2024 Holiday Movie Guide

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 2024 Holiday Movie Guide Summary

Release Date: December 5, 2024 | Host: NPR's Aisha Harris and Linda Holmes

As the holiday season approaches, NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour dedicates its latest episode to guiding listeners through the bustling landscape of 2024’s holiday movie releases. Hosted by Aisha Harris and Linda Holmes, the episode delves into a curated selection of festive films across various streaming platforms, offering insightful commentary, personal opinions, and memorable quotes to help viewers choose their perfect holiday watch. Here's a detailed breakdown of the episode's key discussions and insights.

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Introduction to the Holiday Movie Season ([04:13] - [04:22])

Aisha Harris opens the segment by highlighting the plethora of holiday movies debuting this year. She emphasizes the challenge viewers face in selecting memorable films amidst the abundance of offerings from networks like Hallmark, Lifetime, BET, UPTV, and streaming giants like Netflix.

Aisha Harris [04:13]:
"It's that time of year again, holiday movie season. And as ever, there are so many new movies to choose from. And of course, some are more memorable than others. So where do you start? We've got you covered this year."

---

Featured Holiday Movies

1. Hot Frosty ([02:02] - [05:08])

Platform: Netflix
Stars: Lacey Chabert, Craig Robinson, Joe Littrulo

Linda Holmes introduces “Hot Frosty,” a standout film this holiday season, noting its unique blend of traditional holiday magic with contemporary humor.

Linda Holmes [02:02]:
"We've got the return of Lindsay Lohan, a shirtless Chad Michael Murray, and a cameo from Travis Kelce's mom. And those are, by the way, in three different movies."

Aisha Harris [05:08]:
"It's very cute. And that's the Netflix movie starring Lacey Chabert as a woman who suddenly falls in love with Frosty the Snowman, who turns into a real man. A hot Frosty, as they would say."

Linda appreciates the film’s comedic elements, particularly the inclusion of Craig Robinson and Joe Littrulo, which adds a layer of conventional humor to the magical storyline.

---

2. Our Little Secret ([05:41] - [09:37])

Platform: Netflix
Star: Lindsay Lohan
Notable Cast: Kristin Chenoweth, Ian Harding, Tim Meadows, Judy Reyes

“Our Little Secret” marks Lindsay Lohan’s return to holiday rom-coms. Linda Holmes provides an in-depth review, highlighting the film’s intricate plot involving family secrets and romantic entanglements.

Linda Holmes [05:52]:
"She plays a woman named Avery who's engaged to this very nice guy named Cameron. She goes home for Christmas with him and she runs into both his terrifying mother, played by Kristin Chenoweth, who is having the time of her life, and her ex, Logan, who is played by Ian Harding."

Aisha Harris praises the film for expanding the traditional rom-com formula by introducing complex relationships and humorous scenarios, such as an accidental high moment in church.

Aisha Harris [07:08]:
"The rom-com genre, and specifically the holiday rom-com genre, has had to expand its purview and not just do the simple, like, girl goes back home to her small town after making it big in the city and then falling in love with the hot farmer. This one just has that extra oomph."

Linda notes Lindsay Lohan’s distinctive presence, appreciating her authentic portrayal that diverges from her previous roles where she often played more overtly flawed characters.

Linda Holmes [09:20]:
"In this one, she's gone a little bit back to, like, okay, I don't have to do that all the time. Yeah, I can play a regular person. And I liked seeing her do that, and I thought this was cute."

---

3. Meet Me Next Christmas ([09:37] - [13:57])

Platform: Netflix
Star: Christina Milian
Guest Features: Pentatonix

“Meet Me Next Christmas” features Christina Milian as Layla, a Pentatonix superfan determined to secure last-minute tickets to their sold-out Christmas concert. Aisha Harris and Linda Holmes discuss the film’s vibrant portrayal of fandom and romantic pursuit.

