FRED CLAUS
The Fellowship Of The Reel reviews
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FRED CLAUS-----*-----
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Tell us what you think of the movie. Would you give it a PASS, CONSIDER, or a RECOMMEND?
Have a movie to suggest? A comment to make?
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To listen to all of Sherry's picks, click HERE
To listen to all of James' picks, click HERE
To listen to all of Phil's picks, click HERE
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Snyder's Genres:
MONSTER IN THE HOUSE - MONSTER, HOUSES, SIN
GOLDEN FLEECE - ROAD, TEAM, PRIZE
OUT OF THE BOTTLE - A WISH, A SPELL, A LESSON
DUDE WITH A PROBLEM - AN INNOCENT HERO, A SUDDEN EVENT, A TEST OF SURVIVAL
RITE OF PASSAGE - A LIFE PROBLEM, THE WRONG WAY TO FIX IT, THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM
BUDDY LOVE - AN INCOMPLETE HERO, A COUNTERPART NEEDED TO MAKE THEIR LIFE WHOLE, A COMPLICATION THAT IS KEEPING THEM APART EVEN THOUGH THAT FORCE IS BINDING THEM TOGETHER
WHYDUNNIT? - A DETECTIVE, A SECRET, A DARK TURN
FOOL TRIUMPHANT - A FOOL, AN ESTABLISHMENT, A TRANSMUTATION
INSTITUTIONALIZED - A GROUP, A CHOICE, A SACRIFICE (JOIN, BURN IT DOWN, COMMIT SUICIDE)
SUPERHERO - A POWER, A NEMESIS, A CURSE
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The Snyder Beats:
OPENING IMAGE
THEME STATED
SETUP
CATALYST
DEBATE
BREAK INTO TWO
B STORY
FUN AND GAMES
MIDPOINT (FALSE VICTORY OR DEFEAT BUT OPPOSITE OF THE ALL IS LOST)
BAD GUYS CLOSE IN
ALL IS LOST (OPPOSITE OF THE MIDPOINT, FALSE VICTORY OR DEFEAT)
DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
BREAK INTO THREE
gathering the team
executing the plan
high tower surprise
dig deep down
execution of the new plan
FINALE
FINAL IMAGE
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Transcript
Fred Claus
[:[00:00:20] Phil: You have an opportunity to be the fifth host of our little show. Click the link in the show notes and leave us a voice message telling us what movie you would like us to review. You can [00:00:30] also reach out on our Facebook page, Fellowship of the Real. From all of us at Fellowship of the Real, thanks for listening.
[:[00:00:40] Sherry: Are you recording this?
[:[00:00:50] Chris: to make a bad movie, with the exception of
[:[00:00:57] Phil: just don't like
[:[00:01:02] Phil: way over budget, start cutting scenes.
[:[00:01:13] Chris: Which I love the
[:[00:01:29] Phil: And this [00:01:30] will, Sherry reminded me, this will close out what we're calling the first season, so we're gonna take a break. So if you're listening to these in order, or if you see that there's a big gap, it's because, uh Nobody wants to do this during the holidays, so, uh, starting the new year we'll pick up, uh, and we're actually recording the first show, or the first movie of the new season, so to speak, uh, today, but it, like I said, it won't drop till after the new year.
[:[00:02:04] Chris: Yeah, I think that's, yeah, why we were just wondering why we decided to stop on this one was because it was Timewise for the year, but also it worked out nice where it was even right now.
[:[00:02:15] Phil: It is James's pick so apparently and I've never seen it. It's not a lot of people's picks apparently which surprised me We'll get into a second. Yeah, I yeah
[:[00:02:27] James: literally said to my [00:02:30] girlfriend at dinner last night before this recording, I was like, I think Chris picked this to fuck with us.
[:[00:02:46] Chris: maybe Phil was in on the
[:[00:02:53] Phil: It's because I was just see what we watched it late. Uh, but she liked it and then I'm like, okay. And so I was in there watching it, making my [00:03:00] notes and I'm like, all right. Cause I like Vince Vaughn. I like his best talk. I like his,
[:[00:03:05] Chris: thing. I don't like it. Yeah. I was worried about sharing. I remember you said that you didn't like Vince Vaughn.
[:[00:03:15] James: In doses. In the right things. In small doses. Yes. Like, uh, what was it? Wedding Crashers, great. The other one was Will Ferrell. Old school. No, he wasn't in old school. He wasn't in old school. Yep. Yeah, he was. Yeah. So like stuff like that.
[:[00:03:30] Phil: the rings with the cigarette hanging. I just, I like his snark and his, you know, in your face and his quick wit and
[:[00:03:37] James: he talks fast. This movie being a family movie. I know that I read in some of the comments, fans of Vince Vaughn were like, yes, finally a family movie. We can take our Family to Vince Vaughn, my favorite guy.
[:[00:04:02] Phil: Well, it was almost borderline bad, bad center or bad grandpa though.
[:[00:04:12] James: yeah I think that was what it was meant to be because it came out a little edgy came out after elf came out after bad Santa like it's it felt like a amalgamation of all these other Christmas movies that had come out and previously like Jingle all the way with the Santa voice [00:04:30]
[:[00:04:31] Phil: Yeah We'll see when you, when you said Fred's equally
[:[00:04:39] Chris: why.
[:[00:04:45] Phil: Sorry. Yeah. I was thinking, that's the Tim Allen movie. And then when I pulled it up, I said, wait a minute, that, what is, that's the Santa Claus.
[:[00:04:53] Phil: Claus, Elf.
[:[00:04:58] Chris: like Santa Claus 2 [00:05:00] 3 very much. 2's okay. Um, 3 was really bad.
[:[00:05:16] Chris: Yeah, if they do it right.
[:[00:05:26] Sherry: it's supposed to be, like, Tim Allen is, [00:05:30] is the character, but this is the actor portraying?
[:[00:05:33] Phil: but if you bought a toy of, say, Schwarzenegger, guess what voice that toy is gonna have? Schwarzenegger's voice. Well, it's going to have
[:[00:05:43] Phil: unless they paid him. Yeah, no, I mean, cause I was with you. Nobody wants to see Buzz Lightyear without Tim Allen.
[:[00:05:47] Chris: I think there's an argument for that because the movie bombed. It bombed, and I knew that. I thought the same way you did, but then someone who was explaining it like Sherry did, like, Buzz Lightyear, Tim Allen is the toy based off this.
[:[00:06:00] Phil: Okay. Well, you didn't confuse them. You just, well, you confused them cause the movie didn't do well. Yeah. You saved them nine bucks. I don't think it was the,
[:[00:06:11] Phil: don't think any of that mattered. I'm going to see Buzz Lightyear.
[:[00:06:16] Chris: miss as well. Like I like Chris Evans, but
[:[00:06:31] Chris: if they keep adding zeros, you're gonna say no I'll do my best to my own impression.
[:[00:06:44] Chris: Yeah, I like them
[:[00:06:48] James: So Chris Evans, you know, taking a swing to be Buzz Lightyear was a miss, but I
[:[00:06:53] Chris: I never, I feel like it's more Disney than Evans. Yeah. Yeah. They should have kept Tim Allen. Um, yeah. So [00:07:00] that, uh, knives out or whatever it's on, it's, uh, Netflix picked it up. So it's gonna be on Netflix. Okay. I think it's coming out in the theater for like, I don't know, like a day or a week or something.
[:[00:07:09] Phil: That's to make Scorsese and Spielberg happy. You know,
[:[00:07:26] Chris: I'm looking forward to those. Yeah, but that's,
[:[00:07:36] Chris: playing. Yeah. I agree. No, that's the old school rules, right? Maybe they'll change the
[:[00:07:40] Phil: Yeah, it's people protecting the money, which I, you know, I understand about the theaters and all that, but anyway. All right. So as we're getting into this movie, I was, I was perplexed about the genre of this movie and I, Yeah. Settled on one that you probably like, you probably have it picked. And I, I'm like, I think it may be this.
[:[00:08:04] Chris: Um, yeah, so, you would, I guess you would text that earlier, but um, that wasn't my gut instinct at all, and like, when you said that, I was like, really? So I looked at it, and, uh, and I looked at it, I was thinking more of dude with a problem,
[:[00:08:16] Phil: Yes, that's what I immediately thought. Um, but
[:[00:08:24] Phil: the, you know. Yeah, I'm gonna get to that. But that's bad news. There's nothing good [00:08:30] on that page.
