Label Queen The Hallmark Episodes

[00:00:08] Speaker A: Hello everyone and welcome to Label Queen the Hallmark episodes. This is a very special bonus episode where I'm bringing in a long time friend expert who I kind of discovered these movies with many, many, many years ago. And we're gonna dissect the evolution of the Hallmark and give you kind of our top five. And they may surprise you, they may not. And what's interesting is you kind of find out who you are as a person watching these by the ones that you kind of gravitate towards. So, yeah, so it's a really fun exploration and we get into it from everything that I think about these movies, where they were, where they are now. Pre Candice Cameron Bure, Post Candace Cameron Bure. And one of the things that came to my mind as I was kind of researching this was it almost feels a bit like a old Hollywood studio system like Paramount back in the day or mgm where they had these actors on contract and directors and writers and you all sort of worked for the studio system and it was hard to break out of. And I know that that's not really the case, but it feels like that. And because they do have, you know, cycle through a lot of the same actors. And then the other thing that I think is so interesting is the evolution of them and how they are managing to grow not only with, of course, changing pop culture needs and preferences, but also the way people consume content and streaming and reality TV and the mixing of all of this and then the blurring the lines of the really, really chaste, traditional classic love story with the tropes of, you know, everything that we know from Dick Dickens. Oh gosh, everything from Pride and Prejudice, the royals, the mix ups, the meet cutes, the names, by the way, if you watch these, you know, most of the men are named Nick or Jake and most of the girls are Carol or Noel or something. Anyway, I do love the movies and as I've said on the pod, I've discovered not only, you know, the typical people that you think would watch these women and gay men, but a certain sect. I say sect like it's a cult of straight men that watch these and enjoy them as well. And we get into that. My guest today is the wonderfully brilliant executive producer, showrunner, producer, television queen. I worked with her when I was doing full frontal fashion and she produced me there. But since then she's gone on to do snl, Chelsea Handler, she's worked with Wanda Sykes, Queen Latifah, Megan Mullally, Stone Cold Steve Austin. She has a great resume and she just has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Hallmark. My guest today is the wonderfully talented Deb Cullen. Stay tuned. Deb Cullen. [00:03:27] Speaker B: James Aguiar. [00:03:29] Speaker A: The moment has come. You know, this cannot just be us laughing the whole time, right? This is. [00:03:36] Speaker B: Yes, we're gonna get this out of our system right now. [00:03:39] Speaker A: All right, so this is a very serious in depth exploration as to why the Hallmark Christmas movie is why we love it so much, why we hate it so much, why we love to hate it so much, why. Why they endure and how they've evolved and kind of some of our favorites. Past, present, and just a little bit of a walk. So I want to open this conversation for. With. [00:04:07] Speaker B: Well, let me stop you first and give a nod to your outfit. Santa right there. I'm loving it. [00:04:13] Speaker A: All right, let's knit. [00:04:14] Speaker B: But I also came Christmas. Ready, Jean? [00:04:18] Speaker A: Okay, little backstory. I made this for you. This is my Hallmark watching Christmas T shirt. I bedazzled it. I think I made this for you like 10 or 15 years ago. There's the globes. [00:04:31] Speaker B: The bedazzles have fallen off. But you. I mean. Yeah, so that's why. That's a bit of my crazy outfit there. [00:04:39] Speaker A: Well, listen, I mean, it's. It's important. And for me, that was the beginning of. These things are catching on. They're commercial. They're a brand within themselves. And I have a lot to say about that. But why do you think we love these movies? Not you and I, but we. The larger we. [00:04:59] Speaker B: You know, it's a good. I. I would rather speak to me. I like it because I don't know, in general, the full public. Because there is a following. Like, I heard you even talking about, like, there's a whole, like, straight guy group that apparently, which I'm like, I never heard about that. [00:05:17] Speaker A: That's a chat room. [00:05:18] Speaker B: I have an entertainer woman that would be a deal breaker, I think, if my. [00:05:22] Speaker A: Or a deal breaker. And a big