[41:18] and looking at the camera and looking very festive.
[41:23] The snow must go on, is what it's called.
[41:26] The snow must go on, very good.
[41:29] And the font of snow is like dazzling kind of theater marquee lights.
[41:33] Very good.
[41:34] Yeah.
[41:35] So this one, the boards they're standing on is definitely a stage and not like a bowling
[41:40] alley, right?
[41:41] That's right.
[41:42] I think for context clues, I'll say a stage, yeah.
[41:46] No, you're right.
[41:47] You're right.
[41:48] I was just wishful thinking.
[41:49] Yeah, but they're probably not on the deck of a whaling ship, you know?
[41:53] Oh, but if only.
[41:54] So this one gives, I think, more clues than a lot of the ones we've dealt with as to what
[42:00] the possible plot might be.
[42:01] I wonder if you have any thoughts.
[42:04] Well, it's theatrical in some way.
[42:05] I think we can pull the curtain back that far, at least.
[42:09] It looks like his shirt's too small for him, because the sleeves are pulling up.
[42:14] I mean, that's a basic thing.
[42:16] He's just trying to show off his body by buying a shirt that's a little bit small.
[42:20] Maybe he's got really long arms.
[42:22] Or he has extremely long arms, and it's hard for him in their small town for him to buy.
[42:27] I'm going to guess, if I can jump in the plot.
[42:30] So like, I think you're right, Amber.
[42:31] He's wearing a plaid shirt and he's clearly got muscles.
[42:34] So this is a guy who works with his hands.
[42:35] Maybe he's a carpenter.
[42:36] Maybe he's an ice sculptor.
[42:38] Maybe he is like a, like maybe just works at a factory where they make heavy things,
[42:44] you know?
[42:45] He's got real dog dad energy.
[42:47] Oh, yeah.
[42:48] And I think he's going to get pulled into a community theater production of a kind of
[42:52] Christmas show.
[42:54] And she, I think, is probably either the director or the playwright or the star director, playwright,
[42:58] triple threat.
[42:59] But really, it's a quadruple threat, because she's going to threaten him with love.
[43:02] And I think they're going to, he doesn't want to be a part of this show.
[43:05] And she's like, no, I'm going to make you my Joseph of Arimathea or whatever in this
[43:10] production, you know, where you're going to be my Ebenezer Scrooge.
[43:12] And they fall in love through the rehearsals.
[43:14] And there's going to be some kind of problem that the show isn't going to go on, but then
[43:17] it does go on.
[43:19] I know what it is, Elliot.
[43:20] This is so perfect.
[43:21] So the problem is, is that the snow rig that gets triggered at the end of the show is broken.
[43:27] But he is an ice sculptor.
[43:29] So he comes in and Edward Scissorhands style, as he is sculpting a statue of her for opening
[43:36] night, the ice chips make it snow in the production at the end of opening night.
[43:43] And there's got to be a shot of her looking up at him doing that and the snow is falling
[43:47] on her face.
[43:48] I can't tell if it's that the snow is melting on her cheeks or there's tears because she's
[43:51] Robert Blake.
[43:52] Yeah.
[43:53] So good.
[43:54] I can't wait to see this movie if that's what it's about.
[43:57] Well, this was interesting because most of these movies, you know, tend to center the
[44:03] woman as the main character and this one needs to learn the lesson of love from a from a
[44:07] good man.
[44:08] That's I mean, that's just this is probably just Christmas story of Christmas.
[44:16] This one seems to be more centered on him, actually.
[44:19] The story is Isaiah Hayward returns to Broadway after a decade but faces challenges in finding
[44:26] a director.
[44:27] He saves a Christmas musical.
[44:28] I don't know how he saves it.
[44:29] They just say he saves it and discovers love, family and friendship as the greatest holiday
[44:34] gifts.
[44:35] He reunites with his family and friends.
[44:37] And I'm realizing that I did this all wrong.
[44:39] I should be talking about whether I would rather see your movie or the movie that's
[44:44] been described.
[44:45] Yeah.
[44:46] Yeah.
[44:47] Let's figure out how to do the show because I definitely would prefer to see the version
[44:51] that you pitched me that clearly mentions the woman in your description.