[:[00:08:33] Chris: by the way. No, I'm referring to
[:[00:08:50] Chris: has created some brothers a saint, right?
[:[00:08:53] Phil: that? But anyhow, well, yeah Anyway, and then there's a wrong way to attack the problem Well, obviously he has become completely dysfunctional [00:09:00] and that is yeah run away from the problem Turning into absolute Hater of Christmas and then a solution that involves acceptance of a hard truth.
[:[00:09:29] Phil: Yeah, that's [00:09:30] the advice. You can't count on anybody. Look out for yourself. That's the original, right. And then he says, which I think is the theme too, but sure. He says, disregard that because you can make the world what you want by making yourself what you want to be or whatever. So it's, he, at the end of the movie, Vince Vaughn acknowledges, Fred acknowledges.
[:[00:09:55] Chris: uh, Dude with a Problem real quick? Yeah, uh Cause
[:[00:10:02] Phil: Uh What's
[:[00:10:05] Phil: let's see.
[:[00:10:10] Phil: It might actually be in the table of contents. Let's see. Again, we can delete page turns out. Rite of Passage. A lot of these are older movies. Uh, Ten with Dudley Moore. I remember when that came out.
[:[00:10:28] Chris: 20 days. That's Sandra [00:10:30] Bullock. Yeah, that's where she's, uh, Oh, um, rehab,
[:[00:10:37] James: Wasn't there a sequel? 28 days later, 28 weeks later, they're working on a, uh, uh, series, 28 years, 28 months later,
[:[00:10:47] Phil: I don't know. I'd have to look at Napoleon
[:[00:10:51] Phil: It breaks it down and save the anyway. But, um,
[:[00:11:10] Phil: Okay. Um, the dude with the problem is an innocent hero. No, uh, our guy is not an innocent hero, right? I mean,
[:[00:11:25] Phil: prologue, yes, the
[:[00:11:31] Chris: And here comes this promises
[:[00:11:39] Chris: No, no, no, agreed. That's not the opening image. So, again, I think that's where that speaks to it not being, uh, to deal with the problem.
[:[00:11:48] Phil: Uh, maybe, but a life or death battle is at stake. And the continued existence of the individual family group or society,
[:[00:11:56] Phil: life or death. I mean, it is the continued existence of say North pole [00:12:00] enterprises or whatever you want to call it, but I, I just, uh, we'll get into that.
[:[00:12:09] Chris: South.
[:[00:12:24] Phil: So he was Yeah. Guilty, not guilty, thrown out.
[:[00:12:33] Phil: guilty, but it's, it was a civil trial or something. So Anyway. Not responsible or whatever it was cleared up. Yeah. Whatever it was. Uh, hold on. Uh, I was glad.
[:[00:13:04] Phil: And so Not liable. Not liable. Right. Okay. So yeah, hopefully, because I've always loved Kevin Spacey and, and I want to continue to love Kevin Spacey and I'm, I realized how much I missed him in this movie. I do too. Right. Uh, so I'm hoping. That, uh, that it is true that he didn't do any of that and that he can get back in the saddle because he is a real contributor to some really good material.
[:[00:13:33] Chris: gut thinking about it was, was, uh, the other one due to the problem. But yeah, it fits rite of passage much more. So
[:[00:13:40] Phil: Correct. And that, that, that threw me too.
[:[00:13:53] Chris: Four of 'em had to be Yeah, four of 'em because they were were scary. Yeah. So scary movies, so Yeah. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, I, I like that. We should keep a, I hadn't [00:14:00] even thought about that.
[:[00:14:06] Phil: it plays out. Sure. What I do, we can do a golden fleece or two.
[:[00:14:16] Phil: yeah, well, um, this would be a good place.
[:[00:14:33] Phil: Yeah. And it generates a, a, a webpage. So you can actually click on that link and it will only bring up. Like, so, and that's why I do it, so like, James, if you wanted to have your girlfriend listen to only your picks, you could click your link, which is in the show notes, it's in the show notes, click your link and it'll bring up all of your choices.
[:[00:14:59] Chris: Can you [00:15:00] also do that with like, passes and
[:[00:15:12] Chris: really in tune with, you know, with, you know, one of us for some reason, right?
[:[00:15:20] Phil: shit. Yeah, three or four of those guys are assholes, but that's Sherry boy. She knows what's going on.
[:[00:15:25] Phil: saying. Um, right. Yeah. So I broke, I've [00:15:30] gotten really crazy about this. I've got like, like, I don't know, 60 lists.
[:[00:15:53] Phil: Yeah, cause
[:[00:15:57] Phil: you know, yes, Kevin Costner will have a list. [00:16:00] The writer will have a list. So like I said, I usually go writer, director, the top two or three major actors, the year, the guy who picked it. Uh, whatever else comes to mind, but there's like 50 lists and each one of those will have a link.
[:[00:16:27] Phil: Yeah. So, uh, the only ones I've [00:16:30] included are, are, are lists, but we could do anything anyway. Uh,
[:[00:16:35] Phil: bad news on the page, I think. Okay, yeah, uh, yes. Money, Money Critics, Money Critics fans. yeah, I was like, we, all these random, I forgot what we were doing. Okay, yeah, so, rite of passage, first one, I think it fits, uh, so that'll go on a new list.
[:[00:17:06] Phil: And I was kind of surprised at how low these scores were, right? So, this came out I wasn't surprised at all. I understand that. Uh, 21 percent of the critics gave this 3 stars. And 40, only 45 percent of the fans, so over half the fans and essentially three fourths of the critics hated this movie. Uh, you know, I, I, that surprised [00:17:30] me.
[:[00:17:47] Phil: Uh, now this movie.
[:[00:17:52] Chris: that's high. But, and like, and I was thinking that too, like, like, I was like, man, that's really high for what was in the movie. Yeah. But also, I guess, I think the, [00:18:00] be willing to bet it's who was in the movie?
[:[00:18:05] Chris: Stacy, uh, yes.
[:[00:18:11] Phil: yes. Um, that, that is your
[:[00:18:17] Phil: and yes, like all
[:[00:18:24] Chris: Yes.
[:[00:18:43] Chris: They got my money.
[:[00:18:51] Sherry: well before you start talking about the movie I think we should just discuss
[:[00:19:00] Phil: Sherry. What is the synopsis? Oh, the
[:[00:19:08] Phil: was about. I thought it was completely like when he, when Chris said Fred Claus, I'm like, Oh yeah, Tim Allen movie. And it's not! I, I, when I pulled this up, I'm like, what is this?
[:[00:19:20] Phil: Yeah, right. Or Chris Evans for that matter. Right, so I completely thought it was a different movie. I don't even know if I've ever even heard of this. I had not, well I don't know how this fell off my
[:[00:19:34] James: tuned it out.
[:[00:19:41] Phil: Well, I think the concept is, is Interesting. I mean, yeah, do you want me to read it or yeah, if
[:[00:19:47] Chris: got it, I do not have even though it's my pick. So please,
[:[00:19:59] Sherry: [00:20:00] Nicholas, played by Paul Giamatti, when Fred's criminal ways finally land him in big trouble, Nicholas bails him out and brings him to the North Pole to work off the debt by making toys. The headaches mount for St. Nick, who not only must deal with his troublemaking brother, but also an efficiency, an, an efficiency expert who has come to evaluate, evaluate Santa's
[:[00:20:26] Phil: Okay. And I thought, uh, we'll just [00:20:30] say it right now, I thought that was the weakest part of this movie, cause Who in the hell is the board? Yeah. And who is this efficiency expert working for that they have authority over Santa? And the
[:[00:20:43] Chris: One Tooth the Kid. We're dumping
[:[00:20:45] Phil: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It just doesn't make sense.
[:[00:20:48] Phil: One Tooth policy for the, yeah. You lose
[:[00:20:52] Phil: life, yeah. Yeah,
[:[00:20:57] Phil: and, and, and, and in [00:21:00] movies sometimes they'll be like, okay, this is why let's move on. And I'm fine with that generally.
[:[00:21:06] Chris: even got that. Yeah. It,
[:[00:21:22] James: You told me what it is. Yes. I'm here for it. Okay. Once
[:[00:21:38] James: But with the efficiency expert of, you could have told me, you know, it's the board of holidays.