red. [00:05:28] Speaker B: Him and his. Him and his 20 cats. Let's gather around and watch. Watch a Hallmark movie. [00:05:34] Speaker A: Deal breaker. Love it, love it, love it. Okay, speak for yourself. [00:05:37] Speaker B: But I started. So a really good friend of mine actually was super into them and she. We would make fun of her so much for like, whatever. And then I started watching them, like, I think she made us basically one time. And I, you know, at first it was just like, these are the greatest comedies out there. And they were like, just so serious. They're not trying to be funny. But I'm like, these are so fantastic. And Then like, I am so embarrassed to say, like, where I am at this point in the journey because like I watch these things and I am like eating them up. Like, like I'm laughing where they actually want me to laugh. At times I'm like, like I'm like, who have I become? Like, like I'm. I'm just gonna be 100 with you. Like, I still laugh and enjoy to laugh at them, but I am way more now on the. Like I'm into them. [00:06:31] Speaker A: We're full on critics and we've watched so many of these that not only do we know the actors, their backstories, what else they played, we also know the tropes and the archetypes and all of the things. And it's kind of a crime that we haven't written one, but we will. I think that that's in the future. What do you think they get really right? [00:06:54] Speaker B: What I think they get really right? Well, they plug into just the old fashioned nostalgia number one that everybody feels this time of year, which I do think that speaks to like the. More of like the broad kind of group. And I think they do that really well because like, to me the holidays do evoke a certain type of like something that like, you know, these movies do you have. But I do think like they've done a good job, dare I say, in evolving a little bit with the times. Like, I don't know if it was like the Candace Cameron Bure shakeup. [00:07:31] Speaker A: I talk about it all the time. [00:07:32] Speaker B: Talking about it like it's a scan, like it's this known scandal. But like I think when she left they became better. Yes. [00:07:40] Speaker A: Yeah, well, I talk about it all the time. There's b. What is it? Candace Cameron, BCC Bar and accb. And the. Before Candace Cameron. Yes. They. She almost had this kind of hold on the network. I mean there was like a power there and the whole thing. What I'm realizing is it's so old fashioned that it almost feels like the old Hollywood studio system. You know, where Paramount had actor. Sorry, you're killing me. It's the. Here, I'll do it too. [00:08:14] Speaker B: It's my peppermint latte with extra whipped cream. Of course. [00:08:19] Speaker A: Mine is a mocha chocolate with extra marshmallow. Anyway, so it's almost like. [00:08:26] Speaker B: Or to quote Candace Cameron Bure from the movie where she's in Garland. Can I get a latte with skim milk? A latte? [00:08:34] Speaker A: We don't have that. [00:08:35] Speaker B: We've never. We have whole milk and cocoa, pure sugar. [00:08:43] Speaker A: Okay, getting serious they almost do feel like a little bit like the old studio system of Paramount and Warner Brothers where actors were under contract and directors, you know, stood in the studio and wrote these things. And so there is that old fashioned kind of factory system to these that I think is pretty interesting. [00:09:02] Speaker B: It's funny that you bring that up because they definitely. So I think one major thing from like the old and this season. So for people like who don't watch as much like Hallmark. So let's see all the months of the year besides basically when Countdown to Christmas starts, like MSNBC is my background tv. And then. And then for this time of year it's just like. Cause I always have TV on. Like, it's just like I always need that background noise. So I have. I put Hallmark on as my default. And so it's been interesting, the move. They've been playing a lot of really old movies this year and so you can see the contrast a lot. Like they are. So they are like really serious. Like my God, there's. And now you didn't really like. It was just like very random. Maybe a Danica McKellar, you know, might pop up. Maybe, you know, an Alicia Witt. But what they. They flipped the script a bit and it's all. And now it's like they have a stable. They do have a stable on both sides, but the dudes are driving the network, basically. [00:10:08] Speaker A: Interesting. [00:10:09] Speaker B: Like. Mm. Which is smart if you think about it because who's. I mean, even though you. We talked about like there's a straight guy audience. [00:10:16] Speaker A: It is women and gay men. