Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade

Episode: "Christmas Prep Episode???"
Date: December 8, 2025

Episode Overview

In this Monday episode, Dana Carvey and David Spade jump into a whirlwind of holiday banter, current pop culture, and audience questions, all with their signature rapid-fire wit. They unpack Christmas traditions, dissect Hollywood's approach to holiday films, lampoon movie award bait, and riff on viral internet oddities. The duo moves from absurdist humor to surprisingly thoughtful takes on seasonal nostalgia, mainstream movies, Gen Z fads, social media, and the accelerating weirdness of AI.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Holiday and Christmas Culture

• The Evolving “War on Christmas”
  Dana laments the perceived downgrading of Christmas in public events, sharing a story about a mall tree-lighting that avoided the word ‘Christmas’ entirely ([08:36]):

  • “It said tree lighting ceremony and they were careful not to say the word Christmas during the whole ceremony.” — Spade ([08:52])
  • The hosts discuss how many religious and secular people actually embrace the holiday’s symbols, and riff on America’s Christmas music dominance.
  • Quote: “Everyone loves Santa and the tree.” — Carvey ([09:36])

• Christmas Songs (and Who Wins)

  • The duo goof off singing “Jingle Bells” and debate why Christian holiday music is so much catchier ([10:55]).
  • “Silent Night, Jingle Bells, I mean, come on. It’s not a close call.” — Carvey ([10:58])

Movie Hot Takes & Hollywood Stories

• Strong (and Hilarious) Opinions about “Avatar” and James Cameron

  • Spade questions James Cameron’s dedication:
    • “I don't know if I would give up my life for 22 years to make three movies about the Smurfs.” ([11:47])
  • Carvey recounts an audition for The Smurfs and negotiating himself out of it ([12:04]).
  • They discuss the box office phenomena of Cameron’s movies, his infamous dealmaking (including George Lucas’ “Star Wars” toy rights), and the “string pullers” theme—rich vs. working class in Titanic and colonizers vs. natives in Avatar ([15:32], [17:03]).
    • “It's a psychological theme that people enjoy… rich people are miserable… slobs vs. snobs… native people are good, greedy corporations are bad.” — Carvey ([17:03])

• Movie Preferences & The Allure of Old Hollywood

  • Dana shares his nostalgia for older films and classic actors ([22:51]):
    • “Big movie stars meant something. It’s so cool—Redford, Paul Newman, superstars.” ([23:19])
  • Carvey’s “wisdom alert”: “Everything you get in life, you give up something and everything you give up, you get something.” ([23:57])

• Biopic Juxtaposition (Bob Dylan vs. Bruce Springsteen)

  • David and Dana bounce between the recent Dylan and Springsteen films, weighing authenticity and performance ([31:04]):
    • “Who did it better? The Bob Dylan pic… or Springsteen biopic with Jeremy Allen?” — Spade ([31:18])
    • Both agree Dylan's is “the typical hacky answer” but praise Springsteen for difficulty ([32:14]-[32:25])

Pop Culture Potpourri

• The Horror of “Wicked” and Scary Movies for Kids

  • They riff on the “scary for kids” critique of the new Wicked movie ([25:28]):
    • Spade: “The Wizard of Oz…scared me when I was five, so I never saw it again. I saw it the other day. Scared me again.” ([26:01])
    • Dana tells an old stand-up bit (“The X-Rated Wizard of Oz”): “Oil my ass, oil my ass…” ([29:09])

• Internet & Viral Weirdness

  • 1.7 million Facebook users roleplaying as ants becomes a running gag ([50:27]):
    • “1.7 million people are currently role playing as ants on Facebook. I like this one.” — Spade ([50:29])

• The Kardashians & Reality TV

  • They marvel at the entrepreneurial genius of the Kardashians, particularly their ability to “stir the algorithm” with new product launches, like padded bodysuits ([53:29]):
    • “The thing that I remember when people would say early on, what do they do? What are the Kardashians do? They're brilliant.” — Carvey ([53:29])
  • They joke about the fakeness of appearances (cucumbers/“peckless” outfits for men) and the evolution of TikTok-style fame ([55:00]).