[:[00:21:51] Phil: Yeah. Uh, yes. It was just, uh, just accept the fact that there's an efficiency expert who's going to review Santa. Okay. That, [00:22:00] that's the one thing that was like, that's weird.
[:[00:22:11] James: this movie, I, I said before the microphones went on, but this movie I watched twice. Normally in all the other episodes you hear me, I've talked, I've watched it six times, seven times, whatever.
[:[00:22:22] James: watched it once, no thanks. Heh heh heh heh heh. And then I watched it twice just to make notes. Yeah, just to make sure that Just to make sure of [00:22:30] why, to pinpoint
[:[00:22:37] Phil: Same. I thought it was very well structured. Uh, I was very surprised that it was two hours, uh, which maybe that it never felt bloated to me, but two hours, an hour and 58 minutes, that's a long Christmas movie, you know, On
[:[00:22:59] James: Right. If it [00:23:00] was a tight 90 minutes, this might've been great. Sure. It was just so much like the, the phone conversation between, uh, Fred and Nicholas. Was a five minute conversation over the phone about money and bail. And let me get you this. Let me get you that five minutes. Yes. If you,
[:[00:23:20] Phil: If you trim that, cause cause and say, and now James is saying these things. I liked the movie, but I liked Vince Vaughn. I like his fast talk. I like his, uh, [00:23:30] aggressive in your face nature. You know, none of those things that you just mentioned made you crash, sir. Right. Right. And, but. So there's more to it than just that.
[:[00:23:57] Chris: the Not everybody though, right?
[:[00:24:06] Phil: master's buttons. Any of those are plausible. Well, to quote I was spoken in front of you, but yeah, but obviously it missed hitting his button.
[:[00:24:19] Chris: I like Fred Claus. My wife likes Fred Claus. Yeah.
[:[00:24:25] Phil: Uh, okay, so, I guess we'll get into this to find out what the [00:24:30] discrepancy is. Alright, so, there is this prologue, and the prologue is, to me, is not the opening image.
[:[00:24:39] Chris: Yeah, because he's an adult most of the, like, most of the movie, right? With the exception of the prologue, so I think his opening image needs to be as him as an adult.
[:[00:24:52] Phil: I, I, I'd have to, I can't remember if I nailed down a theme. Chris, you said you did, so you We probably did.
[:[00:25:07] Chris: Yeah. The
[:[00:25:22] Phil: That's a good statement, and it occurs almost about the right time, um, but I don't think it, it, I think it's,
[:[00:25:46] Chris: Anybody could have that was his promise. I'll be the best big brother. So that is true. That is true. And that is kind of his, in a way, his struggle the whole time is he cares, he wants to be a brother, but then brother ends up being a saint and all the bullshit that comes [00:26:00] with that. Right. And then the.
[:[00:26:06] Phil: brother. Most of the parents I think are culpable to his, Oh, 100%, 100%.
[:[00:26:11] Phil: right, exactly. So, uh, so the, the dramatic question that point could be, uh, you know, uh, what does it mean to be the best big brother in the world, or, uh, is it easy, you know, to say, you're going to do something and then, yeah, to keep a promise.
[:[00:26:42] Chris: taking shit from people. It's excellent. Yeah. I thought that was brilliant. And I've seen it a thousand times.
[:[00:26:53] Phil: just
[:[00:26:55] Phil: in my, they
[:[00:26:56] Phil: Didn't even think about it until I saw it. I was like, Oh my God, [00:27:00] that's brilliant. Now, we'll jump right to the close And mean to kids, which is
[:[00:27:04] Chris: Yeah,
[:[00:27:15] Phil: Do you love your husband? Who cares?! You're gonna have that blessing of life! Fast talk, just, you know One of the things about, about Fred Everything that all the problems that he causes is really for your benefit, man. This is going to help you [00:27:30] constantly with a girlfriend, with his brother, with this kid.
[:[00:27:43] Chris: Wrap up that plasma. Plasma to my house. No scratches,
[:[00:27:51] Phil: The closing image, what is Fred doing? He is baking his back to give, give, give to the whole world. Right. Every kid deserves a gift. There [00:28:00] are no bad kids, you know, and I thought that now, you know, say what you will. I thought that was. Like I at that point my that was an emotional feel for me, you know, there are no bad kids and you know This guy every kid deserves
[:[00:28:12] Phil: right, so I May be looking at this through glasses that are not clear.
[:[00:28:17] James: broken is what you're saying. I Have no feeling
[:[00:28:50] Phil: Also, uh, somebody who's going to bring you bad news and take from you. Oh, you were here extra five minutes. That'll be 30 or whatever, you know, there's never a scene with a [00:29:00] traffic cop where some guy isn't saying, Oh, I'm about to go. I'm about to go, you know, no, no, no. Here's your ticket. You
[:[00:29:11] James: Here's you know, here's I got my quarter I'm only a couple minutes and
[:[00:29:15] Chris: mad people are gonna do
[:[00:29:30] Phil: I'm thinking I'd be attracted
[:[00:29:33] Phil: day
[:[00:29:48] Chris: Right. Cause he was an adult theoretically that time, right? In fifties, forties, maybe, maybe he tried nurses and other things and eventually found like that doesn't work. You know what I mean? Yes. Uh, right. Right. Yeah. I don't think about that to us now, but Yeah, it doesn't
[:[00:30:02] Chris: eternal and Yeah, when Santa was born.
[:[00:30:04] Phil: Um,
[:[00:30:08] Phil: or something Yeah, cause
[:[00:30:17] Phil: yeah That's what
[:[00:30:22] Chris: Yeah
[:[00:30:30] Phil: Yeah, he wants to open a casino. That's what he It
[:[00:30:35] Phil: From the stock exchange.
[:[00:30:46] Chris: And so, like, to me, it was, like, opposite of saint, saintly from his brother. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, all of his stuff is, he's conning people, he's a liar, like, it's all this, you know, sin stuff versus, you know, saint like his brother.
[:[00:31:06] Phil: Um, the, the next scene is he's eating the cereal and the kid comes in the window, whatever. But I, I thought that the don't, don't come in here jumping around
[:[00:31:16] Phil: Good. He, he is watching the Charlie Brown Christmas. Yeah. And, and only you, Charlie Brown.
[:[00:31:42] Phil: Like okay, there's some thought put into this, you know, yeah and slam
[:[00:32:02] Chris: He's probably got some sort of save the cat Well, they're the whole kid the the whole the whole story. Yeah,
[:[00:32:19] Phil: He says, uh, it just doesn't, yeah, it's almost the same B to save the cat. He says, if you have a hero that is unlikable and they're, and they need to change at some point in the movie. You [00:32:30] show what that change could look like for just a second, and then you have them go right back to the mean guy they were, so that the audience can know, this is, the change is possible and this guy is what he could become, and, and I, I do see, I think I saw it in, uh, Plain Strange, that beat is in there.
[:[00:32:49] Chris: do it here with Slam, cause he's, he's nice to him, and you, do you want the milk? Right, so you give him some milk. Yes. And, uh, but then he Immediately after giving him this kid milk goes into the whole thing about no, don't drink the Kool Aid with [00:33:00] Santa and he's a famed junkie and completely
[:[00:33:03] Phil: A famed man, don't drink the Kool Aid is what I wrote, yeah. No, he immediately, he is I like Kool Aid.
[:[00:33:21] Chris: Uh, the kid does with with two hands in the milk It's just I don't know why it makes me laugh every time I see it. No Uh, I wonder if that was like scripted or if the kid just did that or
[:[00:33:31] Chris: of milk two hands two hands on the book.
[:[00:33:45] Phil: I don't need santa I'm what I want I get I get what I want, you know, or whatever He needs 50k, he calls Santa. Yeah, that kind of goes into
[:[00:33:58] Phil: Yes. Yeah [00:34:00] This is the you know,
[:[00:34:03] Chris: Buddhas. Is that the big fat dude? Mm hmm Yeah
[:[00:34:27] James: I love it. Again, stuff that could have [00:34:30] been trimmed just a bit was the, yeah, 22nd, no, no, 23rd. Yeah, definitely by the 24th. It's like, okay, bring that down and I'm getting it now that I'm looking at my notes, the way you're describing it, it's like, well, you can't cut the repo part. You can't cut the bedding thing part.