Aisha Harris [10:05]:
"Layla's determined to get her hands on these last-minute tickets to their sold-out Christmas Eve concert because who wouldn't be? She hopes to reconnect there with a guy she had a meet cute with a year earlier."

Linda Holmes expresses initial reservations about the portrayal of Pentatonix but acknowledges the film’s charm and the chemistry between the leads.

Linda Holmes [12:46]:
"I think you'd enjoy it. I just have not gotten to it yet. But this one is streaming on Netflix also."

The episode underscores the movie’s balance between romantic endeavors and musical performances, making it a delightful watch for fans of both genres.

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4. Holiday Touchdown, A Chief's Love Story ([13:57] - [18:50])

Platform: Hallmark
Star: Hunter King, Tyler Hines
Notable Appearances: Kansas City Chiefs mascots and staff

“Holiday Touchdown, A Chief's Love Story” is a Hallmark production that intertwines family sports fanaticism with a romantic narrative. Linda Holmes provides a comprehensive overview, highlighting the film’s integration of the Kansas City Chiefs’ branding and the authentic portrayal of a sports-obsessed family.

Linda Holmes [14:24]:
"It's about a woman named Alana, who's played by Hunter King, whose whole family is Chiefs fanatics, including her grandfather, played by Ed Begley Jr. They end up as finalists in the team's fan of the year contest."

The hosts discuss the film’s appeal to NFL fans and families with strong sports traditions, noting the strategic branding partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Aisha Harris [16:46]:
"It sounds kind of like that movie 80 for Brady, where it's just like, oh yes, we're gonna incorporate as much of this home team's paraphernalia and whatever in there."

Linda appreciates the authentic cameos and the nods to local sports culture, despite acknowledging the heavy branding presence.

Linda Holmes [17:46]:
"There are some players who have cameos. There’s Travis Kelce's mom, but no Taylor is there."

---

5. Merry Gentleman ([18:50] - [23:30])

Platform: Netflix
Star: Brit Robertson, Chad Michael Murray
Notable Cast: Maxwell Caulfield

“Merry Gentleman” blends dance and romance as Brit Robertson’s character, Ashley, attempts to save her family’s bar by organizing a male revue. Linda Holmes critiques the film’s execution, particularly the portrayal of dance sequences and character chemistry.

Aisha Harris [19:15]:
"Brit Robertson plays Ashley, a professional dancer in a Rockette style troupe who's fired for being too old."

Linda critiques the movie’s aesthetics and the believability of the romantic subplot, though she praises the inclusion of familiar faces like Maxwell Caulfield.

Linda Holmes [20:17]:
"I thought the love story fell a little flat for me in this one."

Aisha Harris counters by highlighting the genuine chemistry between the leads and the realistic portrayal of non-professional dancers participating in the revue.

Aisha Harris [22:00]:
"It felt convincing for a small town, and it also felt convincing that the women in that small town would be going crazy for it because it didn't seem like much else was happening in that town."

Despite some reservations, both hosts acknowledge the film’s charm and its place within the holiday rom-com genre.

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Conclusion and Additional Resources ([23:30] - [24:07])

Aisha Harris wraps up the episode by directing listeners to their comprehensive holiday movie guide available at [e-mail]. She encourages audience engagement by inviting listeners to share their thoughts on the featured films and their own holiday viewing plans via social media.

Aisha Harris [23:30]:
"You should definitely let us know what you think about this year's holiday movies and what you're watching this holiday season. Find [e-mail] PCHH."

Linda Holmes expresses gratitude for the collaborative discussion, reinforcing the episode's friendly and informative tone.

Linda Holmes [24:07]:
"There’s no one I would rather talk about this with more than you. Thank you."

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Final Remarks

Produced by Hafsa Fatima and Lennon Sherburne, and edited by Jessica Reedy and Mike Katzen, this episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour serves as a valuable resource for holiday movie enthusiasts seeking thoughtful recommendations and critiques. Hosts Aisha Harris and Linda Holmes effectively blend personal insights with broader cultural observations, making the episode both engaging and informative for listeners preparing for the festive season.

