Dear Movies, I Love You

Christmas Movie Bonanza with Alonso Duralde

Hosts: Millie De Chirico & Casey O'Brien
Guest: Alonso Duralde (film critic, author of Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas)
Release Date: December 16, 2025

Episode Overview

This festive episode brings the "king of Christmas" movies, Alonso Duralde, for an in-depth, joyful, and slightly irreverent exploration of holiday cinema. The hosts and Alonso dissect Christmas songs and movies, debate what makes a Christmas movie, discuss Hallmark’s massive holiday empire, and swap favorite and oddball recommendations. The conversation is both critical and deeply enthusiastic, blending nostalgia, critique, and celebration of how cinema shapes and reflects collective ideas of Christmas.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Holiday Music Warm-Up

(02:09–14:20)

• Favorite Christmas Songs:

  • Millie loves “Christmas Wrapping” by the Waitresses and “Last Christmas” by Wham!. She finds some 80s/90s Christmas songs hit her "right in the feels", especially narrative-driven tracks.
    • Memorable Moment: “Are you a demon if you hate Last Christmas?” – Millie (05:49)
  • Casey appreciates “River” by Joni Mitchell, relating it to his own experiences as a transplant in LA.
  • Alonso’s era is mid-century: Andy Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra, Bing Crosby. But he singles out Tracy Thorn’s “Joy” as a modern classic that “knocks him flat”.
  • Lively discussion on divisive holiday songs (e.g., “Christmas Shoes”) and how certain tracks become perennial.
  • Notable Quote:
    “I think the last sort of universally beloved Christmas jam was probably Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Underneath the Tree.’” – Alonso (07:11)

• Will We Ever Get Another All-Star Christmas Song?

  • Millie wonders if the era of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” charity supergroup songs could happen again.
  • Alonso and Casey argue the monoculture is gone due to media fragmentation and new cynicism post-celebrity “Imagine” video.
    • Quote: “I think this is sort of the end of a monoculture moment... You’d have Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo in a room with Bob Dylan and no one is coming away with everybody in that room, you know?” – Alonso (10:36)

2. Film Diary & Recent Movie Watches

(19:46–27:32)

• Hosts share movies from their “Film Diary”, with Alonso providing his always-prolific critic’s highlights:
  • Millie: Dead Man’s Wire (dir. Gus Van Sant) – True crime, ‘70s vibes, lots of screeners for awards season.
  • Casey: The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) – “Fine”, notes the franchise is running out of steam; Star Trek: First Contact (1996) – fun but less satisfying than the show.
  • Alonso:
    • BLK NWS: Terms and Conditions – “An essay documentary about Black history and futurism… dense with ideas, feels like an album.” (25:15)
    • The Housemaid (Paul Feig, w/ Amanda Seyfried & Sydney Sweeney) – “If you liked A Simple Favor… surprises around every corner… the less you know the better.” (26:16)

3. What Makes a Christmas Movie?

(28:07–35:34)

• Genre Boundaries & The "Die Hard Debate"

  • Alonso: “Apart from I will absolutely die on the hill of Die Hard is a fucking Christmas movie and let’s drop it already…” (28:30)
  • The essence of Christmas films is less about explicit Christmas-ness and more about redemption arcs and togetherness, echoing A Christmas Carol.
    • “Ebenezer Scrooge, George Bailey, and Kevin McCallister all have the same arc.” – Alonso (30:05)
  • Films only partially set at Christmas (e.g., Meet Me in St. Louis, Eyes Wide Shut) still count because of key Christmas scenes.

• Perennial Tropes & Why They Work

  • The “everyone dances” moment, packed full houses, and feel-good finales acclaimed as classics of the form.
  • “A thing I find myself enjoying lately is these sort of like where people start dancing in a Christmas movie...” – Alonso (31:38)
  • Modern Christmas movies (e.g., Hallmark) are “pre–Bowling Alone” fantasies of thick community ties, appealing as real-life social networks shrink.

4. The Emotional Pull of Christmas Entertainment

(40:01–45:02)

• Hosts reminisce about growing up with Christmas classics on TV.
• The importance of Christmas television specials (A Muppet Family Christmas, Beavis & Butthead holiday specials) as a venue for nostalgia and makeshift family.
• Casey and Alonso reflect on longing for community depicted on screen, especially as adults who work remotely.
  • “I think these movies have always kind of presented a certain sense of, like, you know, giving you a taste of [community], even if it’s not really happening for you.” – Alonso (43:45)

5. Alonso’s Christmas Movie Obsession & The Explosion of the Genre

(45:03–56:36)

• Origin Story:
  Alonso’s lifelong appetite for Christmas movies and writing his definitive book, Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas.
• The Hallmark Juggernaut:
  • Hallmark holiday movies’ surge since the mid-2010s—now year-round content with fierce fans, podcasts, conventions (“Christmas Con”).
  • Quote: “I needed to stop watching the news so much… these movies, they are all about these women who are obsessed with the business of business business, but then they learn to love Christmas.” – Alonso (55:35)

6. Hallmark and Modern Christmas Movie Culture

(48:57–56:08)

Hallmark Movie Recommendations for Newbies (49:23–52:43)

• Crashing Through the Snow – “Smart about divided families… kind of hot for a Hallmark movie.”
• Two Turtle Doves – “Actually talks about grief and melancholy, which is rare for Hallmark.”
• Round and Round (Hanukkah) – “Groundhog Day situation, really funny and smart, even my Hallmark-hating husband admits it’s pretty terrific.”

