Cameron H.

Since HDTGM dropped a re-release of Reindeer Games this week, should we do two weeks of The Commitments to keep us on track for off-weeks? Based on what Cinco just said, maybe we could double up with Once?

Super weird there are so many Methodists on the board (I think...Maybe it's not that weird). Yeah, this was pretty much what I remembered doing with Epiphany. It was the time you were supposed to leave your decorations up after Christmas. When I first told my wife that she thought it was really weird. She likes to yank everything down the next day.

I’m Methodist (and an English Major) and I’m also aware of this. However, my mother has worked for churches since I was eleven years old, so I might have been a little more aware of Epiphany than your average Methodist. Like, it’s a thing, but not like a super major thing. (Also, for people jonesing for more Jessica Fletcher, it would be remiss of me to not at least mildly plug the podcast I do with my wife, Magnum, She Wrote. We’ve been watching through Murder She Wrote and Magnum, pi - swapping back and forth each week. We’re almost through Season One of both shows. We get angry a lot at Magnum, p.i. We’ve learned a lot about each other through our viewings. No one has to listen, but if you’re interested, It’s available on Apple and Stitcher )

In the episode, Paul expressed incredulity that Daniel didn’t know what a Christmas tree was, but it wasn’t so much that he didn’t know what they are (I believe there’s one at the inn during the flashbacks), but more that he was surprised that she bothered to get one. Once she explains that it has “probably been awhile” since he’s had one, he immediately suggests that they set it up. What’s weirder to me is the idea that he hasn’t had one in awhile, as from my understanding, the owner of the inn, with whom he has lived with more or less symbiotically for decades, never once decorated for the Holidays? I mean, I get that the inn was closed during the periods of his return, but someone still lived there, right? And the inn was still open for the first part of December, wasn’t it? Just because Daniel was a Grinchy-ass, curmudgeon shouldn’t mean that the current owner should have to hide their enjoyment of the Holiday season to accommodate his rum running ass.

The Commitments is currently 4.99 on iTunes if anyone is interested

It is!

True... While I think Christmas Inheritance is worth discussion, that one legit pissed me off so I’d rather not. Honestly, the Knight one that just came out with Vanessa Hudgens has quite a bit of crazy to it.

Also, for next year, there’s only one choice really... It’s got your 12 Days connection, your Saved by the Bell connection, and it was, like Holiday in Handcuffs, an ABC Family movie. (Special shout-out to @SaraK for introducing us to this wonderful film)

Hmmmm...that’s a good point. Maybe he was covered in snow and they didn’t discover him until the Spring thaw ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The gang were confused by the significance of the 12 Days and what exactly the miracle was. When Daniel’s brother and Lily are outside, he points out that the Twelve Days of Christmas is being played inside. He tells her that’s how long Daniel’s been out breaking the law, but that it is also long enough for someone to learn their lesson and repent their sins. Her miracle is to give him twelve days each year, not as a ghost but as a man, to make amends for his mistakes. That’s the significance. If she had not done so, based on how he had lived his life, he would have probably just gone straight to Hell. Her gift was to give him 12 days each year as a living man, for as long as it took, for him to absolve himself of his sins. He is finally able to accomplish this by confronting and forgiving his murderer. At the end of the movie, because he is still entangled in Lily’s phantasmal loophole, being currently more alive than dead, he is given a choice of either moving on or staying alive. And I know Jason felt Daniel did Lily a bit dirty by choosing Kate at the end, but from his perspective, he’s a century removed from that relationship. How long is he supposed to pine for the person he believes quickly jilted him for his brother. He may discover the real reasons behind it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean those feeling will come rushing back.

I believe Lily was the only one expecting him back. When she tells his brother that Daniel promised he’d be there, the brother says, “A promise is only as good as the man who makes it.” I’m also guessing the guy who killed him disposed of his body. So it’s possible that it was a few weeks before he was actually reported as missing.

I get that couples don’t have to enjoy all the same things, but damn Daniel was pretty harsh in describing his fiancée’s taste in books as “nonsense.” I mean, you don’t have to like everything I’m into, but could you at least not act like an elitist prick?

I recognize that it’s common in these types of movies for someone to watch over their love interest while they sleep, but let’s not forget how utterly disgusting and ridiculous people can be while they sleep. Aside from just your standard twitch and snore, people are also prone to talking, drooling, and farting in their sleep. So, no thank you sexy, steam punk baristo ghost. I’d rather maintain some small bit of my allure and take my chances with the restless, malevolent hell spawn currently plotting my destruction.

I’m very much looking forward to this

Okay, I'm listening to this now, and I'm going to try not to comment as listen, but June is absolutely right - the leads had a ton of chemistry. There was a certain sparkle in their eyes in some of the scenes where I truly wondered if the actors might have had something going off camera. I don't know, maybe they're just phenomenal actors, but if you didn't notice it, you're deader inside than the sexy hipster ghost in this movie. ETA: OMG! Sorry! I just resumed the episode. I literally turned to my wife last night and said that this movie was Canadian as fuck! lol

Is Irish step dancing badly represented in High Strung? Find this out and more on this week’s mini-sode! Paul opens up the Explanation Hope Line, goes through Corrections and Omissions for High Strung, and opens up the Mail Bag. Plus, find out which movie we will be watching next week! This episode is brought to you by Away (www.awaytravel.com/bonkers). Subscribe to Unspooled with Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson here: http://www.earwolf.com/show/unspooled/ Check out our tour dates over at www.hdtgm.com! Check out new HDTGM merch over at https://www.teepubli…wdidthisgetmade Where to Find Jason, June & Paul: @PaulScheer on Instagram & Twitter @Junediane on IG and @MsJuneDiane on Twitter

Wow! That would be...

Honestly, Spirit is pretty good. It's dumb, but watchable. There are a lot (and I mean A LOT) that are just boring.

My Christmas wish For next year would be for them to do either 12 Dates of Christmas, which is basically Groundhog Day meets Hallmark (starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar), or any of the Netflix Romance ones as they are just as ridiculous.

Just a heads up, The Christmas Toy is currently on Prime - the real Toy Story.

This is (I think) our second Paul Williams Musical. He really does have a distinct, quirky style. You know when you’re listening to one of his songs in a second.

As others have stated, what I like about this movie is it doesn’t just end with them getting everything they wanted. In a competition, as much as we may want the Otters to win, they really were fairly beaten. However, just because things don’t work out the way they planned, the ended up working out better in the long run. I think that’s a really important message for children.

Regarding toys for 4-year-olds, I think the caller might be stressing about it a bit too much. Like Paul said, kids that age really aren’t too savvy about what they want. To them, everything is new and you can never really tell what’s going to resonate or not. Even with my own kids, I’ve bought my kids stuff that I thought they would love only for them to be apathetic about it. Which, I agree with Paul, is almost worse than getting them nothing. I have also seen them fall in love with stuff that I never would have guessed. For example, I did a charity run a couple weeks ago and they gave us participation gifts (or whatever you call it) that included a cheap, plush Chik-fil-a cow. My youngest son sleeps with it every night I would suggest either doing what Paul suggests and ask the parents (even though that’s not even 100%) or just find something that looks cool to you. I would avoid licensed stuff unless you know for a fact the kid is into that specific character. Your best bet is to go with something arts and crafty. Something they can actually do something with. However, whatever you do, don’t get things that make noise. I have an almost identical story to Paul’s regarding a toy train. These things get so loud it actually hurts your ears when you turn them off. And when you finally get fed up and take the toy away because it’s “broken,” you have to deal with disappointed children - which is never fun.