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Hunks of Hallmark is like a whole thing. [00:10:22] Speaker B: I mean it is a thing now. Like, and they. It's like you've got. It's embarrassing. I will say I will probably mess up some names, but I did look them up ahead of time. So I didn't. Because typically I have a friend who is like so ingrained into it and she can name them. Like you'll go. The guy with the brown hair. She'll be like Tyler Hines. [00:10:42] Speaker A: Oh my gosh. [00:10:43] Speaker B: Yeah, you've got your bad boy, you've got your funny one. You've got. I mean they've got all the different categories checked off. It's hilarious. But they actually are pretty good. Way back in the day it was. You'd maybe get a Mark Steinus. [00:10:57] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:11:00] Speaker B: But, but yeah, they have their own little studio system now. Yeah. [00:11:04] Speaker A: I was thinking about the, the archetype of the hunk of Hallmark. And. And while those sort of break do kind of have their own identity. And look, there is a common look which is that sort of romance novel, chiseled Neanderthal man, punk, just man. And I feel they've sort of, you know, gotten away from it. I was watching one the other day when Jonathan Bennett. It's so old. He was playing straight. [00:11:31] Speaker B: So. [00:11:32] Speaker A: No, no. So look that one up. [00:11:34] Speaker B: My God, that's. I might have. That might have been on because I was. Huh. That's an older. This seemed like an older one. But then Jonathan popped on. I mean, he is. Look, that's like the. I will say, like, you know, they're so old fashioned or whatever, but I do think they've gone with the times a little bit and Jonathan Bennett has helped them out big. I think he is, you know, driving the, the gay men bus and they're, they are open to it, you know, which is good. Some other, some other channels and I. [00:12:06] Speaker A: Mean we're not going to get into this. But Hallmark also drove the fact that Netflix is producing these now and Amazon is producing. [00:12:15] Speaker B: They're not as good. [00:12:16] Speaker A: They're not as good. [00:12:17] Speaker B: They're not. [00:12:18] Speaker A: Because they're maybe, I don't know, they're too good or something. I don't know. There's some. There's like too much production. [00:12:24] Speaker B: They're too produced. They're too like produced. And honestly, that is one of my favorite things about Hallmark because even as it's from old to new, there is still something that still will pop up that just delights me so much about it, which is how badly they can produce something. As a TV producer, I love it though. Set design is a really good one to hammer down on, which is the Royal movies. You know, they go to an empty big house and put like a table in there, you know. But the house has needed repairs for years and they put up some curtains and you know, and it's. This is the castle. [00:13:04] Speaker A: No, it's not. It's a shitty house. [00:13:07] Speaker B: I love in this day and age. They're still doing it. I, in fact I sent a photo in. I don't know if they have it to keep cue up of like a recent movie where they're on an airplane and I couldn't get over the set design for the. [00:13:24] Speaker A: Is this Christmas above the Clouds? [00:13:26] Speaker B: It certainly is Christmas above the. And I know you just talked about it. Yes. [00:13:30] Speaker A: Okay. [00:13:30] Speaker B: Like I was like, are they trying to pass this off as airplane. As first flats on an airplane? [00:13:37] Speaker A: Okay. I talked about this in the podcast because all the edges were so sharp and I. I feared for these people flying this airline. It just seemed so unsafe in every stretch of the imagination. [00:13:51] Speaker B: This is supposed to be first class. It was two. [00:13:54] Speaker A: It would be. [00:13:55] Speaker B: It wasn't even full office dividers. They were half one, so you could see right into the next thing, and then two, and it'd be like chairs that look like they were in a doctor's waiting office. Like they're not. And then it looked like almost like a file cabinet not next to them. It was so amazing. Those are the things that make me stop and laugh. And I just still delight in it so much. [00:14:18] Speaker A: All right, so let's. Then let's dig into that a little bit, because for me, there are some things that drive me crazy. And I'll lead off with one. And I don't understand it. And by the way, thank you for sending that photo. And you're such a TV producer. Yeah, let's just go to the clip. So