For more details and the complete holiday movie guide, visit [e-mail].

Transcript

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[Aisha Harris]

Hey, it's Aisha Harris. And before we start the show, we're closing in on the end of another year.

[Linda Holmes]

Wow.

[Aisha Harris]

I can't believe it. And our team is looking back at all the great conversations we've been able to bring you in 2024 because of we dove into the sleeper hits and the shows you shouldn't sleep on, the sequels and the prequels and our favorite binge watches. We stayed up all night to catch you up on the Oscars and the Emmys and debated the best fictional bands and the pop culture hills will die on. And it's all because listeners like you step up to support our work, either by giving to your local station or by joining npr. NPR has grown a lot this year and we want to say an extra special thank you to those supporters right now. You know who you are if you don't know what I'm talking about. NPR is a sweet way to support the independent public media you rely on from npr. So when you sign up for a simple recurring donation, you support our mission of creating a more informed public and get special perks for more than 25 NPR podcasts like sponsor free listening, bonus episodes, and even exclusive and discounted items from the NPR Shop and the NPR Wine Club. So by donating now, you'll fund not only NPR's award winning journalism across the country and around the world, but also the stories that make you laugh out loud, the ones that might make you cry because they resonate so deeply, and the quirky ones that can only come from the wonderful world of public radio. Join us on the plus side today at plus.npr.org thanks so much. It's that time of year again, holiday movie season. And as ever, there are so many new movies to choose from. And of course, some are more memorable than others. So where do you start? We've got you covered this year.

[Linda Holmes]

We've got the return of Lindsay Lohan, a shirtless Chad Michael Murray, and a cameo from Travis Kelce's mom. And those are, by the way, in three different movies. I'm Linda Holmes.

[Aisha Harris]

And I'm Aisha Harris. And today we're offering up a guide to some of this year's holiday movies on pop culture. Happy hour from npr.

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[Aisha Harris]

Well, it's just the two of us today talking about a subject that I think is very near and dear to both of our hearts. The holiday movie magic of it all.

[Linda Holmes]

Absolutely. There are a huge number of these every year. I wrote a guide to them that you can find [e-mail] did not write up all of them, but wrote up more of them than we will have time to talk about today. You can obviously find the full lists at Hallmark and Lifetime and BET and UPTV and obviously Netflix and it's difficult to get everything, but we're gonna try to give you some of the bigger ones.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, and look, we do have to acknowledge the hot frosty in the room because this was probably the buzziest of all the holiday movies of this year. We're not gonna be talking too much about it, but you know, I think you and I, Linda, both enjoyed it. We've talked about it on social media. You wrote about it.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, it's very cute.

[Aisha Harris]

It's very cute. And that's the netf movie starring Lacey Chabert as a woman who suddenly falls in love with the frosty the Snowman, who turns into a real man. A hot Frosty, as they would say.

[Linda Holmes]

It's absolutely true. And I think the fact that they brought in Craig Robinson and Joe Littrulio to play the law enforcement added a necessary sense of kind of more conventionally comedic comedy to that movie. Helped a great deal. I liked that one. I liked that one. I thought it was fun.

[Aisha Harris]

Agreed. Well, let's actually dig into the movies we're going to talk a little bit more about. And let's start with the first one. Linda, this is called Our Little Secret. Do you wanna tell us a little bit more about that one? Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