Hallmark Fandom Frenzy

• Fans revisit years past (“They have it broken down by year on the Hallmark streaming service…” – Alonso (53:15))
• “Hall Stars” at conventions: Tyler Hynes (“the queen is Lacey Chabert”), Nikki DeLoach, Ashley Williams, many Canadian actors.

7. Is There Room Left For a New Universal Christmas Classic?

(56:08–60:39)

• Despite many excellent recent films, fragmentation of viewing habits and media landscape mean it’s nearly impossible for a new “classic” (like Elf or Love Actually) to enter the collective canon.
  • “One could say yes, we haven’t had a movie since Love Actually and Elf in 2003, you know, that really have entered the canon in that way. But I think it’s just because, again, the canon ain’t what it used to be…” – Alonso (57:56)
• Christmas movies now thrive on streaming; theatrical runs are rare and often just a bridge to home viewing.

8. Directors Who Should Make a Christmas Movie

(61:15–62:39)

• Dream projects:
  • “I would give my back teeth for a Wes Anderson Christmas.” – Alonso (61:15)
  • Wishlist includes Baz Luhrmann (Christmas musical), Wong Kar Wai, and a film about Japanese KFC Christmas traditions.

9. Alonso’s Book: Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas

(63:54–70:00)

• Update Motivation: More movies, new discoveries, and inspiration from other studios revising their guides.
• Book Structure: Organized by genres and micro-genres (“whatever kind of movie you like, it butts up against Christmas somewhere”).
• Guilty Holiday Pleasures:
  • Santa with Muscles (1996) starring Hulk Hogan—infamously odd and produced by Jordan Belfort (the “Wolf of Wall Street”)—becomes an instant must-see oddity.
    • “It’s bananas… It feels like 8 year olds hopped up on Nestlé Quick really just… went to town on this script.” – Alonso (68:31)
  • Blast of Silence – existential noir set at Christmas, recently restored by Criterion.
    • “It’s so dark… and Christmasy…” – Alonso (71:17)

10. Personal Top 3 Christmas Movies

(72:23–77:24)

• Millie’s Picks:
  • The Silent Partner (1978) – “Christopher Plummer as Santa Claus committing crimes… cracks me up.”
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas – “Maybe the most heartwarming.”
  • All That Heaven Allows (1955) – “Wintry, with the worst gift-giver kids in history!”
• Casey’s Picks:
  • A Christmas Story (1983) – “Nostalgic Midwest vibes.”
  • Metropolitan (1990) – “Love the ‘party’ Christmas movies.”
  • Fanny and Alexander – “We try to emulate the Christmas house.”
• Alonso’s Picks:
  • It’s a Wonderful Life – (“I’m an American and I’m not made of stone.”)
  • Desk Set (Hepburn/Tracy)
  • Scrooge (1970; musical with Albert Finney)

11. Employee Picks & Offbeat Holiday Movie Recommendations

(77:24–80:40)

• Millie: Black Christmas (1974) – “Legit scary moments, great characters, hilarious house mother with a drinking problem.”
• Casey: Feast of the Seven Fishes (2019) – “Heartwarming, tradition-filled Italian-American Christmas, hits the itch.”
• Alonso: Christmas, Again (make sure it’s the one with a comma!) – “Chilly, understated, beautiful drama about a Christmas tree salesman.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Are you a demon if you hate Last Christmas?” – Millie (05:49)
• “I always say that Ebenezer Scrooge, George Bailey, and Kevin McCallister all have the same arc.” – Alonso (30:05)
• “They are all about these women who are obsessed with the business of business business, but then they learn to love Christmas.” – Alonso (55:35)
• On Santa with Muscles: “It feels like 8 year olds hopped up on Nestlé Quick really just… went to town on this script.” – Alonso (68:31)
• “I would give my back teeth for a Wes Anderson Christmas.” – Alonso (61:15)

Timestamps for Important Sections

• Favorite Christmas Songs (04:25–11:45)
• The “Monoculture” & Christmas All-Star Songs (09:54–11:39)
• Film Diary/New Watches (19:46–27:32)
• What Makes a Christmas Movie? (28:07–31:19)
• Hallmark 101 & Recommendations (49:23–52:43)
• The Fate of New Christmas Classics (56:08–60:39)
• Directors’ Christmas Movie Wish List (61:15–62:39)
• Santa With Muscles Discussion (67:57–69:35)
• Top 3 Christmas Movies (72:23–77:24)
• Employee Picks/Recommendations (77:24–80:40)

Tone & Vibe

The episode is warm, witty, and deeply affectionate toward cinema, with plenty of dry humor (“We can’t have nice things… Not anymore.” – Alonso (11:47)), and nostalgic tangents. The self-deprecating, enthusiastic tone makes the podcast inviting for both cinephiles and casual viewers. The hosts and guest balance critical rigor with giddy love for the weirdest and warmest corners of holiday film.

Where to Find More

• Follow Dear Movies, I Love You: @dearmoviesiloveyou on Instagram and Facebook
• Alonso Duralde: On Instagram, Bluesky, and author of Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas (revised & expanded edition out now)
• Podcast available on: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts

Summary prepared for film fans seeking fresh recommendations, critical holiday context, and lively banter about the movies that make the season bright!