How Did This Get Made? - My Secret Santa

Episode Date: December 26, 2025

Jason demanded we gift you all one last holiday movie treat in the form of the new 2025 Netflix rom-com My Secret Santa—a movie that asks, "What if instead of a dad disguising himself as Mrs. Doubtfire to see his kids, a mom disguises herself as Santa to get half-price snowboard lessons?" Paul, June, and Jason discuss if Matthew wants to bone Hugh Mann, the movie's obsession with hot cocoa, the locker room nudity scene, how two guys who merely like Halloween can create Mission Impossible style facemasks, if the movie is misogynistic, and so much more. Get ready, 'cause it's time for women to play Santa and upend the Santa Industrial Complex! • Go to hdtgm.com for tour dates, merch, FAQs, and more• Have a Last Looks correction or omission? Call 619-PAULASK to leave us a voicemail!• Submit your Last Looks theme song to us here• Join the HDTGM conversation on Discord: discord.gg/hdtgm• Buy merch at howdidthisgetmade.dashery.com/• Order Paul’s book about his childhood: Joyful Recollections of Trauma• Shop our new hat collection at podswag.com• Paul’s Discord: discord.gg/paulscheer• Paul’s YouTube page: youtube.com/paulscheer• Follow Paul on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/paulscheer• Subscribe to Enter The Dark Web w/ Paul & Rob Huebel: youtube.com/@enterthedarkweb• Listen to Unspooled with Paul & Amy Nicholson: unspooledpodcast.com• Listen to The Deep Dive with June & Jessica St. Clair: thedeepdiveacademy.com/podcast• Instagram: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & @junediane• Twitter: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & msjunediane  • Jason is not on social media• Episode transcripts available at how-did-this-get-made.simplecast.com/episodesGet access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using the link: siriusxm.com/hdtgm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

he knows when you are sleeping he knows when you're awake he knows if you've been bad or good because he's a she and she's your mom we saw my secret santa so you know what that means now it's time for how to discriminate we're gonna have a good time celebrate some failure not just be a hater because you know you wonder how did this campaign let's walk in the mediocrity of subpar art Perhaps we'll find the answer to the question, how did this get made? Hello, people of earth, and welcome to how did this get made another Christmas episode. That's right. We are celebrating this month of Christmas with a Netflix original, a Jason Manzukas recommend.

I mean, Jason's picks. This is, yes, this is, I will admit, this is a classic me boondoggle. Simply by my passing awareness of this movie, I've now talked about it enough that we had to watch it. Well, I got to say, you picked a good one because this came out in 2025. The IMDB logline is Taylor disguises herself as Santa at a resort to fund her daughter's ski lessons, working with the charming manager, Matthew, as she finds holiday cheer and a chance at love admits challenges. Now, here, yes. Are you going to say something about that description, Paul?

No, please, you can jump in. I have two things to say before we move forward, but please, yeah, jump in. This is what I, okay, this is my fundamental issue with this movie. Is that sentence disguises herself as Santa? Right, yes. Okay, anyone, and obviously parents turn this off, this is a little advisory, turn this off right now, if you have little kids. If you are working as a Santa, you are disguising yourself as Santa no matter what. Yes.

Right. Yes. This movie actually, like, it borders on horror to me because it posits a world in which we actually believe that the Santas who are showing up for these villages and malls and different plazas and lobbies are. Santa or not Santa entirely. No, you know, thank you for correcting me. But something, but they, we don't in this world want a Santa, well, certainly don't want a female Santa, but we want to know that our Santa's, what is it exactly? What is it?

What we're not, what the movie is not interested in letting you in on or interrogating is who, who is. Hugh man. Right. So like, so, so Taylor is both playing a man named Hugh Mann who is playing Santa Claus. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Now, the reality is in the movie, she is almost always in Santa mode. Okay.

So we very rarely see Hugh man. And why doesn't anyone else in this world, okay, this is my main issue. Like, why doesn't she talk to the team? age girl as human. Yes. Like I'm off my shift. I'm like a human. Well, here's the issue, in my opinion.

There are no stakes because the idea is solid. Like, oh, let's do Mrs. Doubtfire as a holiday movie. Like a reverse miss. This would be if in Mrs. Doubtfire, the, the, the Robin Williams dressed up as Mrs. Doubtfire. And but wasn't the husband. That would be the, that would be the steak. Who then dressed up as someone else.

Well, but like. The stakes would be... Paul. Yeah. Why does Taylor? This is a serious fucking question. Why does Taylor not show up as herself to the Santa audition and say, give me one moment? I'll be right back.

As human or as Taylor? No, Jason. Okay. Why can't Taylor go say, hi, thanks so much for the audition. I'm going to just go change into costume. I'll be right back. The movie is interrogating our misogyny. The patriarchy.

In hiring, yes, in hiring men as Santa performers in hotels and malls. This is absolutely a movie that is representing how controlled, how the patriarchy is still so in power, especially in our most significant holidays. By the way, though, you did bring up a good point because I think that if you added a scene where she tried to get that job and couldn't get it because she was a woman. I needed that scene. But she just went to, I need to create an alternative persona. Which made me think she was insane. Here's the thing. Hugh Mann, and this is why the whole movie really falls apart, has to get a check that is going to go to Taylor Jacobson, right?

Like, she didn't think the crime through at all. Because, yeah, there's also a line at the end when it's all revealed that, we got a booker on trespassing and this. And then I'm like, why? Why? She was doing the job. You hire, like, she didn't in any way not do the job that she was hired to do. It would have been so fun if in the, in the period where she, because the movie is setting up the kind of farce, the farce elements of, oh, now she's Taylor, and now she's Santa. And, oh, no, she's bouncing between people who are expecting her to be different things, blah, blah, blah, wouldn't it been so fun?

If she also had to juggle the third persona, Hugh Mann. Well, Hugh Mann. Like, why? I wish so much that Hugh Mann had started a romance with the neighbor. There's only one time we see Hugh Mann. Yes. No, Paul, we see. Oh, Paul.

Oh, Paul. My balloons are going up your screen. What was that? Because I gave the peace sign. It was the peace sign? Yeah, nice time. I don't know why that. So here's the thing that as far as I can call.

We see Human three times actually. Wait, no, we see Human when Human shows up for the audition, which I know why she doesn't, why she doesn't show up in Santa costume. Again, it is the perception of Santa is so strange in this movie because she knows that she shouldn't show up in her suit, that that somehow is too much. Well, but also, many of the men auditioning to be Santa are really half-assing it. Like, one guy has his beard down around his, like, chin. Like, they look like they... Just pull it up. Like, yeah.

Also, they all, all the possible Santas might... I mean, listen, maybe I'm just not aware of the, you know, the Santa industrial complex. But, like, mustn't the organization have the Santa outfit? Does every Santa have his own suit? Well, that is true. Any Santa worth their salt. Yeah. Any Santa worth their salt.

Because they're subcontractors. Right. You know, there's no, yeah. So I do think it's like, I apologize. No, that's okay. But it's like a makeup artist. Like, you have to come with your own kit. Maybe they get a kit fee.