[44:56] I know.
[44:57] She's not even in there.
[44:59] He does not strike now.
[45:00] I can kind of see like a ghost.
[45:02] Maybe she's a ghost.
[45:03] Yeah.
[45:04] That'd be great.
[45:05] I think they misled us with the backdrop in this one is so not Broadway caliber.
[45:09] It's not bad.
[45:10] You know, but it's not the idea that this is a Broadway show is is I think he couldn't
[45:15] cut it on Broadway for some reason.
[45:16] So he got, you know, usually it's acting ability.
[45:19] So he's so he's out in the sticks.
[45:22] He's at like a regional theater.
[45:23] I believe that that makes sense.
[45:26] And he's like a Doc Hollywood.
[45:28] I'm supposed to be in the big city doing big city things.
[45:30] They're like, wow, a small town as it's charms, you know, oh, I'm realizing it's not fame
[45:35] that's important.
[45:36] It's it's love and Christmas magic.
[45:37] Yeah.
[45:38] Yeah.
[45:39] That's the lesson.
[45:40] Every Hallmark movie.
[45:42] And they do.
[45:43] They do the production of Our Town and he plays the young guy.
[45:46] And when he collapses, crying at the grave of his of his wife who died young, he's really
[45:51] crying because he realized he's discovered what's true.
[45:53] Yeah.
[45:54] I've never seen it.
[45:55] It's a great play.
[45:56] It's a traditional, traditional Christmas Our Town that they always all right.
[46:01] We know.
[46:02] OK, when they do the traditional Christmas production of Sweeney Todd and he's he's crying
[46:07] at the end, you know, because there's a lot of red and that is true.
[46:10] Not a lot of green.
[46:11] One last Hallmark movie, Stuart, can you describe this poster?
[46:17] Yeah.
[46:18] We have this really cool throuple in the foreground.
[46:21] Yeah.
[46:23] So we have yeah, we have three characters, a two women and a man.
[46:30] Looks like the man's eyes are closed and he's kind of in the background.
[46:32] Right.
[46:33] Did I describe that?
[46:34] No, that's right.
[46:35] I just like to note that the two women get the red and green here, which is a yes.
[46:37] Yeah.
[46:38] And the man is also in red.
[46:39] Yeah.
[46:40] I think he's looking at the middle woman, but his eyes are so like it's he's looking
[46:44] so close that it appears like his eyes are closed.
[46:46] I took the picture at the wrong moment.
[46:47] Yeah, that's what it looks like.
[46:49] So the two women are looking at the camera.
[46:51] He is either looking at the inside of his eyes or at the side of his eyes.
[46:55] He's like, hold on, I got to see what's going on in here.
[46:59] Oh, the woman in green is who's in the center is is blonde.
[47:04] She is smiling.
[47:06] She has red lipstick on that goes along, just pointing it out because she has more
[47:12] makeup on.
[47:13] It appears that she has more makeup on.
[47:15] And then the woman to her right left for the viewer is a brunette who is in red and she
[47:23] styled in a more natural.
[47:24] Yes.
[47:25] I'm getting I'm getting big.
[47:26] There's a Betty and a Veronica in this picture is what I'm picking up.
[47:28] Yeah.
[47:29] So the brunette one is the rich one is that was no for this one.
[47:33] Strangely, the blonde seems to be the Veronica.
[47:35] OK.
[47:36] And then far in the background, we see some kind of a Christmas village all lit up for
[47:41] Christmas with trees completely decked out.
[47:44] You are you are in some kind of time wonderland bathing and then big mountains in the back
[47:50] to.
[47:51] Yeah.
[47:52] With like the sun is just beginning to peek out over the mountains and rays of light as
[47:56] if somebody has drawn a magical blade and in the foreground, we have the title and there's
[48:03] also a digital snow effects everywhere.
[48:06] And in the foreground, we have the title and Alpine Holiday.
[48:09] And I guess they're sitting are they sitting on like a sled or maybe a letter or a ski
[48:14] lift?
[48:15] Maybe.
[48:16] I don't know.
[48:17] Yeah.
[48:18] It looks like it's a bencher or maybe a sled of some kind.