great. [00:14:35] Speaker B: Can you believe this was even. I just took that picture because I probably was gonna just send you as a joke, saying, please look at first class, like. Cause I just. And then I never did. And it worked out that we have the podcast. [00:14:49] Speaker A: All right, so the thing that drives me crazy, and it is from the beginning of the Hallmark to now, is the empty coffee cup. So there are scenes. Sometimes they pile the. You know, the whipped cream on when they're sitting, but when they're walking, it's empty. [00:15:08] Speaker B: It looks empty. [00:15:13] Speaker A: It's the empty coffee cup. It's the empty luggage. It's the. Like, we don't even care enough to fill the coffee cup with water to give it weight. [00:15:22] Speaker B: Yes. This is what I'm talking about. This is the stuff that I love so much. It drives you crazy. But let's. The funniest again, that goes under set design. Like, for me, too. It's like, it's really. I almost feel like they just decide we're gonna put our money elsewhere. [00:15:38] Speaker A: To what? [00:15:39] Speaker B: Way back in the day, it used to be, like, we used to watch it and go with unknown actresses and be like. They decided they're putting all. Like, if Mark Steinas was in a movie, they're like. They put all their budget into getting Marc Steinis. They didn't pay for her hair and makeup. She had to do it herself. [00:15:53] Speaker A: What. What is it about? Is there anything, like, any trope that keeps coming up in these through the years that you're. Make it stop. [00:16:01] Speaker B: I'm trying to think. I just discovered recently. And we'll get into this more when we talk about our favorites, which I was shocked by myself, actually, is that I must be really into the time travel type of thing. [00:16:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:18] Speaker B: I didn't realize it until I stopped and really took a good look at some of the movies I was picking. [00:16:24] Speaker A: That says so much about us. Wait till you hear mine. Let's just say three of them are royal. [00:16:30] Speaker B: I don't. I don't. The royals are, to me, their toughest franchise, or I guess franchise, I don't know what you call it, but they. They are very hit or miss for me. [00:16:42] Speaker A: I love every single one of them. For everything we're talking about. Production, costume design, continuity, a sovereign nation that doesn't exist, and the names they come up with. [00:16:54] Speaker B: I know. I love it all in theory. I do, too know what it is. They rarely put their best people in it. There's always these. I just had this conversation. This is. This is a really. What this is starting to be like for me is an introspective into my life and conversations I'm having outside of this. But I was just having a conversation that basically, about the guys they cast as royal. Really? I don't understand the choices they're making there. [00:17:25] Speaker A: Well, if you think about royalty, there is a little bit of a inbreeding situation. So I do think that a lot of the royals that they cast, the actors have that quality. Like, is he okay? [00:17:39] Speaker B: Yeah. I rarely find. I will say, like, right now, just upfront, I don't find many of the guys I'm not attracted to. That's also not my thing like. Or why I like the movies. But the royal ones, there is. They definitely lean into what I think they're trying to think Scandinavian looking or it's. But it's not Scandinavian, because Scandinavian guys, I think a lot of them are. [00:18:03] Speaker A: I think it's like. And this goes for a lot of these men and certainly the relationships, there's a sexlessness to them. There's a Kendall. I don't have any genitalia, so it's okay. You know what I mean? They're so. Chase is not the right word. They're so. It is literally like Barbie royal guys. [00:18:23] Speaker B: Or the royal guys are in general. [00:18:25] Speaker A: Well, I think the men have gotten hotter. I mean, you know, I do that segment, like, who would you fuck? But there is that sort of like, Barbie and Ken play thing, like, me, me, me. You know, when you used to do that with your Barbies and Kens, but obviously nothing's happening. [00:18:39] Speaker B: They really, like, they have a very narrow look as to what you look like if you're a royal. [00:18:46] Speaker A: Right. [00:18:46] Speaker B: Even the people they cast as like the queens, you know, all that they have nailed it. You know, Jane Seymour did one. You know, that was a score for them. [00:18:56] Speaker A: That may or may not be on my list. I'm just saying. [00:18:59] Speaker B: Oh my God. And then like, look