Like maybe they get a costume fee to dry clean them. They rent their stuff to the, yeah. That's possible. But here is the thing. I mean, there's so many things wrong with the whole Santa industrial. complex. But I also don't believe that our lead, Taylor Jacobson, is a smart person as we understand her to be, I guess, a, well, her job as a baking overseer. Like, she, like, she, like, runs the factory line at store, at a store-bought cookie plant. Like, so what, like, we don't even

know what her, like, what she's good at. And it's called, like, clout's cookies. It's almost claws cookies. Oh, then I didn't put that together. It's like, it's so close to Claws that I was like, wait, is this a Santa-related business? She's making, and she also gets fired. The manager comes up and says, hey, can I talk to you for a second? And rather than step into an office and fire her privately, they take five steps away from everybody, and he fires her in front of the staff. Yes.

Who are all watching. She should be fired because why are you? you need a person looking at, like, the frosting. So here's the thing. She is, and this is so interesting that they set her up this way, because I think the movie wants us to believe that she's sort of a part of this anti-industrial complex, even before she steps into the role, because she knows and what Santa should look like.

And that's part of why that opening scene with that cookie was important because she didn't feel like he was jolly enough. But yet, she said he was depressed. She said he was depressed. That was a little bit of a Worshack test for her. I mean, a truly, truly physician heal thyself. You know, it really, when she said this Santa looks depressed, I was like, what is going on? Well, I mean, there's a thing.

She's crazy. I mean, with the one exception of that, she is insane. With the exception of that one scene, we don't know her to be particularly interested in Christmas. particularly like festive or like Santa Yeah like Well I don't think she is

But then later on Jason at the Because I just finished this movie One minute ago Same Okay at the very end He says someone Get into Matthew

But he says something along the lines Of like You know Christmas Like you Well Because he Because she figured out that Christmas isn't about bankrupting your parents.

It's about like the spirit of Christmas. That's what she brought to the Santa character, which is the unwillingness to give kids what they want. She's like, I'm not going to give you what you want. I'm going to give you what you need. And that's what originally turns out bad. Like I mean, this Santa. Like the hard truth Santa that is like, you know,

that's going to make a mess and your parents aren't going to like that. Or I know your mom's a waitress. She can't afford that. Like, what if Santa was a mom? That's what she brings to. Santa, which is a revolutionary idea in the world of Santa. What if Santa was a mom? What if Santa was a mom?

By the way, Santa, Santa, Santa is a mom. Okay. Moms are doing Christmas. Okay. Well, hold on now. And I'm not saying you aren't, babe, but I'm saying in general, when people talk about the magic of holidays, and I'm not, I'll share, I'm not including you in this, please know that the labor of Santa is the magic of Christmas.

Oh, so you're taking... It's done by women. So you're taking this work away from the elves and giving it to women. But that's what drives me crazy is like, well, moms are already doing Christmas. Yes, but moms are not redefining who's Santa, regardless of who is doing the work. The idea is that, ho, ho, ho, whatever you want, I'll get you. I've never, we've seen several Santa performers in our day. Oh, yeah.

If anything, I found them all to be pretty, like, judicious about and diplomatic about what they say. They don't say you can get, you can have that. They say, well, I hope. Right, because I think they got in trouble for that. By who? By the Santa Industrial Complex. By Big Santa? Yes, because I think that, you know, when kids stopped asking for, like, trains and cars, and they started asking for PlayStation 5s, like, somebody who worked at the mall or the hotel.

I would, by the way, I want to get into the hotel. This hotel is so shitty. So much of the movie, so much of the movie is just shot in a hotel ballroom. It's amazing. It's so shitty. The fact that we're supposed to believe this is like a gazillionaire and they have all of these major properties throughout the world. Like, this hotel. It's not even booked for Christmas.

Yeah. It's not even fully booked. The Instagram. retweets have booked it full for Christmas. Like, it was coming into the month empty. So whatever they were doing wasn't already working. You know, like, I mean... What is interesting is the movie isn't Intra Taylor, rather, isn't interested in being Santa.

No. She doesn't want to be Santa in some way to be like, I love Santa or I love Christmas. She just wants the half-off employee discount for her daughter's snowboard education. Which, again, would mean that on some certificate, she's also forged that Humean is the father or grandfather of her daughter, which I don't know if they got into that in particular. I hadn't even thought of that. Like, honestly, honestly, the end of the movie, I mean, Taylor is so irresponsible. The end of the movie could very easily end with her in jail and her daughter in child, in foster care. But I guess the question is...

We don't know where her the father is. And Taylor is doing so many illegal activities. Well, she's just trying to get her daughter's snowboard lessons. That's the other thing that's tough. Half off. It's not like I'm trying to get my kid. I don't know. There was something about skiing and snowboarding. It's such a very rich person's sport that it was hard for me to emotionally connect to like she can't go to snowboard.

Well, she's in a snow town. I imagine the pressure of growing up as a regular person in a snow town, as you put it, Paul, is difficult. Well, she's getting bullied quite a bit by the rich click who are making fun of her out-of-date snowboarder gear and clothes. They're making fun of the fact that her mom drives around a kidnapper's 1980s kidd nappers van. I mean, I also want to argue, though, that the rich kid in this movie is the daughter of the manager of the hotel. So it also does paint the picture that the manager of the hotel is making Boku bucks. I mean, she's not even the manager. She's in line to be the manager.

And then, you know, Matthew comes over and takes her spot. By the way, that's Tia, Maori, which, you know, great casting there. I love the cast of this. I was all on board. Everybody was great. Although, can I tell you, the whole time I was watching this, especially in the, especially in the big Christmas party scene when she's going back and forth at Santa.

Which about 12 to 15 people were at. Yes, exactly. But the whole time I'm watching that, I'm like, why isn't this movie Tia and Tamara actually playing Santa and Taylor and going back and forth? Like, that's interesting to me. Well, to me, though, what I was thinking during that party scene was this, again, if we're looking at the model of Mrs. Doubtfire, right? There's stakes there because he is the ex-husband of Sally Field, and he has to pretend to be the nanny to be close to his kids. Once his kids back. But in this, she is friends with makeup artists, just like Harvey Fires.

That's her brother. That's her brother, yes. Or not even makeup artists, guys who like Halloween. That really is the thing. We need to stop there because that, okay, they have an entire studio devoted to, like, masks. Their entire living room is just making. They're making Mission Impossible level masks that are so, I mean, it's so good and so, they are doing. Their face scans, you know, I mean.

For Halloween. Now, what's also very sane. For their Halloween costume. Not for, not for any. And they're in like, they're in like Telluride, Colorado or something. And they're in, like, a small town, a small ski town. They're going out to a, a Halloween, one Halloween party in that costume, and then they're starting all over again. And they have, I'm going to say, quite literally, $30,000 worth of special effects equipment at a minimum, 3D printers, facial scan devices.