[:[00:34:56] Phil: and, and when you put the camera on Vince Vaughn, I get, [00:35:00] he's gonna, he's like,
[:[00:35:07] James: And it's little parts like that of, well, no, no, no. Oh, this, oh, wait, maybe this, maybe this. Yeah. But then again, it's Vince Vaughn doing what he does.
[:[00:35:27] Phil: It just felt like it dragged on forever. [00:35:30] Him, him being late for work and finding, and that's not a slam on Bruce Willis, but that scene was, it felt like he was walking through mud because the energy was not there. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, this is a longer scene, but Vince Vaughn is like nitro, okay? Sure. He is like, you know, and so he's delivering.
[:[00:36:03] James: lot worse. If you had another actor just playing it straight, it may have been better.
[:[00:36:23] Phil: Telling you slam don't drink the Kool Aid. Yeah,
[:[00:36:27] Chris: Listen, but
[:[00:36:37] Chris: into his own right now
[:[00:36:44] Chris: true. That's true. Alright,
[:[00:37:00] Phil: This concludes my setup. So I think at this scene, we've sort of got a picture of his world, who his people are in his world. What he needs and, and his goal and the ticking clock and all that. Um, The Catalyst, I, I, I picked The Catalyst and at first I thought it was a little weak, but I, I think it works.
[:[00:37:23] Chris: I don't think James thinks any part of this movie
[:[00:37:26] James: I do, I really do think this, it [00:37:30] works, it just needed to be trimmed of fat. Sure. Right. I can't pick up where the
[:[00:37:37] Chris: that. Yeah, right, right, right.
[:[00:37:45] Phil: so fat. Uh, the catalyst. He gets arrested and needs bail money. Nick agrees. Oh, just giving people help to people. Okay. Well, yes, that is true.
[:[00:37:55] Chris: off the Salvation Army, like, that's good stuff. That's, again, speaks to his character and just, I don't know, I love that bit. [00:38:00] The people help
[:[00:38:02] Phil: of me. You'll see a picture of me. Yeah. There's this whole, what are you doing here? Don't crowd my action.
[:[00:38:07] James: to you in a minute. And then again, this is one of those scenes that goes on. Bring me your action. You know. This scene goes on for way too long. Yes.
[:[00:38:21] Chris: And then the Santa Claus is chasing them that whole bit. And it's funny. It is very long.
[:[00:38:26] Chris: he did one thing. Uh, I did notice again for the first time, I've ever [00:38:30] seen this a thousand times. So he's, his whole thing is running away from his problems, right? And he was brother Santa Claus in the scene.
[:[00:38:37] Phil: Santa's. That is true. Yeah, that is good. Yeah. I'll take that. Yeah. Even though it's too long, but yeah, but see, I, I was never bored by that. Like I'm, I'm enjoying Vince Vaughn, right? Yeah, you know, and maybe, like I said, if it's somebody else. Like how he was personal with the people instead of just,
[:[00:38:54] Chris: He's, you know, he's listening to one guy's music and.
[:[00:39:02] Phil: You're probably right.
[:[00:39:21] James: It was probably
[:[00:39:25] Chris: him, you know, getting all the people to come over here. You know, once you bring some of that action down here,
[:[00:39:31] James: feeling people can. It's according to most of my notes here.
[:[00:39:39] Phil: long. Yeah, that's a lot. That's a lot of
[:[00:39:49] Chris: Most of
[:[00:39:54] James: exactly. And that's why the phone call with Right? Two and a half? The phone call with Santa Claus being five minutes. It's
[:[00:40:04] Phil: Uh, you know,
[:[00:40:07] Sherry: have minutes. About the phone call, um, I'm, the, the thought that ran through my mind was, is that cop really gonna let him sit there and talk to his brother for that long?
[:[00:40:20] Phil: You know,
[:[00:40:25] Chris: So I've thought about the phone call with Santa is they set up multiple things. They set up, [00:40:30] Oh, absolutely. What's going on with him and him and his brother. Right. And then him trying to manipulate fucking Santa Claus, but also they set up Santa and his wife, uh, Mrs.
[:[00:40:40] Phil: it didn't feel long to me. No, there was never a point where I was. I thought this movie was dragging, but like I said, I may be looking at through colored glass, the road color, colored glasses because of Vince Vaughn and because of the feels later.
[:[00:40:53] Chris: But just for some y'all for everybody, but me, this is for some of y'all had all seen
[:[00:40:59] Chris: So can you [00:41:00] have rose colored glasses like the first time?
[:[00:41:04] Chris: I just like, if you like somebody enough. Yeah.
[:[00:41:11] Phil: So my personality is, is made up of like, if I was to break it down, it'd probably be like 80 percent the dude, uh, you know, 15%, uh, you know, but there's gotta be like a half a percent of Vince Vaughn in me somewhere because I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Come over here. The fast talk, the snark, the, you know, up you.
[:[00:41:34] James: percent movie host, 5 percent Vince Vaughn. What? What are you talking about? Your percentages are all off.
[:[00:41:52] Phil: The
[:[00:41:54] Phil: Pays his bill. Get him out of jail. But then Tough love, buddy. Yeah, I'm,
[:[00:41:58] Phil: buddy. Had he
[:[00:42:04] Phil: Yeah, but he wouldn't have the 50k by the 22nd.
[:[00:42:07] James: move Well, as soon as he got the yes from Santa. We'll just go ahead and make it
[:[00:42:13] Chris: you I don't understand why you won't just give me 50 so I can blow it up in
[:[00:42:21] Phil: Let me do this. People like to give gifts, let me So everything that he does Gotta be open to receiving gifts, Nick. It's for your benefit. [00:42:30] That's
[:[00:42:37] Phil: That was his first phone call and she didn't answer. Yes, the match cut of, uh, or the scene of her sitting under the sign.
[:[00:42:49] Chris: you know, those seats suck too. Like, so the, the cage is behind them where the guys are fighting. Right. And Juan's just sitting with her back to the cage. And then I like how they reveal, like, she's [00:43:00] at a table with a whole bunch of other people.
[:[00:43:12] Phil: Um, there is a debate, he hems and haws, but there's never a significant, no, I'm not going to do that.
[:[00:43:29] Chris: [00:43:30] never been to visit, not even once. Right. Uh,
[:[00:43:36] Phil: His girlfriend breaks up with him. Uh, his kid friend, Slam, gets taken into child custody. Uh, at this point, we get the, you can't count on anyone, you always gotta look out for yourself, as he's on his way out of town. Yeah. Yeah. Uh.
[:[00:43:55] Phil: Willie, yes.
[:[00:43:59] Sherry: name is [00:44:00] John Michael Higgins. I love this guy. Yeah, yeah, he's the Absolutely, if I had known he was in this And you know, when it came out, I probably, well, yeah, when, when the movie came out, I probably would have watched it
[:[00:44:14] James: Geez, that was, that's hard to watch. I know the technology wasn't exactly
[:[00:44:21] James: That and Ludacris is the DJ. Like they had little people playing everybody else, but them, the, the caps, the [00:44:30] imaging capture, whatever they use, just it bugged me.
[:[00:44:37] Phil: With DJ, but Uh,
[:[00:44:47] Phil: wrong with his head?
[:[00:44:48] Chris: we got fucking elves that aren't even played by real little people. This is bullshit.
[:[00:44:55] James: so well, they did it so well in Elf. They really [00:45:00] did. How they missed it four or five years later on this one. Well, there wasn't. I don't
[:[00:45:07] Chris: They didn't leave much money for the CGI budget, apparently.
[:[00:45:16] Chris: think they probably thought, oh, it's a kid's movie. It's a, you know, a family movie. It's fine. Like it doesn't have to be exact, you know. Yeah. It didn't bother, I don't know. I thought that was funny.
[:[00:45:30] Phil: Yeah. Yeah. I get it. Anyway, so the sleigh ride. Yes, Fred for some
[:[00:45:35] Phil: funny. Yes. Uh, the sleigh ride I'm calling, uh, sleigh ride into the second act, break into two.
[:[00:45:40] James: got it. Woo woo! I got it. Twenty eight minutes, they land at the North Pole. That's the second act.