You know, a couple years ago, Lindsay Lohan had this movie called Falling for Christmas, which was very cute. Also, I think from that, people kind of started to think, yeah, you know, this is maybe a reasonable avenue for her to pursue. I was not surprised to see her back this year. And not our little secret here. She plays a woman named Avery who's engaged to this very nice guy named Cameron. She goes home for Christmas with him and she runs into both his terrifying mother, played by Kristin Chenoweth, who is having the time of her life, and her ex, Logan, who is played by Ian Harding. So Logan is there because he's dating Cameron's sister. So now everybody is crammed into the same house, she and her boyfriend, ex and his girlfriend, mother, family. There are all kinds of family secrets that eventually emerge, including some that involve their neighbors and family friends who are played by Tim Meadows and Judy Reyes. And there's a sequence about being accidentally high in church, which is the kind of thing that I think, like, broad movies like this so often have a somebody accidentally gets high thing. And I usually don't think they're funny. I thought they got away with it here. I thought it was pretty cute. But, yeah, there's a lot going on in this one. This one is streaming on Netflix. What did you think of Arla?

[Aisha Harris]

Oh, I really enjoyed this. I mean, one of the things, and I think this will be a common theme amongst a lot of the movies that we're talking about today is that I feel as though the rom com genre, and specifically the holiday rom com genre, it's had to expand its purview and not just do the simple, like, girl goes back home to her small town after, like, making it big in the city and then falling in love with, like, the hot farmer. I mean, that still exists, but now we have to add in extra layers of complications and make it even more convoluted. And this whole thing is very convoluted. Kind of screwbally, even. In many ways, it does.

[Linda Holmes]

It has an almost like screwbally Farsi kind of, you know, people coming in and out of rooms and, oh, my God, what did you just say? And just like, that kind of thing that kind of snowballs and.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, it's very charming. And Lindsay Lohan, you know, I think she is such a particular kind of actress where, like, she has found her lane now, and I think she fits in it perfectly. She has a very, you know, that very distinct, husky kind of voice, her dry delivery. She's not one of those actors who's like, of course, gonna, like, disappear into a role, but she is someone you just enjoy spending time with. And this is the type of movie that I could see going back and rewatching. Perhaps even more than the Falling for Christmas one, which I also enjoyed. But this one just has that, like, extra oomph of again, Kristin Chenoweth. Love her. Tim Meadows. The plot machinations around why the Lindsay Lohan character and her boyfriend initially break up. At the beginning, he was kind of a jerk. Like, act, like, really very much a jerk about, you know, her family and her background. And the reason they broke up was very kind of like, by the end of it, I was a little, why are they getting back together?

[Linda Holmes]

But he has to definitely work his way back into her good graces. And maybe yours as well.

[Aisha Harris]

Exactly, exactly. But still very fun. So, yeah, I liked it.

[Linda Holmes]

And I appreciated the fact that this one, you know, in Falling for Christmas, she plays kind of a spoiled rich girl who. It's one of those, like. And then I got hit on the head, and I was nice. And it's kind of like, Overboard with Goldie Hawn in that way.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

And I think in that one, she kind of played into the fact that she has this reputation as kind of like, a mess of a person. And I think in this one, she's gone a little bit back to, like, okay, I don't have to do that all the time. Yeah, I can play a regular person. And I liked seeing her do that, and I thought this was cute.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. Yes. So our next movie is Meet Me Next Christmas. I've seen it, Linda. I feel like I might be able to convince you to watch it. I thought it was really cute.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, absolutely. When you talk a little bit more about it, maybe I'll be able to explain why I did not leap upon it. But go ahead, Go ahead.

[Aisha Harris]

So meet Me Next Christmas stars Christina Milian as Layla, basically a character I'm not really sure exists in real life. A Pentatonix super fan.

[Linda Holmes]

I think they do exist. I think they do exist.

[Aisha Harris]

Well, okay, so for a refresher for those who are not familiar with Pentatonix or just have like somehow completely blinked it out of their mind, Pentatonix is the very popular acapella group who suddenly become ubiquitous for a few weeks every holiday season before melting away from collective memory like Frosty the Snowman for the rest of the year. Santa, Santa Claus comes Santa, Santa Claus coming tonight.

[Linda Holmes]

The first thing I should say is I encountered Pentatonix. So they won the third season of the reality show the Sing Off.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes.