They've got crazy stuff. Well, this is what brings up, this is the issue that I have, and it gets, it rocks me to my core. I was like, here is the moment. that you could actually make this movie work in a different way, which is those guys create masks for a living. Not for a living for a hobby, baby. Okay, sorry, yes, sorry, for a hobby. Why don't you just dress one of them up like Human for the party?

And then she could be there too, because all you have to do is go, ho, ho, ho. You think they could all you have to do. You think they can capture that. Well, is it the magic of human? Well, because I don't know if human. I don't know if Human actually has a personality, because Mrs. Delfire has a personality, right? Oh, hello, and she talks, but, you know, but human.

It is the magic of Human, because Human listens. Well, where does Human end and where does Santa begin? I don't think that Human is a part of it. This is where it is. I think the person that I really desired to know more was Human. I wish there had been a scene where the neighbor, the horny, landlord and the and taylor dressed as human have to have like a glass of wine i wish right there had been like two to three more scenes with taylor as human not as santa human human only really does

the work of taylor yes right like human is just saying what taylor would say if taylor wasn't there right she's like well listen to your mother yeah and you know it's like that like like you Human's not really engaging. Oh, I get it. Oh, I finally get it. Human is method. Okay. All right.

So for this period of time, Human is Santa. Then why didn't Humean show up to that fucking audition in his suit? Good call. Okay. So you're saying it sounds to me like you're saying that Humean is weak sauce and is probably the weakest actor in SAG. June, be very careful of you agree to this. This is going to get you a lot of trouble on that. I was so mad.

It's like, you are so concerned. You've gone to all these lengths to do this mask. You must have been hair and makeup for hours. And then it's the day of the audition. A, you're late. B, you're not in your costume yet. The fuck out of here. But books the job.

Of course. Learning all the wrong lessons. Books the job. I think the reason why you want to hire Hugh Mann is because he doesn't need a costume. Hugh Mann just puts on the wrong. red and he's Santa. Like, Hugh Mann looks like Santa. Like, and I think that that is the key to most professional Santas. They have the beard. They have the hair. And it's a cultivated look. It's not wiggy. It's not any of that. Now, yes, Human is all wiggie. Human was all wigs and

was a full mask. But I think that's why they have to put him next to all the people. Look, Human looks good. Human slash Taylor slash Santa looked great in every shot. Oh, yeah. Well, here's the problem with the movie, though. And by the way, I really did like that actress, but I do think the problem is she is set up. We're being told by several people that she is like a, you know, sad, sack kind of cat lady type person. I never saw that. But she's also like the former lead singer guitarist of a punk rock band.

But I never saw this person that was. like organizing her socks alphabetically, which, by the way, how? Yeah. Well, again, we're getting into a socks discussion. I know we don't want to go back to the socks. But how do you organize socks alphabetically? We are talking, we're talking, we're getting into socks so much lately. So would you rather sort your socks alphabetically and is it by color?

What does that mean? By color or by name? Like red, like, do you mean the first letter of each color? That's what I'm saying. I don't even know what that would mean. But also, who organizes socks? Well, Paul does. Well, I guess, okay, so I have a pair, I have some Adidas socks, and I have some Nike socks, and they have the logo on it.

They don't have the words on it. But if I would say, all right, those are my Nike socks. I'm going to line them up in the Nike area of my sock drawer. Yeah, but then, but they do. I don't know. I'm trying to, I'm trying to put it all together. The only way. Bambas would go in the front.

The only way to organize socks is by type. You got to index them by type. Okay, so you're talking about, you're talking about, like, an ankle sock. You're talking about, athletic socks, dress socks, compression, compression, airplane socks. They're all going by tight. Now, I have my dress socks in a different drawer than my athletic socks. I think that makes sense because you probably wear them very infrequent.

Yes. That's fine. But again, how could you ever approach them alphabetically? It's not a system. It's literally, like, insane. Look, she has nothing. And it's referenced twice in this movie. Taylor is a local celebrity sometimes and sometimes is a complete unknown in a town that appears to have I'm going to say I'm maybe conservatively 400 residents yeah if she's a local celebrity made one album from screaming kittens from that crazy screaming her screaming kittens era yeah how is it possible that her daughter doesn't know the album is in the

house exactly like they they have the worst relationship they have a terrible relationship because i wish they had had a gilmore girls it's the two of us we're we're a team vibe in it you know like where uh uh taylor what's the daughter's name zoe so so we're they're so close in age they're so young like they had an opportunity to have a gilmore girls esk vibe between the two of them But they don't. And nor do they have a very, like, strained or they feel like they're very apart. They feel like strangers to each other. Like roommates.

Yeah. Coexisting. Well, what's so interesting, though, is that I also think you're seeing that on the father and son's side with Matthew and his dad. Like, they don't seem to be that much in each other's lives, so much so that Matthew just kind of surprises his dad by returning home. His dad did not know he was going to be there. The fact that they cast this man as a near-do-well, like free spirit, and a free spirit is the most, it was the most absurd thing I've ever seen in my life.

Crashed his car into a statue in Italy, and his dad says, well, now you must work as the resort manager to pay off the accident debt. Yeah, he's basically like, I'm not going to give you the money to fix this. I'm going to make you work for it. But he is not like a bad boy. And, like, who you would believe? Like, at one point he asks. And why would they come in that hound's tooth, like, trench-looking coat? Yep.

If we're supposed to believe he's, like, this bad, like, kid. And why is he too old? The worst thing that he does is not check references. Yeah. Like, that's the most, like, he seems to me a guy who immediately fits in. Like, he understands the paperwork. He's not getting drunk. We don't bump into him at a bar.

He is a, he's getting hot cocoa. Oh my God. The hot cocoa shit is so out of control. It's so funny. And the, and the thing that he, if I looked at the entire cast of this movie, the one person I would think absolutely knows how to tie a necktie is this guy. Oh. And he's the one that's like, I never know how to do these. I'm a guitar guy. I'm like, free spirit. I'm an artist. I was like, you are not. Why are they making him a guitar guy? Why are they making? Why would you take this? The one thing that our lead does well, which is play and sing and go, well, you know what? He does too. This guy actually plays and sings and he's jumping up at local bars. You take away the superpower of your lead by making the romantic interest have the same superpower. But why not just put him in a leather jacket or something in the beginning? Or just saying, yeah.

I was so thrown by that look. I was so in the short hair. I just. And the trim. beard. He doesn't look scruffy. He doesn't look unkempt. He doesn't look like a bad boy. He's not riding a motorcycle.

Is he supposed to be like a McConaughey? He looks like he's running a startup. He does. He does. He's there on vacation. Like I would have, I would believe it more if he was being irresponsible like he started a startup and it failed rather than he's like a drunk who got, who drove a car into a

fountain in Italy or whatever. To me, the better story would be, hey, let's go get a beer and she's like it's 10 a.m. I'll get a hot chocolate and he's like I don't drink hot chocolate and at the end he's like let's go get a hot chocolate like she's changed him but Hugh man is the one who's drinking

Hugh man is the one who is... Now they're flaming candy cane I mean this guy's shopping for discount records I mean like he's not doing I loved that though I'm like oh yes have a meat cute at the record store and blah blah blah

But he does not belong in that store at all. Never mind that he's like, don't you know the screaming kittens? I loved this band and blah, blah, blah, you know, absolutely not. But like what? By the way, though, like seriously, what happened in Italy? Yeah. What's going on with him? And I know he lost his mom at 15.