[:[00:45:53] Chris: James, and we would've been right
[:[00:45:55] Phil: Mm hmm. Yes, I, I, Or our Santa chases, you know? I did enjoy him trying to [00:46:00] scam his brother, though. I mean, I, yeah, I
[:[00:46:03] James: involved people. Maybe if they would've trimmed the Santa fight. Yeah. You know, some of that, maybe they could,
[:[00:46:11] Phil: I think the chase and everything. Yeah. I think, I think you ended with them tackling on the street and then he's in jail. So you can cut that hole. So I'll, so I'll grant that, but you know, I'm telling you, he's going to win this fight. It's going to be the big dude with the big yellow things in his hands.
[:[00:46:29] Chris: to see [00:46:30] toy store. Christmas time fight scenes in action. I guess better like it. I would probably have to go jingle all the way
[:[00:46:37] James: white the big show He's one of them
[:[00:46:42] James: Troyer mini me is the exact opposite and they're together
[:[00:46:50] Chris: Yeah. All right. I'm totally
[:[00:47:08] Phil: Really? The hockey stop? Yeah. Uh, and then, uh, Charlene, Santa's little helper. Mmm. Yeah. Uh, right. The Santa's Secret Service. That's Elizabeth Banks, by the way.
[:[00:47:22] Chris: cause I'll You have a thing for Elizabeth Banks?
[:[00:47:25] James: Yeah. Yeah. Uh. Uh. But I think Charlene's the problem in the North Pole.
[:[00:47:41] Phil: the problem in the north. Yeah, but nobody Is she
[:[00:47:44] Chris: She's
[:[00:47:48] Chris: laugh if she wasn't there. I'm like, James just realized He just figured it out and they fired her off screen. That's
[:[00:47:55] Chris: Right. I don't know.
[:[00:48:01] Phil: but yeah. Uh, yeah, but the the On that note, Elizabeth Banks
[:[00:48:07] Phil: Higgins? Higgins, yeah.
[:[00:48:17] Chris: It's very, very funny.
[:[00:48:25] James: security
[:[00:48:29] James: But that's, [00:48:30] again, another thing that could have been cut. I know it was for fun or whatever. Yeah. But Santa knew that Fred was coming.
[:[00:48:37] Phil: security details should have known who Fred was coming. Yeah, it's in
[:[00:48:44] Phil: big voice. Right. Uh.
[:[00:48:48] James: Um. And it was 30, 30 minutes when Santa comes out. Yeah. At the 30 minute mark, Santa comes out and Fred, and they, officially, they're there.
[:[00:48:58] Phil: I
[:[00:49:13] Chris: Yeah. You know what I mean? No, right. Right. You know, I really don't like flights and, you know, heights and then he has to, you know, deal with the, the sleigh and all that stuff. And then he gets beat up by some elves cause he's a dick. Yeah. It's
[:[00:49:33] James: Yeah. That felt a little dark for me.
[:[00:49:41] James: It could have been lighter. It could have been fluffier.
[:[00:49:53] Chris: You know what I mean? Is that like, pushes it over or?
[:[00:50:04] Phil: Yeah, but they don't like each other. Like that's, they don't feel dark to me.
[:[00:50:09] James: douchebag.
[:[00:50:14] Phil: or family movie.
[:[00:50:35] Chris: So I'm on board, you know, it's,
[:[00:50:54] Phil: I think it
[:[00:51:07] Chris: Um, later on when she's standing outside the door and he has his heart to heart with his brother and he says the line about, you know, one little thing has been bugging me or whatever, but the naughty nice list. She hears all that. Like you see it on her face. Like she sells it. Like, you know, shit. Fred's not, maybe he's not the douchebag.
[:[00:51:28] Phil: He's the fulfillment of [00:51:30] his own. And, and maybe it's what he's feeling. There are, there are no naughty kids or just kids who don't feel listened to, or never got a gift or yeah. Yes. So I think he's, he's those kids growing up.
[:[00:52:07] Phil: Easter Bunny's
[:[00:52:11] Phil: to one tooth. One tooth policy, yes, yes, yes. Get it and get a buck, move on. Yeah. Uh. Spacey sells that, like as ridiculous as these
[:[00:52:21] Phil: that. Oh no, no. Cullen Carey getting Ross, you know, closers, coffees for closers, you know.
[:[00:52:26] James: him though, that was Alec Baldwin that said
[:[00:52:36] James: the sales.
[:[00:52:45] Phil: the closers motherfucker. Yeah, yeah, now we'll get to it, but I thought the sibling support group Was some of the most, I was, I love that shit. Cause it wouldn't work without the real people.
[:[00:53:03] Sherry: Then you got. Yeah. I recognized him first, but I didn't
[:[00:53:10] Phil: That's not Alec. That's not Alec. That's, that's not Alec.
[:[00:53:17] Phil: Yeah. Yeah. Yes. I thought. Then I saw the state address 1993.
[:[00:53:29] James: Where Fred [00:53:30] has his revelation. Yeah. Okay, I get it. Like, that has to be there because this is where Fred turns his corner, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're getting ahead of ourselves. We
[:[00:53:40] James: about that hundred million dollar budget probably went to the Clintons and the Baldwins and the
[:[00:53:45] Chris: Then Rocky came out. Yeah. Yeah. I thought that was, You got, and then you're fighting Rocky and, yeah,
[:[00:53:57] Chris: this funny to you? Cause this is not funny to all of us. [00:54:00] I'm Steven, by the way, maybe to him, his brother is Santa Claus.
[:[00:54:11] Phil: scene. James, I'm in a two hour movie, two hour movie, unconvinced.
[:[00:54:27] James: You
[:[00:54:31] Phil: That'd have been even better.
[:[00:54:36] Phil: If your movie is 88 minutes, then you, the studio has
[:[00:54:45] James: movie should have had that.
[:[00:54:58] Phil: Well, I watch both of these [00:55:00] every year. Jingle All the Way and this one. Yeah, sure. But I like it.
[:[00:55:06] James: I'm so glad Christmas movies. I'm sorry you have
[:[00:55:09] James: That's what I heard. I wish, cause I watch literally Christmas Story. Jingle all the way. Mickey's Christmas. I think that's, and Christmas vacation.
[:[00:55:23] Phil: Uh, well, I'd have to put
[:[00:55:30] Chris: Elf. Oh, and Elf's a good one. Yes. That a good
[:[00:55:34] Sherry: how, how long? Two. I like that one a lot better than
[:[00:55:42] James: Thanksgiving Eve, Thanksgiving night, I will watch Die Hard, and we celebrate the Christmas season with the dropping of the Hans.
[:[00:55:57] Phil: there. Yes. Uh, alright, [00:56:00] so, fun and games, he's looking in on his girlfriend, the workload, and the effing Christmas music, which I was completely sympathetic to. It's the same song, you're playing the same song over Oh yeah, for sure.
[:[00:56:15] Chris: reference, because it was, it was of the times, but it still makes me laugh. You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna supernanny you. Right, did the super nanny reference how he picks them up because he's like a small child.
[:[00:56:26] James: and here's the super nanny reference at 41 [00:56:30] minutes He puts on his song and they jam out. Yes, they're doing the thing. That's two minutes in That's two minutes until strike one. Yes. They walk in, Northcutt walks in with Santa, they're dancing, they're partying.
[:[00:56:45] Phil: discipline. Yeah, but I'm singing and dancing. Yeah, but I'd watching Vince Vaughn dance. I'd like that. Yeah, for sure. Again. He's throwing. Freakin
[:[00:56:56] James: very funny. I think that's a hate crime.
[:[00:57:01] Chris: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And now it's North Pole and nobody else can
[:[00:57:10] Chris: Back to the the snow globe thing when they're spying on people. Yeah, just also, you know, anyhow He talks about the I don't know the name of the kid should wrote down the the he's like you got a naughty nice list Or whatever or top naughty list right and the kid at the top Santa Claus tells Fred that oh, yeah, he bit his a bit his mother and or his dad or something and his Dennis Yeah, [00:57:30] Fred's response.
[:[00:57:45] Phil: That's it. That
[:[00:58:02] Chris: Like what did the sister do to the I don't know, I just thought that was interesting. I don't know,
[:[00:58:24] Phil: Uh, strike one, strike two, strike three. Dinner with the family and the efficiency expert. Um, and then, you know, and then, [00:58:30] yes. So Fred gets, uh,
[:[00:58:39] Chris: And then all, you know, and then he, yeah. Yes. Invites him to dinner, what Santa does, and then his
[:[00:58:53] Chris: about all those breaking and enterings and all those crimes being committed.
