WEBVTT - This Christmas with Miles Gray 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:03.720 On the bel Cast, the questions asked if movies have 0:00:03.880 --> 0:00:07.760 women in them? Are all their discussions just boyfriends and husbands? 0:00:07.920 --> 0:00:12.879 Do they have individualism? The patriarchy? Zef in best start 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:17.799 changing it with the Bedel Cast. Hello, and welcome to 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:20.720 the Bechtel Cast. My name is Caitlin Torante, my name 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.239 is Jamie Loftus, and this is a this is our 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:28.080 episode about um, well, it's about a lot of things. 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:30.040 What is it about? I don't know how many years 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:32.800 have we been doing this? Five years? What is it about? Really? 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:35.879 Who are we really? Jamie? Do you ever? Who am 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:39.479 I who? This is the thing that my my boyfriend 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:41.480 will say a lot. This is not passing the Bectel tests, 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:44.479 by the way, but something something my boyfriend will say 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:46.560 a lot about the podcast he likes. I'm like, well 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:48.960 what is that podcast? Like, what is the podcast about? 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:53.640 And he'll say something akin to like, well, it's about this, 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:57.080 but it's really about friendship. And I was like, Okay, 0:00:57.120 --> 0:01:00.800 first of all, that's annoying. Second of all, maybe that's 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:02.279 what we'll say from now on. We're like, well, it's 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:05.120 technically about movies, but it's really more about our fringe. 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:09.560 That's so nice speaking, which I, uh, well, wait, we 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:12.000 should say what the podcast is. I was it's going 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:14.200 to be a countdown for me until we can start 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:18.200 talking about the parallels between Idris Elba's character in this 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:21.920 movie and Macavity. Oh my gosh, I had a lot 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:27.839 of a whole analog to how this movie is basically 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:31.360 the movie cats. He's basically well, I I didn't pick 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.600 that up, but I was like the Cavity energy. Anyways, 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:38.040 we should say what the podcast is. Okay, this is 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:42.360 our podcast about movies. We examine movies through an intersectional 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:46.680 feminist lens, using the Bechtel test simply as a way 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:51.000 to just inspire the concept of talking about film through 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:54.200 this lens. And Jamie, what on earth is the Bechtel test? 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:57.320 I don't know. Well, in this movie, it's when your 0:01:57.320 --> 0:01:59.440 mom comes in your room when you're using a vibrator 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:01.440 and tells you that your career can't keep you warm 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:06.400 at night. But what it technically is, but it technically 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:09.799 is is it's a media metric invented by a queer cartoonist, 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:13.440 Allison Becktel, sometimes called back the Wallace test, that requires, 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:17.800 for our purposes that two people of a marginalized gender 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:21.200 with names speak to each other about something other than 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:25.360 a man. Uh and and most movies don't pass it. 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:28.519 And I would say holiday movies it gets even harder 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:31.640 to pass yeah, because everyone's like, why don't you have 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:35.120 a husband yet, daughter of mine? This a movie does? 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:37.720 I mean, this movie does. Like spoiler, this movie does 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:40.080 pass the backtel test. But there are some really funny ones, 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:44.440 um like when mcdeer comes in and says, your vibrator 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:46.160 isn't going to keep you warm at night, you know, 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:49.120 and she goes mom, and then you're like, well, I 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:57.639 guess maybe, but they talk about batteries, batteries, genderless icon batteries. True, 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:01.040 let's pay our guests in. Yes, we've returning guests. We've 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:04.480 we've rolled down the one am I saying, when the 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:07.799 what is the wording we use? We we've taken down 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:12.200 the embargo. Yes, we've we've unlocked the cage that we 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:20.760 keep all men on. Jesus, So I guess today returning 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.360 from you remember him from the Rock episode, which is 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.520 where a lot of running gags in our show were 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:33.280 born between Gregnant between his wife, lots of lots of gems. 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.400 You could say that the Rock episode was gregnant with 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:44.840 and gave birth to several running gags of the Bad 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:47.760 Book Cast. Anyway, The Ark was a very gregnant episode 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:54.400 ext eight months gregnant, that whole episode, much like this one. 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:56.680 There's a Gregnancy in this one. I was. I was like, 0:03:57.320 --> 0:03:59.920 there's better be a Gregnancy in this movie. And you know, 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:01.800 thank god, it's a little late in the game, but 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.920 the Greatnescy comes through its present. Um and you know 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:08.320 him as one of the hosts of the Daily Zeitgeist. 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.880 It's Miles Gray. Oh, thank you so much for having me. 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:15.560 I'm I'm I'm truly honored to that you allowed me back. 