And I know it was said, and I know that was hard. And I have so much sympathy for it. I feel like that gentleman we saw on screen is 40. 45? Yeah. Yeah. So it's like, I, my heart goes out to you, but that's, that was a long time ago. Well, it's a very long time ago. You can't still be on a bender from that. But June, I guess this is what's the question I'm going to ask you is, how much do we know of that from Matthew versus his dad? His dad is the one who labels him.

Matthew never is like, I'm a bad boy. Well, but Matthew is validating. Like something very bad happened in Italy. Well, he crashed into the statute. And he's also saying that he's a free spirit. and he doesn't work jobs like this and this is his dad's stuff, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Well, he does say, like, I wouldn't have known about all this paperwork. That's what he really seems to be. Yes.

I'm signing things all day. But what would, I guess here's my question. What does Matthew want to do for a living? Who knows? Be an artist? Great question. He doesn't know. Once again, we have people that are so old acting like, I just am.

41 is his age, by the way. way. That's fine. But like, but here's, but here's the thing that's so very odd about this movie. I don't know what anyone's dreams are. And I understand her dream is for her daughter. And that's fine. But like, I don't understand by the end if him being the general manager and her being the executive director of family events is a good thing or not. I don't know. The, the movie tells you it is. Yeah. I believe. But is it? Well, I mean, I think the movie is saying like, hey, remember all those dreams you had, they're not going to happen. So maybe

you can be happy doing work. Craft nights? Yes, craft nights at the resort. I don't know. I don't know. Oh, this is the other detail we had about him that I was really fucked up

by. One point the dad says, when he's like recounting all these bad things that Matthew did, that he was swimming with swans. Well, yeah, you feel like he got drunk and he jumped into like some sort of decorative swan thing. I thought that imagery was actually interesting. What's also interesting is the movie exists.

No, no, I think there were real swans in the fountain that he crashed into. Oh, I heard that as a totally separate event. Oh, I did too. Yeah, I thought there's another. So it's all about that one fountain he crashed into it. Oh, you might be right. Maybe there's, maybe he has a litany of, of disaster. moves. But what's interesting is everybody in town knows he's this public fuck-up. So he's like

he feels like he's a, like somebody who's being reported on in like page six or something, you know, like he's some sort of famous, like rich. Her brother is like married this guy. He's like the sexy billionaire's causing all these trouble. I did laugh when the brother said, I could be the brother-in-law of a son of a billionaire. I mean, I really, That was my favorite line. I think they are the Hilton's type of a family or something? I think they are the Hilton's, but that hotel gave such kind of like Econolage vibes to me. And there are versions of the Hilton that are like, you know, they can scale up or scale down,

but I do feel like we can trust the brand a little bit more. And this felt so. June, I just want to take a little bit of it. I want to just talk to you from all the people out there who clean hotel carpets. Can you imagine trying to keep a place like that clean with all those snow boots trucking in, all that wetness? Like that, that hotel has kept very, very clean. And I will say you give it a little bit more credit for, you know, the entry waiting. I'm not saying it's dirty.

I'm really not. It is just so outdated. The locker room I was not okay with. The locker room, I want to talk about the locker room for so long because for a movie that won't allow its romantic leads to really drink alcohol that much? Like, they have to be so, like, hot cocoa and, you know, like, no real kissing. No, like, they have to be so weirdly pure and chaste. For one whole sequence to be, she's dressed up as human, just looking at dicks in the locker room.

She sees his dick. He drops his towel immediately in the locker room while they're chatting. I have to ask, because I'm not a man, obviously. Well? I don't know. But are you Hugh Mann? I don't know. I would have loved the opportunity to be Hugh Matt.

Hugh Man also went into a woman's bathroom as well. And I'm glad that they didn't make a big deal out of it. It was like whatever he chose, he chose. You know, but this is the thing. What's to stop women from dressing as Santa to get into men's bathroom? This has been something that. I don't know, I don't know, like, what locker room. I don't know what all goes on in there, but like if you were in there and Santa,

Santa performer came up to you, or even let's say someone you were an acquaintance of, would you drop your towel like that, Paul? Here's what I would say. I saw Jason shake his head. There's a lot of locker room behavior that is not universally accepted. It's not like there's one way of being. I have been in locker rooms where people are going to just fucking. be out there proud and free.

And then I'm going to be next to people who are so tidied up and wrapped up that you're in that... You can't even get a peek if you wanted to. Exactly. There was a pilot season where I joined the YMCA in Hollywood, just the one right there in

Hollywood that we've all driven by a million times. And that locker room was naked dudes hanging out, chit-chatting, talking on phones, nude, walking around, walking over there to do full lotion set up at the lotion station walking over there just just in their flip-flops when i was a kid when i was a kid our locker rooms uh for gym were divided just by like a cement wall and there was a small hole in the wall that we would all peer through but it was

only at the point where the yeah wait what back in my like my younger school when i went to school like from kindergarten to like fourth or fifth grade our locker rooms are very young yes there was a wall there's a wall that was separate no no and so the and so we would all be trying to sneak a peek at the girls locker sneaking in fourth grade and third grade that's so weird because in my when i was grown up porkies was big and y'all you saw was that kid with his eye up against that eye hall you know so you're like that's what you thought you did But where the hole was, was the separation between, like, the wash area and the dressing area, like the sinks. So there was no, there was never saw anyone. I want to back Paul up in the sense that, like, yes.

Yes, thank you. Like porkies and things like that gave us, in our childhood, established for us a world in which if you saw a hole in a wall, no matter where you were in the world, you looked. through it in case there was boobs on the other side of it. You were for reasons that you didn't know. Exactly. That was it. Like, I don't even know if it was titillating. It was just like, oh my gosh, this is the dream that there would be a hole in the wall.

Yes. That I can now see. Like, that would be the optimal. And I know that there's a possibility that there are rooms in this building with boobs in them. Maybe on the other side of this wall is one of them. And I look back on my childhood. And honestly, even right now, I want to remind myself, like, I should be looking for holes and walls. All the time.

Oh, yeah. All the time. That's why I'm traveling with like a little roll of duct tape everywhere I go to just cover up the holes. I mean, look, the psychos based on that whole idea. No, it is true. In hotel rooms and stuff. Like, I do know some women look around for holes. I just can't.

I can't. There's only so much I can be concerned about in this lifetime. Well, after you got it, first you do your bed bug check. Then you do your hole check. Then you do your secret camera check. And then you check if all the mirrors are actual mirrors rather than two-way mirrors. And then you check out. Here's what I'll say.

