Cameron H.

That’s what I would think, too. I’m ready with my pick. So if you guys want me to go ahead with it, I will. Let me know. I’m just trying to keep our discussions to mini-episode weeks.

Does anyone know when HDTGM is coming back? I thought someone said the 11th, but I don’t know if that means mini or regular episode. The only reason I ask is so MM’s stay on the right (I.e. “off”) weeks from HDTGM. Like, if the mini is this Friday, then we can go ahead with MM pick for tomorrow to discuss next week. If the mini isn’t until next Friday, that means we shouldn’t pick MM’s up until January 14th.

I'm just listening to this now, and I'm sure someone has already brought this up on Twitter or something, but I think the movie Amy and Paul are thinking about is To Sir With Love. Which is about "social and racial issues in an inner city school." I haven't seen it since college, but I remember it being pretty good.

Here was my issue: According to Letterboxd, I watched this movie for the first time last year. and aside from a vague outline and the famous line, I had forgotten almost everything about it. Granted, I've seen a ton of movies since then, but still, I generally have a good memory for these types of things. If I've seen it (or read it) I can almost always give you - if not beat for beat - a pretty good description of the plot. For this, nothing. "There's a murder in a Southern town and Poitier gets roped into it after being falsely accused" is probably the best I could do. I couldn't have told you who got murdered, why, or who did it. That's not to say that I think the movie isn't fantastic. The performances are top notch and it grabs you as you're watching it, but I don't know...how many times should I have to watch it for it to become memorable? Shouldn't the "best" movies stick with you? Anyway, I dropped my initial Letterboxd star rating from 5 to 4 1/2 stars. Not a lot, but it bothered me I couldn't remember anything about it. That being said, I still think it belongs on the list. I even think it deserves to be pretty high, but "low" high, if you know what I mean

I kind of don’t want to watch Gigli and I can’t make the 4th. So that kind of works out for me if that’s the movie and the day y’all want to do it

That’ll work! I’ll be back by then! Thanks everyone!

That’s a good idea. It’s just difficult with everything going on right now. Taylor can still swap with me if she wants it though

No worries, Joel. It’s just good to have you when we can

I’m sure Taylor Anne is just busy for the holidays.

To all my friends here, whatever your plans, I hope you all have a Happy Holidays Merry Christmas! May your days be bereft of sentient, blues crooning snowmen, insane conflicts with your neighbors, and romantic Holiday abductions. ETA: Oh, and stay safe you crazy deviants

Honestly, I can’t think of one off the top of my head. Usually there’s familial - particularly maternal - pressure to get married, but not one (that I can think of) where someone has “hired” a boyfriend or fiancé. I will say, something close, and maybe a recommendation for next year, would be Dear Santa. In that one, Amy Acker plays a spoiled socialite whose mother gives her an ultimatum: either get married or get a job by Christmas. By chance, she stumbles on a little girl’s letter to Santa which is asking for a new wife for her widowed father. So, rather than get a job, she sets her sights on stalking this stranger and his daughter and trick him into marrying her. There is also a gay character that is absolutely, 100% respectfully and tastefully done and is in no way a cartoon character. Here’s the trailer (It’s the kind that basically shows you the whole movie, so watch at your own risk, I guess)

I love the part when Slater is opening up about his past and he tells Sabrina that, after his parents died, he grew up in a one bedroom apartment with his grandfather, and then proceeds to tell her, “I learned from an early age that we’re all on our own.” Gee whiz, homeboy certainly doesn’t think much of his grandfather, does he?

Oh, you HAVE to leave a thank you note to Santa (and reindeer). It would be rude not to. Santa works hard and deserves some freaking appreciation. What you can’t do is leave a note that’s like, “BTW - while you’re here, I want some tiki lights.” That’s a one way ticket to Coal Town if you ask me.

It bothered me to the core of my being that this family’s tradition was to write letters to Santa on Christmas Eve. I mean, Santa’s elves need time to make the shit. I believe all letters to Santa should be postmarked no later than December 1st. Last minute letters and addendums should be summarily fed to Santa’s bloodthirsty hoard of dire polar bears. Furthermore, I found it pretty rich that MJH gives Dimps crap over his list being “superficial” and “materialistic” because he asked for an SUV and a pasta maker when the first two items on her own list are “tiki lights” and a “Chinese tea set.” She might as well add “accusatory black pot” to her list. Also, I found it hilarious that she broke out the wine to write their lists because it would “take awhile,” and then we come to find out that, between the two of them, they only asked for five items: fully loaded SUV, pasta maker, tiki lights, Chinese tea set, and “stop disappointing parents.” Jesus Christ, they went through an entire bottle writing fourteen freaking words?!? Just how long does it take these numb nuts to write anything? Perhaps they should add literacy and writing fluency to the list of intangibles they wish to receive from Santa...

I wasn’t sure which was more unlikely: that he sold sex cuffs at all or that he offered them to her on the house. You don’t just give people free shit because they’re about to fuck. What kind of crazy business is this guy running anyway?