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:17.000 When you even asked you like, hey, do you want 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:19.240 to talk about a movie on I was like, on 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:24.000 your podcast Bechdel Cast, where my sort is not allowed 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:27.000 At the moment, I was very confused, But you know what, 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:30.080 I'm honored that you have welcomed me back into the 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:34.000 kingdom and offered me safe passage through the cinematic universe. Um. 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:36.360 So yeah, it's always a pleasure. And I happen to 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:38.800 happen to people who I could talk to endlessly about 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:42.000 anything anyway, so it's hardly any kind of a task 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:44.000 for me. So when we decide, I mean, this is 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:46.440 the same. This is happening the same month that Alfred 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:48.960 Molina has been welcomed into the m c U. So, 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:52.279 you know, Miles Gray's no cannon in the bc U. 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:56.159 It takes two appearances to become canonically bc U. Thank 0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:59.919 you so much. That's I feel honored. You know, Molina 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:02.920 it has re entered the m c U. Uh now 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:04.960 Miles Gray is entering the b c U. So it 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:07.599 feels like a new day from me, Miles, great Leon 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:13.880 has aunt is here. Also shout out to my sponsors 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:17.440 right theon that gave me, gave me twenty dollars to 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:19.839 change my last name. But it's worth it. That's incredible. 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:22.160 I mean, honestly, I think you could have gotten more. 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:24.520 I don't know. I didn't want to be greedy, you know, 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:27.840 I think, you know, little Company, a little mom and 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:33.400 pop organization, just destabilizing the whole sections of the earth. Um, Miles, 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:38.440 what is your relationship with this Christmas? Well, oddly enough, 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.520 which is the movie by the way, this one very 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:48.000 tortured relationship with this current Christmas, with this particular Christmas. Um, 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:52.000 I you know, oddly enough, it's a movie I've watched. 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:54.440 When it came out in two thousand seven, I was 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:57.320 in a really weird place at the time, getting off 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:00.400 of getting out of college to an economy that was 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:05.040 like vaporized, and then also like awful break up where 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:06.960 like I didn't know who the funk I was anymore. 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.800 So I was I was. I was watching a lot 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:13.279 of corn unplugged in the dark on my bean bag chair, 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:16.880 especially with with Amy from Evanescence comes out to do 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:19.320 freak on a leash um, So that was sort of like, 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:22.640 that's like the vibe I was operating in, so I 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:25.000 I So I watched it then, and oddly enough, when 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:27.760 you asked me about this Christmas, I was like, I 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:30.360 just watched it last night, like the night before you 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:33.680 had asked me about doing it, So it's I don't know, 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:36.680 it was just it's it's there. But I hadn't seen 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:41.480 it in years, so it was like going into it new, Sure, sure, Jamie, 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:45.400 what about you? Uh. Like many movies, I've seen like 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:49.160 chunks of this movie over the years on like T 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:52.400 n T and like when friends were watching it or 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:54.599 roommates were watching it, but I never like sat down 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:59.400 and watched the the entire thing, which, honestly, I mean 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:02.400 this movie really does like demand a hundred percent of 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.520 your attention if you're trying to follow. There's so many storylines. 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:10.720 It's like love that it's love actually level number of storylines, 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:13.000 but worse because they're all in the same house, and 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:15.280 you feel more like, well, I should know everyone because 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:17.800 we're not just like going across the country to these other, 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:20.280 like desperate story lines. I'm like, wait, is that a 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:24.600 kid or a boyfriend or a spouse of the There 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:27.040 are so many times where I'm like, did I miss something? 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:31.200 Do we not know who's who's? Like? What job does 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:35.400 this person have? Whose? Whose child is this? It took 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:37.960 me a second to figure out who. I thought that 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:39.800 it was Kelly's children for a second, but it turns 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:41.680 out it was Regina King's children, and then I was 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:43.280 like did I And then I went back. I'm like, no, 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:45.560 I was just supposed to know that. I was supposed 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:47.760 to know that, right right right. There's also like a 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:50.920 cousin Fred or something that shows up now and then, 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:53.760 but he's like not important at all, but important enough 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:57.160 to take shot at how many kids he has? Like 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:01.080 how many kids? For you? Guys six seven. Also Madere 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.360 has six children, Like, what is she passing judgment? At 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:06.640 least she had it with Senior. You know, I guess, 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:08.120 like I think they're trying to make it look like 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:10.080 Fred has a bunch of baby mommy. There's a lot 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:13.320 of weird, shitty tropes in here, but you know, it's 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:15.200 but that's what Christmas movies are about. It's usually not 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:20.560 a nuanced discussion of fucking anything. So and Chris Brown 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:24.360 is there. I really hate to see Chris Brown and there. 