What I love about this movie is that when Matthew gets up to present the Hugh Mann at the tree lighting ceremony, he is heckled in a way that made me laugh harder than anything. I was like, hey, didn't see you want to found, motherfucker. Like he is being roasted by the town, which I think actually helped me. Like, I just like that this town was so aggro. Like, this is a tree. This is a kid tree lighting.

He has neither the temperament of the free spirit kind of artists, like, like, ne'er do well. He neither has that temperament, nor does he have the trust fund, rich dick, entitled vibe to him. Right. He is just awkward. He doesn't feel like he belongs and he feels out of place. So he's stammering through his spirit. beaches. He's like, he's just an awkward guy. So I kept being like, why are we into him? I don't know. I also loved in the locker room scene that when, because of the locker room set up, we see he has a bunch of tattoos.

I love that about him. But here's the thing. Like, I don't, I think he's nice. And so that's great. But I also couldn't tell why she was that into him because he didn't seem to have much of a personality. But I, but then I went. back and remember the locker room scene she saw something oh she did she sure did she saw something she saw something that honestly put put a magical christmas spell on her oh yeah it's the only reason because he is very very bland they both are right they're both dull i thought she has a lot of life as characters as characters you know i mean like i'm not saying this about the actors i'm saying they both feel aimless. Yeah. Both of them, neither of them are striving towards anything.

They are both just kind of treading water. Well, yeah, I think they're both trying to find their anchor, which I think is each other. They are both, you know, they're both looking for something to ground them where they need to be. Like, keep them there. You know, they are boats to drift. You know what I needed. I needed a scene in which we understood what it was like for her as a single mom in Lincoln and how, like, the pressures of having your kid in a rich town and being the poor worker in that town

and how your kid wants to get along with all these other rich kids, but you can't provide that. That's really interesting to me and compelling. I love this. Yes. I would have loved that vibe and that understanding that she's operating in a very rich. town from a position of scarcity. Right. So then I would need to know that that's what she's bringing to Santa, her work as

human, that that's sort of, but instead, like, she's, it made me think also that everybody in this small town is on the same economic level as her, which for a ski town simply doesn't make sense. No, no. So they could afford all the things that they are asking for. Yes. Well, I mean, I think she's also trying to teach lessons, but I don't understand that, I guess, I don't understand where, like, nobody is on an arc that I'm understanding. You know what I mean?

Nobody at the end of the movie isn't, okay, I'm glad they have fallen in love with each other. But the process has not, the process has really only made it seem as though they both are more comfortable because they have found each other. comfortable settling, rather than figuring out... That's the story. Rather than figuring out who they are as individuals and how to be happy as themselves and then love themselves and then share that self with someone else, they are clinging to each other as the answer to their lost and aimless lives. I have found someone who validates my limitations and my giving up.

And by the way, what I also really needed to understand is like, does Zoe like this man. Who cares about Zoe? She's paralyzed after this or, you know, uh, she is like, she's hurt. She's, like, she's hurt. And then, and, um, and they leave the big Christmas party and, um,

and Taylor's dressed as Santa Claus. And she runs to her daughter's side. And, but like, and maybe it's just because once they get there where it's clear the daughter is going to be okay is, is, you know, perhaps. She does not look okay. She looks very interesting. She's on a, she's on a, she's got,

in a neck brace, she's on a backboard. She doesn't, you know, she's like, Santa, why is Santa talking to me? It's like, at this point, you'd be able to be like, I think that's my mom. It's my mom's voice. Then what happens is Taylor and the guy, they have a whole conversation. She should be exclusively talking to the medical personnel about what the diagnosis is. And instead, she does her Mission Impossible, tear off the mask reveal. Then she does apologies.

Then she tries to, and it, like, is like, oh. Also, what's that, what's that? might have a spinal injury. What's the betrayal? The betrayal appears, it seems as though when she rips the mask off, you would think as though people thought she was actual Santa Claus. Well, that's what I'm saying. That's why the she's being brought up on fraud charges.

I mean, what the reveal is, like we know it's not Santa. So the reveal is that it's Taylor. And she's also not, like here's the other version of it, right? This resort has a world-renowned Santa, and he lives in the town. He dies of a heart attack. She hides the heart attack and dresses up as him. So she is pretending to be human, the guy who has been doing Santa there for 20 years. That's a betrayal.

That's a betrayal. Here she just really. Well, no, she did go into the locker room. Maybe he's upset that she saw him half naked. Listen, if I'm this guy, I'm like, hey, man. Hey, man, you saw my dick and you didn't say anything. Like, what the fuck? Well, that means that she was still interested in him.

Jim, would you care? I mean, that the lip gloss that she, carrying around. Like, I thought when it dropped out a few man's pocket, I was like, oh, that's her daughter's lip gloss, because it's got a year. Did they set that up that it was her daughters? Okay, because even if it is her daughters, though, it's

still, it's... No, I think it's hers. No, it's hers, but I'm saying, it's bizarre that it's hers, even if it was her daughters who's 16, it would still be weird because that is the lip gloss of an eight-year-old girl. A hundred percent. Very strange. Very strange.

I did want to say that this movie, just to go back to the daughter, potentially being incredibly wounded, I do think this movie does a couple of things where it doesn't really highlight any disabilities. Like, the daughter could be paralyzed. She's like, I got to take, I got to do my apology to her. Now, meanwhile, when that girl comes over with a stutter, she's like, I got this. Oh my God, I forgot about that. Like, she cures. This movie is absolutely irresponsible. This is a little irresponsible with any sort of like, like, I mean, the fact that, like,

She cures a stutter, and then that's, and that video gets thousands of likes, which moves up to a million likes. But that to me was really like an ins, like, not like, oh, her good heart or her common sense, Santa-ing. That's what people want. Parents want to bring their kids here to be, like, kind of slapped in the face by Santa. No, she, like, she is a Christ-like figure. It's magic.

Yes. It becomes like a, like, a very soft magical element. enters because this is a movie, unlike a lot of the other Christmas movies, there is no magic. There is no like, oh, the nutcracker turned into a man or there's not like a magical element to this. But there is a little bit of like the lesson learned is that she like by accepting the Christmas spirit. I don't know what. She, yes, she's able to do cures. She's able to be so desirable that the billionaire villain dad is like, that's my Santa. When he keeps saying my Santa. Oh, it's so weird. But here's the thing that I, I guess I disagree with.

To me, this movie had nothing to do with Christmas. Okay, do you tell? I think that this, with the exception of like Santa and the device of Santa, the movie, the stories had nothing to do with remembering the reason for the season, with all of the Christmas narratives that we hold dear to our heart. It's to settle, babe. It is literally to give up your dreams and to settle with whatever life, Delta, up until this point, to accept it. It's time, it's time to settle down, settle down and take responsibility for your actions. And by the way, that could happen any time of year. She could be the Easter bunny. I agree.

I agree. You know, a leprechaun, it could be, this is holiday agnostic. Well, and for everybody. Yes. Not just for Taylor and Hugh Mann and the Santa Claus character, but for the guy, I cannot remember it. Matthew. That whole storyline is also not really on a Christmas trajectory, you know? No, not at all.