Andrew. Andrew Walker, who's one of the hunks of Hallmark. I mean he's in the top tier and he just. He did one, I think a year ago or so where he was the reluctant royal and he was an American who's so he. That was good. But in general, yeah, there's this. There's a type they're going for and it's not working for me. [00:19:21] Speaker A: Okay. [00:19:22] Speaker B: And that now. And it loses me then in the plot. I'm just not into the actors, so I'm done. [00:19:27] Speaker A: So let's get into the. Where you think they were, where you think they are now. And what is the biggest change from the beginning to now? [00:19:37] Speaker B: The tone 150%. I just saw no joke probably this past weekend, I think the first Hallmark movie I ever saw. Which was. What was it? Alicia Witt. I probably wrote it down somewhere. I think it's like. It's a Mary. A Mary. Mary mix up. [00:19:55] Speaker A: That might be my number one. We got. We have got to get to this list. [00:19:59] Speaker B: But yes, I know so that like. But in watching that it is so serious. So serious. Not to mention the amount of. Now look, all of them, basically. But there are so many holes that. [00:20:12] Speaker A: You can drive a train through. Yes. [00:20:14] Speaker B: Not plot line. But she just goes home with that on your list. [00:20:19] Speaker A: That's my next podcast. So that will. By the time we do this, that will be up a very merry mix up is the last one we do. [00:20:26] Speaker B: Okay. Amazing. Basically there's that till now and you've got the three wise men or movies like that that have a humorous now look. You can use humor lightly or how you like. But like this is where I say I've gone soft. I find those adorable. And. And they are definitely. Yeah. Is it like the great. Is it the comedy writing of which I typically prefer? No. But for Hallmark feel like tonally they've made a big leap and commitment to being. Trying to be funny. Yeah. [00:21:02] Speaker A: And I think for me, I think the biggest change is these franchise ideas that these things now can have sequels and prequels and they live as kind of episodic series. And so I think that they've gotten the tone of how we watch or consume content and television 100% right. [00:21:24] Speaker B: I watched for the very first time last night, I was waiting for something to come on tv. And so I literally then went to my default of let's just see what movie's on Hallmark. And it was the finale of. What's the show with Jonathan? [00:21:40] Speaker A: Oh, like a Bachelor. [00:21:41] Speaker B: Finding Mr. Christmas. Finding Mr. Christmas. Christmas. Never watched it, of course. Watch the entire hour of the finale. But I thought the same thing. I mean, the franchises in general, I had that. I had that on my list of just changes. But yes, in the TV that they're doing, like, they're kind of. They're one of the few not to be too inside tv, but they're one of the few cable channels right now that's doing original programming that they're kind of catching up. They're like, oh, yeah, let's do a reality show. You know? And it was. I mean, honestly, it wasn't. It wasn't too bad. [00:22:15] Speaker A: Love it. [00:22:16] Speaker B: Love it. Yeah. [00:22:17] Speaker A: Let's get to our picks. These are our. [00:22:20] Speaker B: I have one thing I want to add really quick. Tell me, though. Tell me, because we were talking about. What was the one above the clouds. [00:22:26] Speaker A: Yeah, Christmas above the clouds. [00:22:28] Speaker B: Yeah. So I didn't see all of it. I thought this season, by the way, was a bit hit or miss for me in general. And that one, in theory, should have been a home run. When you're putting Tyler Hines, who is probably their biggest sell, you know, like, these women go, not he's the bad boy. And then Aaron, it's not Krakow. It's. It's. [00:22:51] Speaker A: Yeah, I pronounced it. [00:22:52] Speaker B: She says it a lot differently than you would have thought. But she's like the Jennifer Garner of the network. And they put. You know. But it was. I kind of, like, I was watched a little. Didn't watch some. So I didn't see a lot of it. So your recap helped. Oh, I'm gonna have to go back. Cause I missed any of Timmy's scenes, and now I have to see him. But the funny thing is that when you were talking about Timmy having asthma, I was like, wait, why does that sound familiar? And then I recalled that there's another movie from a few years ago. It's with Tyler Hines and Bethany Lentz. The one from One Tree Hill, I think it's called An Unexpected Christmas. They basically, the governor is gonna be coming to town and making a big speech on Christma. But that day, guess