[Linda Holmes]

Which was actually, which was for like acapella groups. And it was one that I actually really liked that show. But the way that acapella, which is a genre close to my heart, is presented does not always thrill me, the way that it is marketed and presented. So I probably had a little bit of like a reaction. But tell me about, tell me about the rest of it.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, yeah. So look, Layla's determined to get her hands on these last minute tickets to their sold out Christmas Eve concert, because who wouldn't be? She hopes to reconnect there with a guy she had a meet cute with a year earlier. So as one does, she hires a personal concierge, Teddy, to help her secure the tickets. He's played by Deval Ellis, and they traverse New York City, face numerous challenges, including a weird mime at one point. Sparks between Laila and Teddy, of course, begin to fly. I mean, to your point, Linda, I think how much you like this movie will depend on how much you can withstand or take or enjoy Pentatonix. They do play a role, big part in this movie. Like they're not in every scene, but they're kind of like the Greek chorus who are following as these things happen and they chime in. And of course there's a performance at the end, but they don't overtake the story. So I think if you can just kind of like, you know, there is a whole subplot actually that involves Laila and Teddy. One of the challenges that they try to get a ticket with is to do a performance where the prize, the first prize is our tickets to the show. And so it involves drag queens. Like, I think it's Teddy's, one of his either relatives or friends or whatever, who's played by Kaylin Allen. You might Recognize him as, like, an influencer who was often on the Ellen Show.

[Linda Holmes]

Okay.

[Aisha Harris]

So, yeah, he, like. There's a whole scene where he's, like, teaching them how to do choreography and dance. And there's drag queens. It's fun. It's very fun. It's light. And Christina Milian is just. She's charming. Her and the guy who plays Teddy are very charming. So I think you'd enjoy it.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, I mean, I think I probably wouldn't. As I said, it's not a thing against acapella, which I love.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes.

[Linda Holmes]

It is more the treatment and marketing of it. In, as you sort of mentioned, in the holiday season specifically, there are these, like, Christmas musicians that I know are active year round, and yet you, all of a sudden, you really hear a lot more of them around Christmas time. Trans Siberian Orchestra is another one, which they have this kind of bombastic. And I say that affectionately, bombastic Christmas music, which, as one of my friends once said, kind of sounds like you're in a besieged city being shelled with snowballs. So there are these, like, Christmas bands. But I like her. I like Christina Milian, and she's done, obviously, a lot of these kinds of movies. And, you know, I tend to like her. So I definitely am. I think I'm going to add this to my list. I just have not gotten to it yet. But this one is streaming on Netflix also. And we should say these lean toward Netflix partly because Hallmark is still the one that I would say makes them in the most volume with the most success. But Netflix puts a little more muscle behind each individual one in most cases.

[Aisha Harris]

Right.

[Linda Holmes]

Like, Netflix has probably put a little more oomph behind Hot Frosty than, you know, than Hallmark puts behind any individual movie, you know.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, yes. Well, speaking of Hallmark, we do have one Hallmark movie we're gonna be talking about. This one I have not seen. And I have reservations similar to you when it comes to pentatonics, where I'm like, football. Tell us about it.

[Linda Holmes]

This one is called Holiday Touchdown, A Chief's Love Story. And over the summer, the news broke that Hallmark was gonna make a Christmas movie in partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs. And this was at sort of the height of the discovery and tracking of the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Romance. And so I think when the news broke of this, people assumed this was going to be like, a take on that story, but it isn't really. It's about a woman named Alana, who's played by Hunter King, whose whole family is chiefs fanatics, including her grandfather, played by Ed Begley Jr. Which is awesome. Oh, nice. They end up as finalists in the team's fan of the year contest. And their handler is this, like, cute guy played by Tyler Hines, who is kind of one of the Hallmark mainstays. As a guy. First of all, I just want to say totally unethical for him to start, like, fooling around with her when she's up for fan of the year, you know, with the team.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, yes.