I think that the issue that this movie has is it is taking place during the holidays, but it's more of a rom-com, right? It's more of a general rom-com. And there's no Christmas spirit. There's no magical ending. The movie doesn't even try to give you one of those, like, moralistic things. Like, we're pulling that out of it. Like, the movie doesn't lean there at all. And when they have their, like, even the end of movie, a big kind of like, hey, I want to apologize and blah, blah, blah.

They're kind of big talk that inexplicably happens on stage in front of a microphone so everybody in town can hear their private. conversation. That whole conversation isn't, is also not about Christmas. It's not about anything. It's really just about, I'm sorry, I lied, blah, blah, blah. You know, it's really just your, to your point, rom-com type stuff. Right. Yes. Yes, in a big public setting. And then they sing a song together. Run run, Rudolph. Which is also weird. But like, I mean, hmm. I don't. I don't. I don't know, because I think there's, I think the movie might be trying to tell us that they should both get, this is what's weird, they should both get back into pursuing their dreams together as a new screaming kittens. Now, what if, and sorry, what if the setup of the movie is that they know each other from both growing up in this incredibly small town, she hated him because he was Richie Rich, like, you know, rude entitled Richie Rich.

And he always, like, bullied her the way her daughter is bullied for being the poor kid who blah, blah, blah. And so they were from opposite sides then. And now they come. He's now returned to town as an adult. They haven't seen each other in 30 years, 20 whatever years, blah, blah, blah. That's a movie that their history informs their present story because right now, none of it feels of anything other than so surface level. What if they were in the band together? I mean, or what if he was the one who knocked her up?

Because that's the story, right? She got knocked up. She had to quit the band. All of her life went on hold to take care of her daughter. That's the dramatic monologue in the movie. If he was the one who did it as the party guy, he never came back to town until then. Then he becomes the... He's the Christopher in this more girls.

Or maybe even better he didn't know because she's hating him so much. Here's my question about his work as the general matter. By the way, I felt, I know the movie's telling us that, like, Tia is a villain, but I'm like, I'm watching her the whole time. And I'm like, yeah, it's so fucked up that this guy came back with zero experience. He's just been swimming with swans and is taking over your job. Like, this is insane. Well, don't say it like swimming with swans. What happened there was he got into a car accident.

I feel like he ejected out of the front and was thrown in and started swimming around, like drunkenly swimming around the swans. But she's at least understanding and trying to protect the business from. lawsuits that are no doubt going to come from this rogue Santa. Here's my question, though. One of the first kind of tests he has and that she has, that Hugh, Hugh Mann has, as Santa is the initial tree lighting. Now, oh, I have a question about this. Who was responsible for setting up the lighting and all the electricity there? And did Tia do that on purpose?

or did he fuck that up? What actually happened? First of all, let me just say. The thing breaks. The thing breaks. Aren't those things ceremonial? Aren't they just ceremonial? Like, they're not really, like, it's not really, you're not really putting a candy cane on an electrical outlet.

Like, you move that forward. You do it and then someone's backstage and hitting an on button. That's all that's happening. Like, we're not connecting a giant present to that. Like, but they made it like an electrician game there and wired this thing up. And they create this moment as if. Again, you're right. This moment like, uh-oh, someone fucked up.

But no, we don't know. And nor was it anyone's mistake because he's there too early. He couldn't have planned that or short-changed it. Like, we've seen nothing. I don't think so. It's something that purports to be such a big event and, in fact, a catastrophic failure. Yes. But is also really just an accident that is not the responsibility of anybody there.

But was it like his accident in Italy? Oh, boy. Do you think he was up there? hooking up the electrical stuff? I don't know. It's like, I don't know. You think that everything he does? He's like, I don't care.

Just run it. Like, just go forward. He does say at one point, like, I'm signing papers. I don't even know what I'm signing. All right. So he's hiring the wrong people. Don't, okay, let me ask you this. Don't you think it's pretty weird?

The part that I found very difficult to swallow was when Taylor, dressed as human, dressed as Santa. So Santa Claus, when Taylor is Santa Claus. When Taylor is speaking with Zoe, her daughter, I was like, this is irresponsible. Zoe would be like, you're my mother. You're my mother. This is my mother. Like, they have, I mean.

Why doesn't Zoe just ask, like, how are you paying for this? Yes. By the way, here's a simple solution. Ask your brother to sell a couple of those masks he has, this mission. Great. You have the tuition for this elite snowboarding school. I also am like, I feel like the movie really wants us to feel like Taylor is like out on the outs. She drives that like really sketchy looking like 1980s era van.

It must have been her old tour. Got to be her old tournament. She's dressed in all black. When she's not in Santa, she's dressed in all black all the time like she's still like a punk rocker, you know? I would love to see a rock out. So the idea of the movie is neither Taylor nor Matthew have grown up since teenage years at all. They still are who they were then now, right? Yeah, sure.

Yeah, let's buy that. But they're just, it's so, like, her daughter is strangely a more three-dimensional character to me. In many ways. In many ways. When they reveal, by the way, that her daughter's bully is Tia's daughter. Yeah. I was like, what the fuck is happening? Well, that's what I'm saying.

Like, that moment is when I was like, make any sense. Yeah, I was like, oh, so, and then, and the daughter had to be like, yeah, yeah, yeah. She actually is a good person. But I was like, does Tia actually have an issue with that? By the way, it does seem now that it will become so clear that she didn't really have any injuries. They were so minor. She only has like a sling on her a couple days later, it seems. Which seems like they were supporting the wrong part.

part of her body when they put her on that. But Tia, when her daughter asks, like, do you have you heard anything? Is she going to be okay? The way Tia answers that question is like she's on the verge of death. Like, she's not going to. She's like, they're, she has great doctors taking care of her. She's like, what?

They're doing everything they can. Like, she's fine. Yeah. Well, I will say Tia's character in this is so overly dramatic about everything. That's true. In a way that is like, in a way. way that is good because she uncovered truly like the fraud

of the movie by doing some light Googling. On, on, Jason, on. Not Googling. Last resort? I believe it was called. Look path. Look path. Wow. Look path. Can I just say something too that I had

an issue with? Seek Trail. I don't feel there was so much kind of managing of human as a Santa performer, like, people are checking in on him. People are watching him. The interactions with the children seem to go on forever. I don't know that, like, anyone needs that level of interaction for Masanta. You're usually pushed in there. They say, what do you want for Christmas? You say one thing. They say, Merry Christmas. And they usually say something. Like, I can't make any promises, but it turns out you're on the nice list, have a Merry Christmas. That's it. Or kiss me. By the way, Paul. This is the only thing I walked away from as the moral of the story. It's actually a great idea for women to play Santa's.

Okay. For women to take over the Santa Industrial Complex and just get those special masks. Like, we should not be having older men sit there and have tons and tons of children come sit on their laps every year. Like, that has to end. Okay. It should be a job only for women. Here's what I'll say. I'm inclined to agree.