what happens? [00:23:41] Speaker A: A kid dies of asthma. [00:23:43] Speaker B: She has to. She can't stay in town. She's got to rush home because her son has had an asthma attack. And she starts her speech. So then they show her speech. She does it from her home, saying, I'm sorry I can't be there in the great town of blah, blah, blah, but my son had an asthma. [00:24:01] Speaker A: Okay, so what? [00:24:02] Speaker B: That always literally made me laugh so hard. That's their go to. That's their go to child. [00:24:10] Speaker A: Yes. And that probably tested fine. You can't do cancer, you can't do leukemia. Asthma we can get away with. I love it. All right, let's get to the top five. And you and I research this. How do you want to do this? Like five, five, four? Four or one? [00:24:27] Speaker B: You do. You. You wanna do like your number five and I do my number five and then you go back and forth. All right. [00:24:34] Speaker A: Number five for me is A Royal Christmas. It's a 2014American holiday romance directed by Alex Am and starring Lacey Chabert, Stephen Hagan and Jane Seymour. So we already talked about it, but for me, it's all about the royal, the princess story that for some reason people still love. I think it sounds like a horrible life and I think that's why I like these things. But anyway, that's my top five. What's yours? [00:25:05] Speaker B: Well, by the way, in terms of royals, you picked one with Lacey. That's like a. That's also a one off, you know, like, she's not, like, typically they're not. It's Lacey and Jane Seymour. So, I mean, come on. They stack the deck there. I went with an OG for number five, too, because I just felt like I needed to give some sort of nod to the early days, but I had. I couldn't decide between. Now you really did your homework in terms of what it. Who had starred and everything. But I went with Christmas. [00:25:35] Speaker A: Epem, what's the gist? [00:25:38] Speaker B: I think it's like Pride and Prejudice. [00:25:41] Speaker A: So there's a Darcy involved. [00:25:43] Speaker B: It was with the girl who was on the new 90210 and then she transitioned over to Hallmark. So I thought that was very edgy. And then I thought the guy I did, he wasn't your typical Hallmark guy. And I thought he was. I did think he was kind of cute. You're gonna see a recurring theme in some of my picks. [00:26:07] Speaker A: Ok, I love it. [00:26:08] Speaker B: But that one. Or Snow Bride, which was James, do you know snow? Yes. Because I was like, you would love Snow Bride. [00:26:15] Speaker A: I love Snow Bride. [00:26:16] Speaker B: It's like a tabloid. She's supposed to be like, yeah, yeah, okay. All right. [00:26:22] Speaker A: Number four for me, keeping with it is Crown for Christmas. For some reason it's not. It's not a crown for Christmas. It's called Crown for Christmas. After getting fired from her job as a maid at a New York City hotel, Allie reluctantly accepts a temporary gig as a governess to a young girl who's part of a powerful family in Europe. This is danieller, and it's a classic. And I think that this had the mulligatawny stew, which is what lured the, you know, aide to bring her to this sovereign nation. For me, that's everything. It's a total ripoff of Made in Manhattan. It's a total rom com ripoff and just put Royal in it. And it's a movie. So that's my number four. [00:27:07] Speaker B: She gets the job. You didn't. You failed to mention. She gets the job because she finds the prince's watch. [00:27:16] Speaker A: Right. [00:27:16] Speaker B: And returns it. And they track her down at her apartment and then offer her the job. Her humble apartment where she is taking care of her two siblings. [00:27:30] Speaker A: All right, what's your number four? [00:27:31] Speaker B: Okay. My number four is Christmas in Rome. [00:27:35] Speaker A: See, now, I don't like these because the budgets get too big. [00:27:38] Speaker B: Well. Well, so what? That's number. So first of all, this one. Talk about budgets here. This is a big budget. Lacey Chabert. [00:27:48] Speaker A: Yes. [00:27:48] Speaker B: Queen Sam Page. [00:27:50] Speaker A: Yes. [00:27:50] Speaker B: Sam Page, who was my number one hallmark. He didn't really do much, but that was my introduction to him. And actually, I just rewatched it recently. I don't quite know why. How I had such strong feelings. Page rewatching it, but he is. I mean, he's adorable. And then it was one of the first that they actually shot on location. [00:28:12] Speaker A: Right, too. [00:28:13] Speaker B: Like, I mean, no green screen, like, no fake town. Like they were in Rome. Lacy. That was when Lacy got all