[:[00:58:55] Phil: yeah, yeah. A million, a million houses in one night of breaking and entering. Right. That's how he's, [00:59:00] he goes to Frosty's Tavern, Willie and Charlene,
[:[00:59:10] Chris: Smurf Hut. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, the, we didn't talk about that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So. It was a nice visual with the bed. Yes. He's bunking with Willie and he's, you know, what,
[:[00:59:21] Chris: foot five sleeping in an
[:[00:59:22] James: Again, same beat. That was an elf. Like it feels like a rehashing of what an elf did it. Better.
[:[00:59:38] Phil: Yeah. Nice legs. And teaching Willie to dance. Uh, now I thought this was also thematic because I think it speaks to his perspective on kids. Uh, Fred's. He says, when, when, when Willie is. Doubting himself. Uh, after he falls on his face, you mean? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I, uh, I think, uh, I know you got more blitzing in [01:00:00] you than you realize.
[:[01:00:03] Chris: tells him the whole story that the, you know, blitzing fell on his face. Yeah. First time he tried to fly and he's like, what, Fred? Yeah. Everybody knows that story. Yeah. No, it's interesting to me. Like, did Fred make that
[:[01:00:12] Phil: I think
[:[01:00:15] Phil: no nothing. Not even one. It's a fast talk sales pitch that he's come up with. But, but it works. But Willie is the, is is. He's saving the cat. I think you got more, more blitzing in you than you will. Yeah. Uh, you, yeah. So I, I thought that was like, okay, that's cool.
[:[01:00:49] Phil: Not so much
[:[01:00:54] Phil: the letters or whatever. Yeah, well, Northcutt has burned them, and now But they think Fred,
[:[01:01:00] Phil: No, no, no, but, but, but he's getting blamed for Oh, for sure. For what Northcutt did.
[:[01:01:30] Phil: I'm like, okay, they're nailing it at this point I'm like, okay Fred is called on the carpet, and then they have this intervention.
[:[01:01:46] Chris: Yeah, it's good stuff. Yeah.
[:[01:01:54] Chris: Yeah, cause then he's literally like kidnapped and forced into a family intervention. Which is the last thing this guy wants to [01:02:00] do, is sit around and talk about his feelings.
[:[01:02:18] Chris: down that big tree, that little, so that little tree can get some light.
[:[01:02:42] Chris: they all love that one, they kicked the crap out of that one, yeah,
[:[01:02:55] James: For more of a love letter to Kevin Spacey, tune in to Philip's personal [01:03:00] Twitter channel.
[:[01:03:06] Phil: Spacey. Yeah, uh, but you don't want to like this guy if he did those things. There's
[:[01:03:12] Chris: And only 16 that right? Yeah, something like that. Well,
[:[01:03:16] Phil: been doing it a while. Sorry, go ahead.
[:[01:03:28] Phil: know. I am willing [01:03:30] at this point, I don't know the facts, but the court listened to the facts.
[:[01:03:56] Phil: Yeah. Echoes Fred's words. Drink Kool Aid fools. Yeah. Echoes Fred's words is [01:04:00] what I have. So yes. Uh, at this point, uh, Fred is angry. Every kid gets a nice stamp and, and, and, and, and he's selling a man, his facials. Bam. Bam! Bam! Like, he's just angry. Yeah,
[:[01:04:16] Chris: Yes. Even though he's at the top of the, the board, and then, yeah, he does it with the rest of the kids. Yes. Yeah,
[:[01:04:37] Phil: Uh, when he says, I don't hate you, Nick, I just wish you were never born, which is, I don't know if James said it, somebody said it. What is worse than hatred? It's indifference. If you hate somebody, at least you have a stance, but if you just don't give a flying F if they live or die, you're nothing, you're not even worth the thought to me.
[:[01:05:03] Chris: Yeah, but they balance it with this, you know, crazy ass snowball fight. No, no, right! You don't, you don't bring a snowblower to a, or a snowmobile to a snowball
[:[01:05:10] Phil: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys run him over, and he's throwing
[:[01:05:15] Phil: Nick! Yeah. Right. Uh, Fred gets the news that his brother is one strike
[:[01:05:24] Phil: Giamatti is another one that like, if you have Spacey and Giamatti, they nailed their parts [01:05:30] as ridiculous as they are Giamatti.
[:[01:05:35] James: No, nothing at all. I
[:[01:05:38] Chris: his beard. Disappointed me in this movie. Like it bugged me. Like they wish they had, it's
[:[01:05:44] Chris: his beard annoyed me and they should have, they probably again, back to the budget, didn't have a beard budget, but a beard budget,
[:[01:05:54] Phil: I'm obviously asked to be a false victory Yeah, and he gets everything he
[:[01:06:02] Phil: gets gets his money and a gift from his brother, right? Uh, they'll As he's leaving so now he's got his 50k he can open his casino He gets everything like you said that he thinks he wants false victory fred leaves gets his money dark night of the soul Uh the evidence that fred doctored the naughty files Uh, strike three, Santa is fired, you know, gets his walking papers.
[:[01:06:37] Chris: in the movie get me, that one doesn't.
[:[01:06:44] Phil: with the It wasn't as strong as some of the others, but, but Had they spent three
[:[01:06:51] Phil: Well, they spent three and four when he cut down the tree the first time the bird flies away in the narrator.
[:[01:06:57] Phil: never return.
[:[01:07:04] Chris: three or four established kid, like Vince Vaughn and, and having a rapport
[:[01:07:13] Phil: I mean, yeah, no, it's really
[:[01:07:19] Phil: this man. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. That's what I'm saying. Pulled an old, an old yeller. I know a bad, they hate Santa Claus. It's an automatic feels what I'm saying. So they knew, okay, if we take a pet away from a [01:07:30] kid, uh, you cannot have, not have, uh, I think that's part of the magic of John Wick, which almost sent me hating John Wick.
[:[01:07:50] Chris: again. I know you already shot him eight times, but shoot him again. Oh, thank you And then there's the
[:[01:07:57] Phil: It wasn't just a puppy. [01:08:00] Yes I'm excited for John Wick 4. Oh, I can't wait John Wick. I love John Wick
[:[01:08:15] Chris: I have to ask the wife because um Cause when they reveal the, you know, I'm sorry, cut down your tree and they reveal the birdhouse, the wife goes, that's cool looking birdhouse and I agree.
[:[01:08:34] Phil: Yeah. Uh, then we move into this. Uh, your favorite scene, this was awesome.
[:[01:08:55] Phil: This is where Vince Vaughn is going to turn it, turn it around and right, right on time for the love of [01:09:00] my brother and the love of my family name. I did what I did or whatever.
[:[01:09:15] Chris: But it's him, he went from being forced to family intervention, right? And the last thing this guy wants to just talk about is family, too. He sought this out. He goes, like, we don't see it, we just cut to Fred right in the, you know, right in the, the The counseling or whatever, but my point is Fred's [01:09:30] trying to deal with his problems.
[:[01:09:49] Phil: Need. Yeah, you better address it. Uh, well, I see what you're saying, but they didn't
[:[01:09:59] Phil: get to him [01:10:00] last week. Roger's been dusted for a while now too. What's his name? Apologize for Matt Damon. We had to, uh, Jimmy Kimmel. Jimmy Kimmel is always, Matt Damon is never there, but it's the running joke of we always had to bump Matt Damon.
[:[01:10:29] Chris: instead of [01:10:30] using it on the, the, the investment, the
[:[01:10:32] Phil: Cause he gets the phone call. Uh, it's the 22nd. Today's your day, buddy. 22nd, yeah. Let's do
[:[01:10:38] Phil: which is cool. Break into three. Ticking, uh, I thought it was like three days, but he gets there and the ticking clock, uh, Uh, 10 hours. They have 10 hours.
[:[01:10:51] James: the third act starting there? Yes, the The rallying of the
[:[01:10:56] Chris: well, him, third act, him calling, saying, I'm going to the North Pole, right? Yeah, [01:11:00]
[:[01:11:06] Phil: Being taken by Willy, the movement into the third act, so it's an unwilling sleigh ride. Now it's a willing, willing sled dogs, boats, he's doing what, he's on a ice breaking ship at some point. Very quickly you see the, You're saying, him making the phone call,
[:[01:11:22] Chris: I got 50 cases, I'm serious. Yes. Like that is his,
[:[01:11:33] James: I had it, uh, right around there, but I had it when, after he said, every kid deserves a present, there's no naughty.