[Linda Holmes]

But nevertheless, we're not supposed to worry about integrity. There's a whole thing about a family superstition involving a knit hat that somebody in the family has to be wearing for the team to win on Christmas. So there's stuff about, like, super superstitions and magical thinking about sports. It is a romance. It is a family story. But it is also a huge branding opportunity for the Kansas City Chiefs. You will see a lot of Chiefs signage and merch and the stadium, and even the city. I mean, I would say even Kansas City in general. The mayor has a cameo. This has already premiered on Hallmark. You can find it airing from time to time for the rest of the season if you look for it. I did live text my reactions to this to our producer, Mike Katsuff, who is both a Kansas City guy and a Chiefs fan, so that he could clarify things like, is that a real Chief's mascot? And I would give. Sent him, like, a little picture of the Chief's mascot, and he would say, yes, that's a real Chief mascot. So, you know, I think if you enjoy this with a Kansas City native or a. An NFL fan or even, like, someone whose family is obsessed with sports, they might get out of it more than, you know, somebody else.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah. I mean, look, I've encountered more of those, and I have pentatonix fans in the wild. So, like, this already seems a little bit more realistic to me.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, it's interesting. It sounds kind of like that movie 80 for Brady, where it's just like, oh, yes, we're gonna incorporate as much of this home team's paraphernalia and whatever in there. So. That sounds charming. I'm still not sure if I have the stomach for a football movie, but.

[Linda Holmes]

I think that the. I think that for people whose families really have powerful sports team traditions.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

I think there may be some stuff in here that is really. That is appealing and that they do understand. Like, there are families where they're very obsessed with getting together and watching this. The sports team, especially over the holidays.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

I try to cut them a Lot of slack for this one. Although I will say, as with Pentatonix, the kind of brand partnership is a little overwhelming. And so you get the sense that the NFL in general and the Kansas City Chiefs in particular are being, you know, you're being given the hard sell on both.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

But I do think the leads are charming and there are a ton by the way of cameos from Chiefs and Chiefs adjacent people. There are some players who have cameos.

[Aisha Harris]

Also Travis Kelce's mom, but no Taylor is there.

[Linda Holmes]

No, no, no, no. There's. There's no Taylor and there's no Travis either. But there's. His mom is seen working behind the counter at a barbecue place. At a Kansas City barbecue place. And she's got Kelsey on the back of her football jersey and they address her as Donna. And so, you know, she also has a cameo in one that takes place in Philadelphia where her other son plays. There's one called Christmas on Call that's actually really cute. It's about EMTs.

[Aisha Harris]

That sounds sweet.

[Linda Holmes]

It's really sweet. And she shows up in that one working behind the counter at a cheesesteak place. Obviously, same thing. Eagles jersey. That is a cute nod to the fact that she has two sons and not just one who have been in the NFL. So no favoritism for Mama Kelsey.

[Aisha Harris]

So that is Holiday Touchdown, a Chief's love story that's airing on Hallmark intermittently. And also I'm sure you can find it if you DVR it or able to stream it. The last one we're going to talk about is the Merry Gentleman. Lindsay and I have both seen it and this is, you know, I think that whoever pitched it was probably like Magic Mike but with the holidays in the background.

[Linda Holmes]

Yes. Or the Full Monty.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. Or Full Monty. That's an even better comparison. Brit Robertson plays Ashley. She's a professional dancer in a Rockette style troupe who's fired for being too old. She's fired. And then she returns to her small hometown for Christmas and learns that her parents bar is on the verge of closing. This might be the most generic. Like this is what we think of when we think of holiday rom com movies of this bunch that we're talking about.

[Linda Holmes]

Save the family small business.

[Aisha Harris]

Save the family small business. And to try and save this small family business, Ashley comes up with the bright idea to stage a sexy all male review featuring the local talent who all appear apparently are very good looking or at least conventionally good looking. Yes.