the. All the location shoots. [00:28:21] Speaker A: Yep. Well, listen. And I think she's in Disney now doing the first one filmed in Walt Disney. [00:28:27] Speaker B: I saw that. And by the way, now they're shooting all over and every. They just had one this year that was Christmas in the app, and they were on location, like. Yeah, like things are looking up. [00:28:38] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, I love it. All right, I'm going to my number three. Keeping with the theme. It is a royal Montana Christmas. It's on the countdown to Christmas this year. It's the first one we recapped on the pod. Overwhelmed by her royal duties, Princess Victoria of Galarnia goes to big sky country and meets a hunk. And it's all of the things that I love, which is the cowboy and the princess. And it's. It's Everything. It's almost like a throwback one. And, you know, they got to keep putting these out, too. Filmed, by the way, in. In Canada as a stand in for. For Montana. But it was beautiful. [00:29:16] Speaker B: Well, that. I mean, Montana and Canada is a good. Is good swap out. Yeah, I knew. That's so funny. You love that cowboy in that one. [00:29:25] Speaker A: I kind of did love that cowboy. Did it show. Yeah. Yeah. [00:29:29] Speaker B: Okay. My number three is a little ditty called Good Morning, Christmas. [00:29:35] Speaker A: Good Morning, Christmas. Is this. Wait, wait. Does this take place at a network television morning show? [00:29:43] Speaker B: Well, yes and no. It is a network television show, but they go on location to a small town in Connecticut. It's Alison Sweeney. [00:29:51] Speaker A: Yes. [00:29:51] Speaker B: I don't remember the gent, but this plays into a humongous reason. It goes along the lines of set dressing, of why, of things I love sometimes about Hallmark movies, which is I love when they do something that is TV based. Based in my occupation, because it is like, oh, simplified. So there was, like, a live morning show, and there would be, like, one crew member, the two of them, three people in the audience, and they're like, okay, and we're going live in 3, 2, 1. And then, like, they go, good morning and great to see you. How was your day? Great. And they're like, and that's a wrap. And I'm like, wa. [00:30:32] Speaker A: It's why I love the fashion ones. [00:30:35] Speaker B: I was gonna ask you, do you feel the same way about, like, the fashion ones? [00:30:38] Speaker A: 300%. And I'm gonna, you know, skip real quick. Fast forward to my number two, which is going way back. Shoe addicts Christmas. [00:30:50] Speaker B: I was wondering. Yes. [00:30:53] Speaker A: All right, so we went with the Candace Cameron Beret and Jean Smart. How did they get Jean Smart in there? That must have been, like, right before the Jean Smart Smart renaissance. Anyway, Noelle, a holiday hater, becomes locked in a department store on Christmas Eve. Love that. She meets a woman, Jean Smart. She identifies as Noel's guardian and introduces Noel to several ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future. So again, the Dickensian, you know, shakedown. [00:31:24] Speaker B: By the way, not only Jean smart, also Luke McFarland. [00:31:28] Speaker A: Wow, you're right. You're right. This is scary, Deb. This is a really scary conversation. All right, what's your number? [00:31:37] Speaker B: Things that my brain stores. Okay. My number two. Okay. I don't think you're not gonna like this one. Probably, but I went all in on the Wise Men trilogy. [00:31:49] Speaker A: Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that because you love these hunks. And for me, I don't know. I just there's not one of the. [00:31:57] Speaker B: Hunks punks in this. And they. Arguably, they are the three guys of the. There's not one of them, though, that I actually think that is cute. Tyler, kind of. But it drives. He drives me nuts. Like, with. He's trying too hard. He's trying to be that guy. But in general, no, I just think that there's a good chemistry. And they actually. Every single one of them. I went into Eyes Rolled. First one, you gotta be kidding me. Well, I thought that was cute. And then the second one, I'm like, there's no way they made a sequel to this movie. So I think they did a good job with it and I enjoyed it. [00:32:36] Speaker A: I knew you were gonna say it, and I get it. And I think I have to revisit that particular franchise. [00:32:42] Speaker B: Right? Look, you gotta leave your. You can't be a comedy snob when you watch those movies. Like, you gotta like. I just like, like, put on, like, the mom pants, the dad pants, and just, like, enjoy it. But if you can, you