• AI: Comedy, Pranks, and Existential Dread

  • Dana experiments with AI video software, sees it as transformative for film creation ([47:39]).
  • Spade expresses concern over AI-generated content/pranks (using AI to “fake” evidence of wrongdoing) and legal implications ([48:14]–[50:13]):
    • “If you show them robbing something and they say, can you prove it’s not AI? …You officially can’t really believe anything you see.” — Carvey ([50:08])

• News Oddities

  • Kim Kardashian’s “low brain activity” scan becomes a jumping-off point for riffing on stress, MRI experiences, and the explosion of anxiety diagnoses ([38:27]).
  • Latest in tech: contacts that enable night vision and allegedly let users see “creatures” invisible to the naked eye, quickly devolving into UFO and cryptid jokes ([57:04]–[58:12]).

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On James Cameron’s endless sequels:
  “My interest has waned over the 22 centuries that they've been making the next five.” — Spade ([22:33])

• Dana’s stand-up roots:
  “My almost one of my very first standup bits…the X-rated Wizard of Oz.” ([28:44])

• On AI’s future impact:
  “You officially can't really believe anything you see.” — Carvey ([50:08])

• On the Kardashians’ business model:
  “The thing that I remember when people would say early on, what do they do?...They're brilliant…they’re business people.” — Carvey ([53:29])

• Biting wisdom:
  “Everything you get in life, you give up something and everything you give up, you get something. Discuss amongst yourselves.” — Carvey ([23:57])

Key Segments & Timestamps

• [05:21] – Transition from ad reads to actual episode content
• [08:36 – 10:27] – Discussion on Christmas’ cultural standing and secular/faith approaches
• [11:35 – 17:54] – Movie “hot takes”: Avatar, James Cameron, industry stories, snobs vs. slobs tropes
• [22:51 – 24:25] – Great actors, old movies, and “wisdom alert”
• [25:28 – 29:35] – Wicked, Wizard of Oz, and Dana’s old X-Rated stand-up
• [31:04 – 34:04] – Dylan vs. Springsteen biopic, celebrity performances
• [38:27 – 40:48] – Kim Kardashian’s brain scan and the culture of “anxiety”
• [47:39 – 50:13] – AI advancing in films, pranks, pranking ethics, legal troubles
• [50:29 – 51:45] – The “Facebook ants” phenomenon
• [53:29 – 56:47] – Kardashians, influencer culture, AI-generated celebrities
• [57:04 – 58:12] – Contact lenses, seeing in the dark, cryptid/alien jokes
• [58:27 – 59:43] – Wrap up; next shows and plugs

Tone & Style

• Signature Carvey/Spade Banter: Fast, irreverent, riff-heavy. The two improvisationally bounce thoughts, anecdotes, and jokes in both playful and biting tones.
• Pop Culture Skewering: They maintain a light, sometimes biting sarcasm when discussing showbiz, viral phenomena, and trends.
• Nostalgic but Edgy: Both hosts toggle between affectionate nostalgia for old movies/TV and a kind of cheerful resignation about modern fame and technology’s oddities.

For the Listener

This episode is a dense, high-speed ride through holiday pop culture, movie hot takes, AI paranoia, and social media oddities—all colored by Dana and David’s ability to render every topic comic, relatable, and just a bit absurd. If you want dry industry insight, sly stand-up callbacks, or want to stay a step ahead of the next meme-able weirdness, consider this required listening.

Highlights:

• Christmas nostalgia and the “war on Christmas” (08:36)
• Avatar/Titanic/James Cameron snobs vs. slobs parallels (13:07, 17:03)
• Wicked, old stand-up bits, and scary kids’ movies (25:28, 28:44)
• The rising unreality of the internet and AI pranks (47:39–50:13)
• Kardashian business genius and influencer commentary (53:29, 56:15)

“Everything you get in life, you give up something and everything you give up, you get something.” — the perfect summation for a show dedicated to finding the comedy in life’s trade-offs.