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:29.120 It was my pleasure to fast forward through all sixty 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:34.440 thousand Chris Brown musical Monton. Yes, credit to his manager 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:37.160 or agent who basically when they negotiated that was like 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.480 he will sing entire songs in this movie and you 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:46.840 will not edit them down one fucking bar. Because yeah, 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:49.160 Chris Brown, this is like I mean, and this is 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:53.440 sort of like shortly before his career and his like 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:56.080 he starts to really be called into question, right, because 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:58.400 that happened in the late two thousand's, But like, yeah, 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:04.319 that was like she's that was a nine. Nay, it 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:07.440 was after this movie, but I don't know exactly when, right, Yeah, 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:09.440 I don't. I mean, he was still you know there 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.720 he was still just had minimal tattoos. His neck wasn't 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:15.240 tatted yet. You can always tell like where you're at 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:17.520 because like as the tattoos fielding, and you're like, okay, 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:21.120 now we're getting into like scum Chris Brown phase. Um 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:26.200 so yeah, I don't know, it's he's he definitely brought 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:28.160 people into the theaters that Like when you look at 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:31.120 that line, if you're like, we're letting an algorithm tell 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:33.040 us how we're going to get as many asses into 0:09:33.080 --> 0:09:35.760 the seats. Yeah, and he's so prominent on that. I 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:38.400 was looking at the posters where he's like takes up 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:40.880 a third of the poster even though there's twelve people 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:49.600 on the poster. Right right, it's like Chris Brown's this Christmas. Thankfully, 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:52.520 he's actually not in that much of it, like it's 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:56.440 mostly other people. But but almost every second he's on screen, 0:09:56.520 --> 0:10:01.600 he's just singing, singing, singing. That said, I enjoyed this movie, Caitlin, 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:05.760 what's your history with this movie? I hadn't seen it before. Um, 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:09.040 I liked it, okay. But generally movies that are like 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:13.640 character driven, family narratives that don't really have a distinct 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:18.640 plot aren't really my type of movie, so it's not 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.880 a rump that's kind of rumpy. I would say that 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:25.839 Adris Elba's uh storyline is very rompy. It's like in 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:28.760 Ocean's eleven in the middle of a family movie. They 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:30.640 give you all kinds of you. They give you even 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:35.880 like Star Wars Daddy Issues reconciliation vibe. But there's also 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:39.280 there's like more melo drama than I enjoy in a movie. 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.040 So I'm just like I was here for it. I 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:47.120 love I love the melo drama. I'm it's a it's 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:50.280 generally a pass for me. But also and I don't 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:54.520 generally the only Christmas movie I like is Muppet Christmas Carol. 0:10:55.480 --> 0:11:00.520 Every other one you liked print too, sort of did 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:03.000 you like? Have you seen New York Christmas Wedding? I 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:05.520 have not seen New York Christmas. The lgbt Q one 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:08.560 that like Netflix put out where it's basically this like 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:11.480 woman who's like about to get married to a man 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:13.960 is visited by an angel who sends her to a 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:16.280 parallel reality where she could have come out to her 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:19.200 best girlfriend that she was in love with and play 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:21.680 out a life where she would have just honored her 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:25.040 like feelings about her friend and had like this beautiful 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:27.440 love affair with this other woman. But then like the 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:29.679 thing ends and it's like all right, now choose. Oh 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.120 my god. It's like a very very weird way to 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:34.800 present that sort of quandary for a person of like 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:37.079 this angel being like, Okay, you want to test drive 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:41.400 this other version where you embrace this relationship. Maybe not, 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:45.559 but anyway, those are some steaks I didn't know that existed. Yeah, 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:47.280 check it out. I mean, because this is the thing 0:11:47.280 --> 0:11:49.840 I love about Christmas movies is that they're so just. 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:52.920 They can be anything. They can be like sincere and 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:55.320 earnest and you're like, oh, this just happens to be 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:58.520 happening during Christmas. But for me, the best ones are 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.960 like absolute trash where there's so many plot holes and 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.120 you're being like, they didn't even think when they were 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:07.160 writing this. I for whatever reason, that's like a salve 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.920 on my like like tortured creator wounds and don't like 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:15.720 see people can get absolute shit made. It is like 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:19.240 if a Christmas movie took more than forty minutes to write, 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:24.880 it took too long period done. Michael Keaton's Jack Frost 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:27.720 took eleven minutes to write the entire screen. Yeah, that 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.040 movie was fully improvised. So I went to high school 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:33.800 with one of the snowboard bullies from that movie. Wait, 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.839 I think you've told us this before. That's iconic, that's incredible. 