I think that the only caveat I would put on that is I do think I think that older men or middle-aged men can play Santa if the women are adults. Okay. Well, so in a scenario where the people sitting on laps are adults. Yeah. I would say this. Right, Santa. for the right job. I once...

Right. I once... This is how we're going to end up with AI Santa. I once had a monkey Santa sit on my lap. Wait a minute. Were you at that party? A monkey Santa? Yeah, were you at that party?

Me? Or June? No, sorry, you, Jason. Back in New York, there's a party where they had a... Now, knowing how dangerous these fucking monkeys are, I would never have done it. They had a monkey dressed at Santa, and you would go in this room, and then the... You would, I have plenty of pictures with me and this monkey. What?

What? A lot of people with this monkey. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a lot of monkey pictures. No, that sounds like something that maybe I would have gone to. And then someone was like, oh, there's a monkey Santa there. And I've been like, no, I'm not going to do it. No, thank you.

I mean, the fact that I just, I just recklessly just. This is when you were chimp crazy, though. Yeah, this was your chimp era. This was like when the hangover was coming out and everybody was like, oh, yeah, like little monkeys are so cute. And, like, the friends had a monkey on the TV show. Oh, the friend's monkey. Everyone loved that monkey. By the way, didn't you feel like in the scenes between Santa performed by Hugh Mann and Matthew in the locker room and even a couple of the other early scenes that they had, that there was a charged.

And I'm not just saying. No, I hear you. I want to talk about this. Yeah, I want to talk about this. Let's say later on that like he felt like he knew, he felt like he could talk. to her, he felt comfortable sharing things. That's all well and good. But there was something about the way that Matthew, I'm not going to put this on Hugh Mann, Matthew was looking at Santa Claus. Matthew wanted to fuck Santa, but Santa wanted to fuck Matthew, and that's okay.

It's okay. Well, not it's okay, but like she was looking at him because she would be attracted to him. But what was interesting was like, oh. He was looking right on back. Matthew was connecting. Matthew was connecting with another man. in a way that you could tell the length of the movie his sexuality was being challenged. Yes. Not just another, but why is his sexuality being challenged by, like, the most in terms of just our, like, you know,

our iconic characters, like, the most asexual, the most sort of like, oh, like, what's happening? What was amazing to me is when he's telling Taylor in one of their cute repartee, moment. He's telling her all about how excited he is for her to meet his best friend, Hugh man. And how he loves, like, it made me so sad that Matthew has gotten to be 41 or whatever you said, Paul, and has never had a friend. And the only friend he's ever had is Hugh man, who he now is so excited to talk about his buddy Hugh. You got to meet Hugh. I just, I feel so

And he's talking to you. This is a red flag, ladies. And by the way, if your guy's only friend is Santa, you're fucked. And by the way, have they talk that much? Have they really gotten into it that much? They had like two conversations. There's literally four sentences exchanged. But I guess no one's listened to him.

Wouldn't it have been fun to see a scene where Matthew and Hugh are hanging out and trying to talk about stuff and just don't have anything in common? Or they do. Or they, you know what I mean? Like, I would have loved a bro-down ho-down for these guys out for beers or whatever. Like, that's a funny setup that we never get. Right, that they have to like bro out together. I mean, I will say, I think there was a missed opportunity with the bathroom scene. Okay.

And this also makes me question, Matthew, by the way, as a general manager. When she's going back and forth between Taylor and Santa and changing costumes, she's, is in the bathroom with her brother and there's lots of grunting getting on the fat suit all that's going on he's watching santa get fucked right well here's the thing yes he is watching santa get fucked or santa fucking someone i don't know either way right but he is fine with it he's like okay with an employee of his at the lodge fucking someone in the bathroom sure during a company event during the christmas party where the Santa that is getting drilled has to be present is currently absent. Absent. They were like, where's Santa? Where's Santa? I think it might have worked better, though, if he had heard Taylor's voice in there,

if we didn't see the Santa boots. Because then that would have added a little bit more of a spice. Yeah, a little bit more of a spice. What would have been cool is if he thinks he hears Taylor outside, opens the door and is like Taylor, and it's like, oh, oh, yeah. Oh, hey, Hugh, you know what I mean? Like, if there's like a... Then he would think Hugh, his best friend was fucking Taylor, his girlfriend.

That's a great scene. Yes. That's a great team. I want in on this. How great if he thinks, because of something she does or says or a miscommunication, he thinks he's in competition with Hugh for the hand of Taylor. I mean, someone makes it. Sign me up.

I mean, that's... Wow. I would love that. But that's the kind of stuff this movie would never go near because it's too, like, sketchy or it's too, like, you know, overtly sexual. I will tell you that this is one of the only movies that we have ever done to get a 10-plus on common-sense media, which means that common-sense media is like a conservative website that rates movies. Is it okay for families and stuff like that? A 10-plus, like this movie is beyond good for families. They love it for families.

Yeah, there's nothing in here that's untoured whatsoever. You know, like the most scandalous thing that happens in this movie is someone has a glass of red wine that they don't even finish. Now, I will say this. With all these, you know, critiques, I went down easy. I was very happy with this movie. I enjoyed my time watching it. And it made me actually go, you know what? They got, they figured it out.

There's snow on the ground. It's dumb. It's fun. I like this chemistry. I liked everybody in it to a, you know, I, I wasn't, I wasn't mad at it. I was not, it wasn't a slog to get through. I had a harder time. Okay. Because I did like the premise and I did think that there was a lot left on the table that wasn't explored. And I'm, I think I'm in between because I, I think I'm, I feel similarly because both the way, what you're saying, Paul, it goes down smooth. is easy and it's a fun easy watch so much more so than um the one we just watched whatever we watched last. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Thank you. This is so much better than Merry

Christmas. But to your point, June, it's so much better that it almost promises that a better movie is there and is possible. And in falling short, you're like, oh no, you had it all there. You had the ingredients. Why didn't you just mix them this way instead and have it be a little? little more coherent or a little bit more fun or whatever. It's closer to a good movie that would have been a blast. But it falls short. Well, if they would have pushed some, yeah, it's pushed some boundaries. Now, look, obviously we have opinions about this movie, but there are people out there with a different opinion.

It is now time for second opinions. You're a Monta! You know what a day! You know what a day! The movie was a piece of shit. Yet this person recommends. Tell me what is the message. Maybe that art is subjected.

I need a second opinion. Here we go, people. So far, this movie is only out a handful of days at the time of recording here. There are no Amazon reviews. So we have to turn to Letterbox and IMDB. The average Letterbox rating is two out of five stars. and that's out of 18,000 ratings. So a lot of people watching this.

And on IMDB, there are 43 written reviews. Now, I will say on IMDB, the user identifies themselves a little bit. And I will say that the name of the user is Jay Eggold. That rings a bell. It's because our lead, Matthew, his name is Ryan Eggold. Gold. So we might believe that Jay Eggold is related to Ryan Eggold. And we'll take a look as we hear this 10 out of 10 review. For all the cynics out there, take a moment to heat up some hot cocoa, even throw in some mini marshmallows and just have some good old fashioned heartwarming fun. In this crazy world, we truly need lighthearted, lift me up stories like this. Ryan Eggold is such a fun and talented actor. to watch and you can see how he navigates comedy and seriousness with ease. Watch this and your heart will feel squishy and warm, which we could all use this holiday season.