know, that's just with all the Hallmark movies, you just kind of put all that aside. [00:33:00] Speaker A: And just before I get to my number one, you bring up a really good point. Because comedians that we love. Rachel Dratch and Anna Gasteyer did a spoof, one that wasn't as good as the ones they were spoofing. You know what I mean? So, like, when you get. [00:33:15] Speaker B: But you know who did one. Remember when Will Ferrell did A Lifetime that wasn't a Hallmark like that, but like, in that vein. Which was. That was good. Him and Kristen Wii, I think. [00:33:25] Speaker A: Yep, you're right. Number one in the Hallmark. [00:33:29] Speaker B: Drumroll, drumroll. [00:33:31] Speaker A: Hallmark hall of Fame for me. [00:33:34] Speaker B: You. [00:33:35] Speaker A: We talked about it earlier. A very merry mix up. A woman goes to spend Christmas with her fiance's family, but ends up at the wrong house. House girl. You stupid. You stupid girl. How do you not know? And even in that. What I don't remember. When it was 2013, we had cell phones, we had the Internet. Girl is at the wrong house and of course loves it. Anyway, I did recap it, and it's Alicia Witt. It is for me. She is the quintessential darling. I don't care about Lacy. I don't care about Danika. Alicia Witt will forever be my hall of fame Christmas goddess. [00:34:19] Speaker B: You are. I am more shocked about your Alicia Witt statement than I am about your pick for Mary Mix up as number one. [00:34:30] Speaker A: Because for me, Alicia Witt can go from being very, very Sweet to very funny to very girlish to very empowered, to like in the blink of an eye, like, girl has range. So that's why she's my number one. All right, Deb Cullen, what is your number one pick in your Holiday hall of Fame? Hallmark. [00:34:54] Speaker B: Do you have any guesses or you want me to just go right in? [00:34:57] Speaker A: I was gonna say Three Men and a Wise Baby. Three Wise Men and a Baby, but you already went there, so I don't have. I thought that would be your number one. [00:35:05] Speaker B: My number one pick for Hallmark hall of Fame for the entirety of however many years is a movie that stars one Christopher Puawa. I can't say his last name, but I liken him to the George Clooney of Hallmark. And then it also stars what you say of Alicia Witt. I think of this girl in Hallmark, which is Bethany Lynch. [00:35:31] Speaker A: Yes. [00:35:32] Speaker B: And it is Christmas at Biltmore. [00:35:35] Speaker A: This is, this is high on the list of many. And just give me a quick sum up of what that plot is. [00:35:42] Speaker B: Okay, so it's a time travel where a girl basically is a. She is a film writer and she is trying to write. I can't remember now if she's trying to write a redo of it or a biography about it. But she goes back to. They're at the Biltmore for this weekend. They want her to try to channel the vibes of it where they filmed this famous movie years ago. And basically she finds they have all these kind of artifacts or, you know, memorabilia from the movie. And one of which is a. What do they call those things with like the, you know, the hourglass. [00:36:21] Speaker A: Yes, yes, yes. [00:36:23] Speaker B: And they find there's an hourglass. And so when she turns it, she's transported back to the movie set back in the. I don't know if we're in the fizz or fizz. But then she gets there and they're like. And they think she's part of the movie. She says she's an extra named Sandra Bullock on the fly. She's lost Sandra Bullock. And it. I mean, there's something that's kind of funny about it later when they're like Sandra Bullock, like, you know, and Christopher Puawa is very much of that era too. He is, is a leading man, I'll tell you. He is like just a throwback and he's nice and, and tall as well. And I think he's got this voice, but he's very. He gives you like that old fashioned vibe. And him and Bethany were very good. Highly recommended. [00:37:10] Speaker A: I'm gonna end my season with that. Deb Cullen, I cannot thank you enough for coming on. We have been talking about these things for too long. Your insight, your encyclopedic knowledge. We really need to teach a course at university, right? [00:37:27] Speaker B: I mean, I wonder if there is. You know, how I'm sure there is somewhere a on Hallmark movies, sadly enough at this point in time. [00:37:35] Speaker A: Deb, thank you so much. Have a merry Christmas. And next time, next time I see you, we're going to bump into each other with our cocos. Cheers. [00:37:46] Speaker B: Here's to a merry Christmas. [00:37:47] Speaker A: Merry Christmas. Love you. [00:37:48] Speaker B: Love you. Bye.