[Linda Holmes]

And she just knows them all, which is very lucky.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes. One of those men is Luke, played by Chad Michael Murray. Of course, you know, One Tree Hill fame, amongst other things. And he just so happens to be single and healing from a broken heart.

[Linda Holmes]

Poor Chad Michael Murray.

[Aisha Harris]

Poor Chad. So, Linda, how did you feel about this one?

[Linda Holmes]

I thought it was okay. Like, that was sort of my. This felt to me like a very okay movie. I will say this is not the most important thing about it, but Netflix did something strange with men's hair this season. There's something very kind of aggressively fluffy about Chad Michael Murray's hair in this movie that I don't care for. There's also something kind of limp about the snowman's hair in Hot Frosty that I don't care for. You know, that's Dustin Milligan. That's a good looking man.

[Aisha Harris]

That's.

[Linda Holmes]

That's Ted from Schitt's Creek. That's a good looking man in Hot Frosty. And he looks kind of. I don't know, his hair's kind of hanging down. I don't know. And you can tell that I didn't get super into this movie because I spent a lot of time thinking about hair during this movie. I did find the dance sequences a little bit cringy and ended up fast forwarding through them a little bit. I just find like the PG13 kind of sexy dance to be a little, you know, questionable in terms of how much I was going to enjoy it. I did appreciate it when there was one guy at one point, one of the kind of other locals sort of decides that he needs to get involved. And I was looking at him going, who is that? Who is that? I know who that is. Who is that? And it's Maxwell Caulfield, who I knew from, you know, his youth when he was in Greece too, and very early episode of Beverly Hills 90210 and stuff like that when he was a young man. Still looks good.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

Happy for him in his suspenders with his full chest hair out. Appreciate that for, you know, love that for him. But yeah, this one, I think the love story fell a little flat for me in this one.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, I would agree. The calling the dancing PG13 is even generous. It feels like this is not. This is not Magic Mike. But I think the thing about it that felt at least somewhat believable to me was that these guys didn't look like professional dancers. Like, no, some of them were hitting their marks. Some of them were. They look slightly uncomfortable. It's not like they were told like, oh, you're gonna. You're gonna start dancing at this thing. And all of a sudden their inner, you know, magic mic came out. They, it felt convincing for a small town. It also felt convincing that the women in that small town would be going, going crazy for it because didn't seem like much else was happening in that town.

[Linda Holmes]

Yes. And I, I did appreciate the fact that it wasn't like, you know, they started performing, they were discovered and they ended up like going to Broadway or something like that. You know, I appreciated the fact that it kind of stayed like, you know, I think it was maybe even a little hopeful to have them like written up in the local paper. But that's a sort of as far as it went, like it really kind of stayed as a thing that was just enough to sort of, she's just trying to save the music venue, which in fairness, you know, small music venues. Are they suffering? They are. That is a true fact. I did enjoy the fact that her parents bar slash music venue is called the Rhythm Room. And I was like, that sounds risque even before you started the all male review. Seriously, I thought this one was fine. I think the chemistry of the love story just didn't quite ignite for me, which is always what I'm ultimately looking for.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah. So that is the Merry Gentleman, which is streaming on Netflix. And of course, as we've already mentioned, there are so many more movies we couldn't get into airing on other networks, you know, Lifetime, Paramount, bet, Hallmark, Hallmark. But as we mentioned, Linda has a holiday movie guard [e-mail], so definitely check that out and we will have a link to that in our show notes. You should definitely let us know what you think about this year's holiday movies and what you're watching this holiday season. Find [e-mail] PCHH that brings us to the end of our show. Linda Holmes. There's no one I would rather talk about this with more than you. Thank you.

[Linda Holmes]

Absolutely. Absolutely Same, my friend.

[Aisha Harris]

This episode was produced by Hafsa Fatima and Lennon Sherburne and edited by Jessica Reedy and Mike Katzen. Hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thanks so much for listening to Pop Culture Happy hour from npr. I'm Aisha Harris and we'll see you all tomorrow.

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