10 out of 10, we need more films like this from Jay Eggold. Oh, wow. So it doesn't even reference the possible relationship. No, it just, it does give Ryan a shout out. Yeah, yeah, but it's not like, and he's my brother. No, yes. Now, I will say that Karen 95 writes, I'm sorry, but this movie was bisexual as fuck for everywhere you look at it. I mean, literally got Matthew looking at who he thought was a man, aka Santa Claus, and catching feelings for Santa when they were talking at the bar.

I mean, you could see Matthew's face in that moment because he couldn't believe he was feeling like that about a man until that moment in time he had never pondered the question of bisexuality. So eventually, when he goes on a date with Taylor and they're both walking with their hot chocolates, all the trees were decorated with bisexual lighting, which was obviously a hint at his bisexuality, and at the end of the date, he has a unicorn on his hand. Okay? Also, we have Dorley, who was attracted to Santa, like genuinely, at some point thought they were going to be brave and let both women kiss, or for Matthew to kiss Taylor while she was wearing the suit. Also, obviously, Taylor was bisexual.

She literally had a unicorn chaffstick, and unicorns represent bisexuality. So in conclusion, this was bisexual and no one is going to change my mind. P.S. Confession time. Alexander Breckenridge, this is a lead, was my bisexual awakening. It was because of her that I realized I was into women at age 16. I saw her as young Moira in American Horror Story. I mean, when they aired that series back in the day, I started watching because there were actors I was a fan of. And I also thought Dylan McDermick was so hot. He is, still very sexy. I was also invested in the series even before it aired. So when I saw her appearing for the first time in that series, I was so mesmerized by her beauty. And I wasn't sure why I was feeling that way about a woman. I mean, I was thinking to myself back then, well, obviously, I like men. I like, you know, get all hot and bothered by Dylan McDermott. But I was also having those same thoughts about her. Like sexual fantasies about her. I felt guilt. I mean, I was raised Catholic. Oh my God. It was somewhat conservative country slash household. So thinking about women in such a

way, it was considered sinful. And I was scared of admitting it to myself that I also like women. I mean, I did eventually, at the age of 16, come to, you know, blinky, blinky emoji, the conclusion I was indeed bisexual, after a very erotic fantasy involving Alexander Breckenridge and Alex O'Loughlin. I mean, both at the same time. And if you think about it, that's the real meaning of Christmas, finding out your true self. Also, Christmas is not... Is this still the same for you? Finding out we also, Christmas is not just sad for some of us. It's also horny. And most women my age want to sit on an old man's lap and ask for nice things.

Yes, I understand Dora Lee because I also want to fuck Santa. That would give the Santa Claus is coming to town a whole new meaning if you know what I mean five stars. I think this person means they would like to fuck Tara as yes. I don't know. I don't know what she's saying. This was wild. What a wild. What a ride.

My God. But I do think the person is correctly drilling down into some stuff that is pretty interesting, and I would have loved more of. Not only is Matthew confronted with starting to have feelings and connection to another man, but an elderly man at that. Well, that's the thing. Like, I think there's a world in which Matthew just is bisexual and, like, starts the movie off that way. Who knows? Like, maybe he is just bisexual. It doesn't have to tell us.

But what's more interesting is that he is, not that he's attracted to a man, that he is attracted to a man that is Santa. Right. A Santa man. Yes. That is subversive. Yes. Like, and is that his type now?

Is this the, are we watching him develop? She will never fulfill. Like, when he fell in love with her, it was in some ways as Santa. And does that, does that enter the bedroom at all? Do they, do they role play? Does he sit? Why don't we ever get him on her lap? Because we don't want that.

We don't? We don't want the big buff man on the little Santa lamp? No, we don't want it. I want to just read one more line here from Empu, who writes, Through this film, I learned what a single mother could do, five stars. And I want to answer you both with Grant KF's review, which says, you know, this movie is great. It breaks the mold. It's better than the Hallmark movies.

But at the end, Grant says, we need a sequel to see this couple running the resort and having a child on Christmas Eve. I will be waiting 10 out of 10. Great. I like that. Why not? Our shirt, it ain't Christmas bitch, is available right now in the T-Public store. It's a beautiful picture of Santa with magical writing right on it. And I got to say, Jason, I'm glad that you brought this into our lives.

Jason's pick. Me too, Jason. Me too. I did as I was watching it in full, feel very responsible. I was like, oh, wow, they're having to do this. Boy, but I think worth it. I mean, they're apparently making you an executive producer. They are. Retroactively, yes. I am now an EP on the thing. And when they come around to making the sequel, I hope that they ask us to be an integral part of it. Maybe we're doing a live podcast at the resort in the room, in the conference. Booked us as part of her job as director of family events. Yeah. Now, I wanted to save the best piece of information for last.

This was written by Ron Oliver, who wrote, Hello, Mary Lou, Prom Night 2. So a little connection back. Oh, interesting. Yes. Isn't that a very old movie? It is in 1987. Oh, whoa. People are still, yeah.

And has made a nice, uh, has made a nice, uh, Name for himself writing movies at Christmas at the Plaza, falling for Christmas. He writes primarily Christmas and Wedding movies right now. But it was also directed, and this is why I think the quality is good, by the director who directed all the Princess Switch movies, which I enjoy. Princess Switch won, Princess Switched again. Of course, the Vanessa Hudgens. Yes, yeah, the VHCU, the Vanessa Hudgens Cinematic Universe, I guess, streaming. universe, VH.S.U. There we go. The tagline, single mom, double life.

Love it. I love it. It's a great setup, you know, for a movie and absolutely recommend. And I'll just say one final thing, which is this, that you might have been saying, Paul, Jason June, why didn't you bring up the fact that Alexander Breckenridge also has remade the 12th night with Amanda Binds and she's the man where we're also the same idea. a female dresses up as a man. So they're just, yes, there it is. We acknowledge it. Just one of the guys.

Just one of the guys, right. That was just one of the guys. All right, well, we did it. Happy holidays. And remember, if you want to watch our very special live holiday episode, it is up right now on hdtgm.com. You can buy that and the deep dive holiday special. It is great.

And for less than $20, you can enjoy so much good stuff. Remember, if you have a correction or omission for this episode, leave us a voicemail at 619, P-A-U-L-A-S-K, or write a comment in our Discord at Discord.g-G-S-D-T-G-M, and I'll respond to those messages on Last Looks. And without spoiling anything, I will just say we have a very special two-part episode in store for you all that will be dropping on Tuesday and Friday of next week. Yes, it's a year-long event, starting in 2025, ending in 2026, so be on the lookout for a little end of the year gift from us.

And lastly, thank you to our entire team, Molly, Scott, Cody, Casey, and Zoe. Bye for now. Happy holidays.