[:[01:11:43] Phil: Yeah. Uh, I thought about that at one point. I think that's, that is definitely
[:[01:11:52] Phil: the castle. Yeah. Yes. Uh, you, you, you make your decision to get into the third act.
[:[01:11:59] Chris: [01:12:00] point I thought, Oh shit. When, when we're jumping ahead, but when Santa can't do deliver the present because of his back, I'm like, Oh, is that an almost lost? And then, cause I was with you. I thought, well, maybe it is when he actually suits up.
[:[01:12:13] Phil: You're right. You're yeah. Pretty close within the circle of the third act. All of that is yes. Um,
[:[01:12:24] Phil: said.
[:[01:12:31] Chris: You can basically, two toys you can, you can make or
[:[01:12:43] Phil: Yeah. So him suiting up. Is the solidified, we're doing this thing,
[:[01:12:53] Phil: is the break in three? No, I, no, well, It's around there. I think it's like right after the break. Gotcha. Okay. Yes. I, I, I, [01:13:00] I always look for doors and windows.
[:[01:13:19] James: third Cause that's what I thought, is when he says, Every kid deserves a present.
[:[01:13:26] Phil: wife is right next to him. You see, you got me with the door, man.
[:[01:13:34] Chris: changed, he's not spending his 50 K to get to the North
[:[01:13:39] Phil: Now he's going to use for something else. It's
[:[01:13:50] Phil: almost like a double bump because it's.
[:[01:13:59] Phil: deliver the [01:14:00] 50k is not gonna save anybody. Correct. You know, um, yes.
[:[01:14:06] Phil: you know? Yeah, the money's gone, so he, we, when he gets there, it's only him.
[:[01:14:22] Chris: back unless with fred That's not what the kids asked for and he's like that doesn't matter every kid does, you know deserves to open something It's just yeah that they have [01:14:30] something open on christmas morning.
[:[01:14:33] Phil: Yes, because now I think there is some acumen here on the part of the writer or whatever because everything that Fred is doing is coming from his own seed of hurt. Yeah. Nobody was thinking of Fred. His parents weren't. Why can't you be more like your brother?
[:[01:15:08] Phil: I like the way this lemon tastes right here. Yeah, right. Baseball hats and hula hoops. Uh, yeah, anyway, uh, Santa down for the count. Uh, there is a rule, oh, and again, I thought this was, again, they sort of introduced these rules to cover up what they need to do. Yeah. Um, so.
[:[01:15:26] James: No, I can't.
[:[01:15:32] Chris: a clause can deliver the presents, and that is
[:[01:15:45] Phil: Oh, yeah.
[:[01:15:47] Phil: right. Yeah, yeah. It's, it's ridiculous for anybody to expect that kind of thing, Fred. It's too much. Trust me. I know. It's all, it's all right. Yeah. There, you know, uh. Yeah, it's good stuff. Yes.
[:[01:15:59] Phil: Yes. [01:16:00] And I thought, again, I thought this, we've talked about it.
[:[01:16:26] Phil: Yeah. Yeah, it did. There you go. Yeah. See, 85 minutes is where I have that . [01:16:30] James is like eight, five
[:[01:16:35] James: According to James, this movie should have been five more minutes. Yeah,
[:[01:16:39] Chris: less minutes. You mean five?
[:[01:16:41] Phil: the 85. Gotcha. Yeah. Oh, I got, yeah. Feds up. Dang. Storming the castle. Crunching the numbers, making the gifts. The team, Charlene, the elves, and Willie. Northcutt not happy. Uh, Fred Flies, delivering the presents. Control I thought the control Yeah, cause
[:[01:16:57] Phil: are back on.
[:[01:17:12] James: that was the rule before he goes into the first house was going down the chimney. It's not going to feel good. It's
[:[01:17:18] Chris: And I'm not gonna lie to you, Fred, and it's not
[:[01:17:28] Phil: montage. [01:17:30] Yeah,
[:[01:17:33] Chris: Again, that flaw though, Ugh. It makes me gag every time, man. When he, because he picks the whole thing up. Just shoves it in his mouth. Oh, gets me every time. fucking flaw, man. Then he went to
[:[01:17:45] Phil: the wrong house, . What is, he doesn't say shalom
[:[01:17:49] Chris: He doesn't even say it. Right? Like I don't remember what he says, but he is messing with him. Yeah. , is that a kish
[:[01:18:00] Chris: whole damn thing off the plate. Sure. But that
[:[01:18:08] James: Yeah. Could've lost it, but, uh,
[:[01:18:11] Chris: Uh, alright, hold on now. So when he's flying through the neighborhood, And he takes out that car and Fred's like, we'll come back to this neighborhood later. That's funny shit, man. Sure. Okay.
[:[01:18:24] Chris: kicked somebody's damn Santa, like their snowman off the, off the roof at one point.
[:[01:18:36] Phil: Yeah. So it's funny shit. When he delivers the puppy. This is where I think the theme macaroni. Yes, uh, the world is what you make it, but it starts with you and what you make of yourself.
[:[01:18:52] James: I, I didn't notice this until the second time I watched it, but he was hiding his face from him. Still felt
[:[01:19:02] Chris: 4, 000 million words, but whatever it works
[:[01:19:04] James: moon. Yeah. I was like, I was like, this is stupid. Why are they? And then I watched it the second time. Rosie's hiding his face
[:[01:19:13] Chris: And in case you missed it on the, the whole, you know, stating the theme or whatever, right.
[:[01:19:21] Phil: your wallet. Yeah, that was a good beat. I thought that was a good beat. You know, I felt like. That's, I mean, yeah, that's a good start. Let's build some real minimal with that. Yes, right. [01:19:30] I just love it. Uh, so now we have the high tower surprise. So we storm in the castle and you always have a high tower surprise setback.
[:[01:19:45] James: it. I actually have that as the Hightower surprise. Northcut. Geez, baby! Northcut cuts the power to the
[:[01:19:54] Phil: Very nice. About halfway through, I'm like, Northcut cutting the north. Very nice. Northcut, nice. And then he's cutting the North
[:[01:20:00] Phil: Oh, that's
[:[01:20:03] Phil: you're from. That's funny shit, man. He ain't woken.
[:[01:20:09] Chris: But yeah, that's funny shit,
[:[01:20:29] Phil: We're [01:20:30] flying bright blind up here Uh, Santa knows Northcutt made the naughty list in 68, so you have this whole sequence of I I made a mistake, y you know, you wanted a a cape. Am I misguided? Yeah. Yeah, uh. You asked me for a Superman cape. Yeah, Four Eyed Clyde is probably what they called you, and you wanted to be Superman.
[:[01:20:47] Chris: That scene gets me. Oh, I love that. That one gets me as far as the tears were just the, this ridiculous movie, but these two actors fucking selling it like they're in a Academy award winning movie, which is the
[:[01:21:01] Phil: Right. Okay. Oh, I got a roll. I got three lines. Okay. Those three lines are, he's going to invest a hundred professionals, man. That's just, uh, you wouldn't need those darn
[:[01:21:19] Chris: Like kiss me every time. I love it. I
[:[01:21:22] Chris: make fun of me. Yeah. Uh, teary eyed over there. I'm like,
[:[01:21:41] Phil: Claus. Oh, nice. I didn't catch that. Yeah,
[:[01:21:47] Phil: I didn't realize it was Mr. Claus. All of a sudden, it's the awe and respect. Yeah. You had to show
[:[01:21:58] Chris: It should have been cut. [01:22:00]
[:[01:22:07] James: a great scene. Well acted. The whole thing.
[:[01:22:14] James: varied in tone so drastically.
[:[01:22:21] James: Yeah, this is a great scene.
[:[01:22:24] Phil: I don't know
[:[01:22:30] Phil: Nobody can see it in our viewing audience, but James has a black hat on and I think yeah Different shades of gray gold heart is
[:[01:22:47] Phil: aww.
[:[01:22:49] Chris: I kind of wanted the music. Like the old, uh, Chris Reeve, Superman music. Because he goes over there and puts his hands on his hips, and when he turns
[:[01:23:02] James: sold it. I don't know if you noticed this, but when they're having the uncomfortable family dinner that North cut.