[48:20] Yeah.
[48:21] Any any stabs at what the plot of an Alpine holiday?
[48:25] I mean, there's no way of telling what holiday it is, but no, there's no Martin Luther King
[48:30] Day, I guess.
[48:31] Yeah.
[48:32] It's a three day weekend.
[48:33] This is a tough one.
[48:35] But I feel like because there's three people represented that it's got to be some sort
[48:39] of love triangle.
[48:40] Yeah, I feel like it's either love triangle or the off chance is that it's a brother and
[48:48] sister who are both in love with the middle green girl.
[48:51] Oh, that's like like with the believers, with the dreamers.
[48:55] What's that?
[48:56] No, that is exactly a love triangle.
[48:57] I don't know.
[48:58] Or maybe, like you said, maybe it is a happy throuple because they all seem very happy.
[49:03] So maybe they've been together for a while and they communicate well and they're doing
[49:07] it.
[49:08] They're doing it.
[49:09] They're just honest.
[49:10] They sure are doing it.
[49:11] They're just they're just taking a pleasant vacation to an Alpine location.
[49:15] Yeah.
[49:16] A throuple.
[49:17] We have their meeting where all three of them bump into each other at the exact same time.
[49:21] Three heads collide like coconuts.
[49:25] Or it could be a situation where he is like a ski instructor, a French ski instructor.
[49:33] And these two high school friends are on holiday together and they both like a love triangle.
[49:39] They both are interested in him.
[49:41] And he, by the end, has to choose them both.
[49:45] And then they become the throuple.
[49:46] I say it does look like they're posing for a photo and he doesn't know how to pose.
[49:53] Yes.
[49:54] It's very awkward.
[49:55] Like most guys I know are.
[49:58] I wonder if it's a.
[50:00] Just moving away from the Thrupple idea, just trying to think about what's normally in a
[50:03] Hallmark Christmas movie, which is rarely that holly positive.
[50:08] But what I wouldn't give for a Thrupple Hallmark movie.
[50:11] That's true.
[50:12] I'd love to watch that.
[50:13] I mean, there are lots of Thrupple, they're almost like movies that you could watch that
[50:16] are available.
[50:17] Yeah, I'm familiar.
[50:18] Very short films.
[50:19] None of them are Oscar nominated, but, you know, in that category, but.
[50:23] There's a different category of awards for them.
[50:25] So what if it's it's a these are two either friends or sisters who are on vacation together?
[50:31] Yeah.
[50:32] And there's this local ski instructor or or artisan of some kind, and they're both interested
[50:38] in him.
[50:39] And he's got to choose whether to go with the fancy sister or the down to earth sister.
[50:45] Alternately, that the woman on the all the way on the left is not a sister, but is like,
[50:50] I don't like a local forest sprite of some kind who's going to help them find love together.
[50:55] You know, and she just appears around like Miracle Beach.
[50:59] Yeah.
[51:00] Yeah.
[51:01] And so Alpine, we're guessing Swiss Alps right now or French Alps, which one's I mean, that's
[51:06] a great thing about the Italian Alps, Italian, Swiss, French, all your choices are good.
[51:10] Yeah.
[51:11] You know, Elliot, right here at the end, you came very close to, like, nailing it 100 percent.
[51:17] Here we go.
[51:18] Really?
[51:19] Two estranged sisters, Faith and Kelly, reunite for Christmas in the French Alps to fulfill
[51:24] their grandmother's last wish during their trip to have sex with the same guy during
[51:31] their trip.
[51:32] That was on my bucket list.
[51:34] You guys do it expensive.
[51:37] My sister and I were never able to pull it off, so I did this to you.
[51:41] And perhaps if you can, the curse will be lifted from our family.
[51:45] We couldn't get the pivot right.
[51:48] We we could engage and begin conversation, but pivoting to the bedroom.
[51:54] Oh, great.
[51:55] Sure.
[51:56] Yeah.
[51:57] During their journey.
[51:58] How many drinks have you had?
[51:59] Grandma drinks.
[52:00] That would have changed everything during their trip.
[52:05] They rediscover their sisterhood and Kelly finds romance with their guide Frederick.