One of the more aggravating things in the movie is how the movie tries to portray MJH is this kind of major disappointment to the family, while simultaneously showing her to be the absolute center of her parents’ universe. It blows my mind just how often the brother and sister are just completely disregarded. For example, on Christmas Day when MJH’s mother is delegating responsibilities to everyone in the house, the brother and sister are tasked with working the kitchen while MJH and Dimps are told to go “have fun.” Are you kidding me? You’re telling me I have to stay here and shuck corn on Christmas Day while Clarissa and Slater get to go have kissy-kiss time down by the lake? What kind of bullshit is that? However, I think maybe the most obnoxious example of this is when they’re decorating the tree. For some reason Bro and Sis are nowhere to be found (probably slinging some salt-slag), and MJH’s mother suggests that Dimps puts the star on the tree. MJH throws a huge tantrum and says how that’s been her job since she was 4-years-old, but...she’s the eldest kid, isn’t she? Are you telling me that in the ensuing 24 years she never once let her baby brother or sister put the star on the tree? And if it were ever even suggested she would throw a fucking fit? And her parents encouraged this? Man, if I were the brother or the sister I would have peaced out of that bullshit family just as soon as ever I could.

Even if he genuinely liked her art, him buying it steals the thunder from what should have been her moment and robs her of any legitimacy. If she’s serious about being a successful artist, she needs to sell it to someone who’s going to promote her work. She needs recognition more than romantic gestures. And hanging her shorty paintings on Slater’s office wall, while sweet, doesn’t gain her any notoriety. I mean, who knows when she’ll have another chance to showcase her work? And if asked if she’s ever sold anything, “Yes, once - to my boyfriend” isn’t exactly the best answer if you want to be taken seriously.

I know these types of movies aren’t as flashy as some of the other HDTGM movies, but I always love them because the insanity is in some ways more subtle. For example, I get someone buying an aspirational outfit for when they lose weight, but apparently MJH’s father regularly travels with it in the hopes that, what, he might lose 10lbs over a holiday weekend? That’s fucking delusional. I mean, even if it were possible, it would be dangerous as fuck. You’ve got to set reasonable weight loss goals guys. 1-2 lbs a week is healthy and sustainable. Another moment I love is when they’re on the way to the cabin and they’re doing the classic “tell me a bit about yourself so we can fake this relationship” bit, and what MJH tells Lopez about herself is that she was “probably fired” from her job, she lives in a crappy loft, and doesn’t play golf. I mean, how the fuck is he supposed to work with any that? Shouldn’t this be the point where she tells him about ice skating and art? What’s he supposed to say, “We’ve been dating for months, and if there’s one thing I know, Trudi doesn’t play golf.” I mean, shit. He’s your captive, MJH. He’s under duress. This is your idea. You need him to be able to work with you. At least tell him when your fucking birthday is or something. Oh, and MJH kidnaps him on the way to the bathroom. So, does she just let him piss himself or what?

No, this all goes further into the likelihood of Mario having enough time to put this together. In her story, she says because her performance was canceled, they sprayed water on their driveway or something, let it freeze, and she did her performance there. Mario was recreating that moment for her. That was just like the backyard gazebo. Now, is three hours (the time the movie gives us until dinner) enough time for him to secretly hang lights and make an impromptu ice rink in their backyard? I don’t know. It feels like it might be pushing it though

Agreed. Up until that point, he’s still - more or less - not buying it. Face to face with the reality that Mary doesn’t recognize him is what makes it all become terrifyingly real to him.

Never mind. I could have swore I saw it, but double checked and couldn’t find it. Sorry It’s currently on sale on iTunes for 7.99 if anyone’s interested, though.

I couldn’t understand why he tried to make the call from the downstairs (i.e. high traffic) bathroom. He could have locked himself in a room or gone outside or any number of things. Why go to the one place where you’re most likely going to draw suspicion or get caught? And I bet MJH’s brother was pissed when he found out the phone he leant to Dimps for a few minutes just got flushed down the toilet. Seriously, bro? I was doing you a favor!

This was probably my favorite episode of the year! Thank you everyone at HDTGM. At the end of the movie everything seems to be finally working out for MJH. Not only does she have the opportunity to exhibit her art, but she actually manages to sell her piece - thereby validating her life choices. However, in the final moments of the movie, she is surprised to learn that the buyer was none other than Dimps! Obviously, this is meant to be a grand romantic gesture, but really, I feel like discovering Dimps bought her art would be far more damaging to her self-esteem than had she not sold her painting at all. Think about it: for a fleeting moment, this hapless loser gets to feel like the work she does is appreciated and that her passion is validated, only to have it all come crashing down when she learns that the piece wasn’t sold because it was necessarily good or well-regraded, but because a loved one bought it for her. It’s the equivalent of a mother telling you you’re handsome or pretty or a friend telling you your manuscript is great. Of course it’s sweet, but ultimately, because those people are biased, it’s always going to feel like hollow praise. I feel like it would have been far more romantic for him to have anonymously showcased her work and then allowed it to stand on its own. It would have shown his faith in her abilities without coming off as patronizing.

I was looking up shoes coming to HBO, Starz, Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon for next month, and I want to say Unforgiven will be on, I think, Hulu soon.