[:[01:23:24] Phil: You know, it's a little bit more snap. Yeah, no, that's good.
[:[01:23:27] Chris: Superman pose, but I didn't
[:[01:23:34] James: movie. I really watched it. I really tried to try. No, no,
[:[01:23:37] Phil: Now, I was,
[:[01:23:49] James: I like it a lot. Yeah, I basically just wrote standard notes with the time stamps on there.
[:[01:24:10] Phil: So, uh, he puts on the cape and it's Mr.
[:[01:24:30] Phil: Uh, give him a shot cause he's not a naughty kid either, but the power is on, but it, it doesn't solve the problem. There's the power fails at that point. So what's that
[:[01:24:50] James: Is that another Hightower surprise?
[:[01:24:55] Chris: plan Cause Fred still has to do it himself. Yes. It can't be bailed out
[:[01:25:05] Phil: There, uh, Fred and Willy are in the sled, and they'll, now They are flying blind. They're going to have to do it themselves. And so there's a scene where they're zipping around like lightning fast and the sun is rising behind them. And to me, it really worked as a scene. It got me again. Willie says, Fred, Fred.
[:[01:25:30] James: right there. Because they had to have it done by certain time. It had to be done by
[:[01:25:40] Phil: Which, what time zone is the
[:[01:25:42] Phil: in?
[:[01:25:47] Phil: Especially around Christmas? Well, the international date line is in like Some little town in England, uh, it actually has a line down the center of the street, but it, the, the, the, the, where, where they set all the other times is, uh, is actually, and [01:26:00] it, and the line runs down a street in, in this little town in England.
[:[01:26:09] James: But in the North Pole, there is no sunrise in the dead of winter. Yeah, I don't know.
[:[01:26:13] Sherry: that's what I was thinking about
[:[01:26:17] Sherry: time. It didn't seem like he was going around the world.
[:[01:26:22] Phil: kinds of places. You know, even a mail route will have the most efficient Well, it's Fred doing it though. It's Fred, right. I know, Willie, I know. I [01:26:30] thought it sold. Uh, sunrise, okay. Uh, I have this section as the boys are back in town. Willie enters the bar. Kisses the girl and now she remembers his name, you know, I thought no and then Fred comes in We did it to the snow globe Christmas joy blah blah blah, you know Everybody's cheering and I'm I'm crying and James is shaking his head saying this fucking thing.
[:[01:27:04] Phil: Uh, at least we, I wrote down, at least we had Paris. It's a quote from, uh, you know, whatever. They go to Paris. Uh, Northcutt on the job as a consultant. Wears his cape underneath his sweater. Willie and Charlene are together. Uh, Fred and Slam, uh, His comment about the Paris
[:[01:27:19] Chris: It's
[:[01:27:33] Chris: but man. Chirp
[:[01:27:36] Phil: Right, but he hugs her, and I know my You know, whatever. All loose ends tied up. The return of Chirp Chirp. I almost cheered, yeah. So even Chirp Chirp comes back. So the narrator's a fucking liar. Yeah. Chirp Chirp never returned. Eh,
[:[01:27:51] Phil: Sure. Yeah, all loose ends tied up or turner trip
[:[01:28:00] James: Yeah. And Charlene has no calculators in her hand anymore. She's just running around with Willie. So I think she was a problem at the North Pole.
[:[01:28:19] Phil: You didn't get her permission to kiss her. You can't just walk up to a co worker and kiss them, you know, in my mind, I'm being sarcastic, of course, but of course, you know, uh, workplace, uh, North Pole rules, [01:28:30] baby. Right? Yes.
[:[01:28:34] Phil: different rules. Yeah, wherever the hell you're from. That is.
[:[01:28:40] James: Well, I think I made my, my feelings on it pretty clear. I, help me figure out why I didn't like
[:[01:28:58] Phil: If you look at our [01:29:00] episodes, they get progressively longer. We're at 88 minutes. 88 minutes, I'm guessing. Are we? We are one hour and 30 minutes, sir. Jesus. 90 minutes tight. 90 minutes tight. Nice. Now there was a lot of a nice, tight holiday. we're as long as the movie. Yeah. We talked about this movie as long as the movie is, and
[:[01:29:17] James: We would
[:[01:29:19] Chris: did not have, um. Elizabeth Banks, you know, so
[:[01:29:31] Chris: you know, well, yeah, cut out all our inappropriate stuff
[:[01:29:38] James: have.
[:[01:29:45] Phil: No. I would understand. It will drop from there, because I truncate silence where I take out any pause that's longer than Half a second, you got anything to
[:[01:29:57] Sherry: the more you talk about that though.
[:[01:30:01] Phil: Let's cut this out. All right, so Pass consider recommend. I recommend it. I love this movie, but apparently I Am in the minority with even the critics and the fans and James Uh, but I'm a sucker. I'm a sucker for the feels. If you can hit me with the feels, I, I'm entirely forgiving.
[:[01:30:35] Phil: good example of that. There you go.
[:[01:30:39] Chris: Yeah. It's a silly little Christmas movie, but yeah, I don't know. I guess a lot of what Phil said, I guess it hits me in the feels and you know, I just like the, you know, you got these, a, you know, a list, you know, high caliber actors, you know, selling it, you know, in this silly little movie. Sure.
[:[01:31:04] Sherry: Uh, um, when I watched the trailer, I was drawn in by. All the actors that were in it, Kathy Bates, Kevin Spacey, of course. And, um, and you were talking about feel good or something that really got to you. What actually got to me was the scene when they go to the globe and you talked about it so fast. I didn't get a chance to say my piece about it.
[:[01:31:48] Phil: just, you know, well, and I think that was, they, they wanted you to be united with kids who weren't listened to.
[:[01:32:14] James: A lot of that has to do with the soundtrack score. Sure. It might be music bringing up at the right moment. They manipulate your feelings tremendously. And a minor
[:[01:32:24] James: I, I think I'm immune to that. Yeah, sure. Cause I listen to so much music and I do so much music. [01:32:30] I'm not falling for it.
[:[01:32:34] Sherry: When, when I was watching it, I, I, I didn't notice until like, I don't know, over halfway through. I was in there smiling the whole time. Sure. Uh, and, and, you know, like you said earlier, I started it on a late Friday night. Um. Watching it thinking, okay, I might fall asleep.
[:[01:33:03] Phil: Well, we are, we are, we are a sheep, apparently, subject to the manipulations of the, of the cinema machine, and James, James ought to be our, The guy that rescues us from the, the pitfalls of, listen to me, you'll be all right.
[:[01:33:22] Phil: All right. And he just needs a
[:[01:33:25] James: Yeah. Hey, you know, I did ask for my Superman cape was a [01:33:30] drum set. I always wanted a drum set when I was a kid. I never got a drum set because they were too loud. You couldn't turn them down. So my parents got me a guitar. I could turn a guitar down. And now that I'm almost 40, guess what I have?
[:[01:33:47] Phil: I don't need charity, I don't need Yeah, no, you're like Fred Claus and Northcutt.
[:[01:34:05] Phil: All right. There you
[:[01:34:08] Phil: Get a heart. Come on. Fucking Grinch, you know? Yeah, that's all right. I'm feeling. What is happening to me?
[:[01:34:17] Phil: I'm leaking. All right. Anyhow. Anything else? Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. People will enjoy this podcast as much as we do. [01:34:30] I have a Yeah, be like,
[:[01:34:33] Chris: Not like James, hope you enjoy it. No, if you don't like Fred Claus, maybe you should skip this podcast. Yeah, right. Not the whole thing, just this one.
[:[01:34:39] James: Well, too late. Everybody listened to
[:[01:34:42] Chris: you're hearing this part, you messed up. There's a time you're
[:[01:34:46] Phil: That's right. Alright. That's Fred Claus and, uh We are out.
[:[01:34:54] Phil: Have a little integrity, dude. But that's bad news. There's nothing good on [01:35:00] that page. Anyway. The dude with the problem is an innocent hero, no.
[:[01:35:07] Phil: at all. I understand that.
[:[01:35:12] James: No thanks. So I'm broken, is what you're saying.
[:[01:35:24] James: Because it doesn't seem like such a chore and a burden. And emotional.
[:[01:35:31] Sherry: I'm
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