[52:10] And I to close the loop on me recognizing actresses from other shows.
[52:17] The brunette, of course, is Ashley Williams, who I remember as Victoria on How I Met Your
[52:23] Mother.
[52:24] So there you go.
[52:25] Was she the mother?
[52:26] She, I believe, was the baker that Ted dated for a while.
[52:31] OK.
[52:32] OK.
[52:33] OK.
[52:34] So there you go.
[52:35] Because mothers can be bakers.
[52:36] Yeah.
[52:37] Yeah.
[52:38] Yeah.
[52:39] I don't know if that's for anyone starting.
[52:40] How I Met Your Mother this late day.
[52:41] Yeah.
[52:42] Yeah.
[52:43] You're right.
[52:44] You don't want to give it away.
[52:45] Yeah.
[52:46] That's a.
[52:47] What would be the point?
[52:48] What would be the point of watching the quest, the journey that took him there?
[52:49] Yeah.
[52:50] So they so the so the brunette, I'm assuming, is the one that doesn't doesn't find love at
[52:55] all.
[52:56] She's just what I think the brunette is, though, is the romantic lead.
[53:00] Oh, the brunette.
[53:01] So the blonde is the is just helping along.
[53:03] Yes.
[53:04] Seems like it's unfair to have a Hallmark movie where you're on the poster and you don't get
[53:07] love.
[53:08] Well, that's that's the holidays.
[53:09] You know, sometimes you get what you want.
[53:10] Yeah.
[53:11] Yeah.
[53:12] The holidays are the blade that cuts twice.
[53:13] You know, they say when you're going to celebrate a holiday, dig two graves.
[53:14] Yeah.
[53:15] Well, Amber, thank you for joining for this nonsense that I cooked up based on like a
[53:16] thing that you told me.
[53:17] This is a treat.
[53:18] I had so much fun talking about stupid Hallmark movies with you guys.
[53:19] Before we sign off, please.
[53:20] I'm sorry.
[53:21] I'm sorry.
[53:22] I'm sorry.
[53:23] I'm sorry.
[53:24] I'm sorry.
[53:25] I'm sorry.
[53:26] I'm sorry.
[53:27] I'm sorry.
[53:28] I'm sorry.
[53:29] I'm sorry.
[53:30] I'm sorry.
[53:31] I'm sorry.
[53:32] I'm sorry.
[53:33] I'm sorry.
[54:05] I started the tangent at the beginning, from the pilot all the way through.
[54:06] So we're about halfway through season one, which is season two of our show.
[54:10] Very confusing on a network.
[54:14] And if you live in Atlanta, I do live shows all the time.
[54:17] I'll be doing the Hallmark Christmas Show at Seven Stages.
[54:21] Or I'll be at Dad's doing Bobby on of our nose, famous sex party once a month.
[54:26] Lots of fun stuff to see.
[54:28] Oh, thank you for being here.
[54:31] Which shows in Atlanta so I could see those shows.
[54:33] Yeah, the Bobby on of our nose, famous sex party is a show that I host as a character
[54:37] named Bobby on of our dough.
[54:38] And she is an aging starlet that has a bunch of sexy young people entertain her.
[54:44] That sounds great.
[54:46] It's great.
[54:48] Do a show in Atlanta for so long.
[54:51] This should be our, our inspiration.
[54:53] Yeah.
[54:54] Um, thank you again for being here.
[54:57] Thank you to Alex Smith, our producer.
[55:00] Thank you to Maximum Fun, our network.
[55:03] You can go to maximumfun.org for a lot of other great shows.
[55:06] But for the Flophouse, I have been Dan McCoy.
[55:09] I'm Stuart Wellington.
[55:10] I'm Ellie Kalin, and we've been joined by Amber Dash.
[55:14] Bye.
[55:15] Happy Hallmark, everyone.
[55:23] Maximum Fun, a worker owned network of artists owned shows supported directly by you.

Description

We welcome Amber "Voice of Pam on Archer" Nash to the show for a little quiz about this year's slate of Hallmark holiday films, and what we think their plots might be. Check out Amber's podcast, RePhrasing: An Archer Rewatch Podcast, right on our own network, Maximum Fun!

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