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:40.840 He was Unfortunately, that kid was living in his sister's shadow, 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:43.720 who played the daughter in Jack Frost, And he only 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:46.160 got the part because his sister was one of the leads, 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.800 and we made fun of like that's how toxic l 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:50.800 A School was, Like, dude, you only got it because 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:52.599 your sister was a lead fool and you barely You 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:56.640 don't even have like a U five part under five lines, um, 0:12:57.720 --> 0:13:01.600 Like I don't know, wow, growing up in l A sense, 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:04.800 I mean yeah, I think it's also jealousy because he 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:07.120 also had like he like brought us snow. I feel 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:10.040 like he bought brought like a snowboard jacket from the 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:12.640 set to school in like the l A heat and 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:15.040 we're like, dude, we get it. So then we just 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.679 turned on him or like whatever, bro, your sister got 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:21.920 you the gig roll like a twelve and ship. Well. 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:24.160 One of the things I appreciate about this movie is 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:28.000 that there's l a Christmas representation because so many Christmas 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:30.960 movies take place in like New York or Chicago or 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.040 any other place where it's like cold and snow eat 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:36.920 during Christmas time. So I appreciated that you have just like, 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:41.599 you know, mild weather Christmas, like you know, yeah, like 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:44.320 Jacket's it, and you know, some people can overdo it. 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:46.480 I think it's like if it was truly Angelina, though, 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.840 we would be dressing like it was negative forty below 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:54.480 just fully costplay. Yeah, because like our Overton window in 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:57.360 terms of what's hot or cold is completely screwed up. 0:13:57.400 --> 0:14:00.360 So we're like, yeah, what is it? It's below Vandy 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:08.480 where mittens right now? Oh? Good grief? Um, should I 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:13.440 do the recap story to the best of my ability? Yeah, 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:15.240 it's kind of a lot. There's a lot going on. 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:17.480 It's a lot curious how you're going to do it 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:21.720 with it and have it be very cogent and succinct. Yeah, 0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:24.600 everything's happening, and yet nothing at all is happening. The 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:28.200 stakes from character to character are so wildly different that 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:31.600 like they're just like wait a second. There's like in 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:34.520 a wall pregnancy scandal, and then there's someone who's like 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:38.920 should I get back into the dating world, Like everyone 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:41.760 stas I got a camera, but mom doesn't like that 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:46.000 I sing? Are these steaks? And then like Rosalba is 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:49.600 like being beaten up in every same season. But Buddies 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:54.440 with his like transgressors. He's got to like they act 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:57.760 like middle school bullies, but they are like thirty eight 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.760 years old. They're like, yeah, moan, dude, They're gonna get me. 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:04.120 Like this sounds like a seventh grade problem that he's having. 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:07.880 I think Joe Biden wrote these characters. You know. It 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:11.400 was Mo and Dude, you know bad dudes, you know, 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:16.160 associates of corn Pop. Yeah, messing with my boy Quentin Jr. 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:19.480 Who was a jazz pianist. Like all right, Joe, this 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:25.360 sounds very contrived, Like all right, Grandpa, let's go to bed, right, 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:31.000 Um okay. So this Christmas the film is about the 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:35.640 wet Field family. Madear is the matriarch. She has six 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:39.080 sons and daughters who are all grown up and who 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.840 are all getting together for Christmas for the first time 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:43.840 in four years. And because this is a more kind 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:48.120 of character driven story than a plot driven story, my 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.600 recap might be kind of all over the place. So 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:54.440 just bear with me here. But um so, it's a 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:58.520 it's a few days before Christmas. Madear that's Loretta Divines 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:02.800 character lives in l A. She owns a dry cleaners, 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:07.600 and her romantic partner, Joe played by Delroy Lindo, is 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:10.960 the kind of step father figure to her kids, although 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.200 they are not married and a lot of them don't 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:16.000 know that Joe lives in the house with Madear, and 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:19.720 everyone's being very like two thousand and seven about it 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:22.640 in a way that is very weird to me. I 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:25.480 was just like, why can't just be happy for Medear? 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:29.680 Like why are we whatever? The main thing is like, well, 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:32.160 we'll get to this, but Quentin, you just Elba's character 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:35.160 hates Joe and like that's why she's like keeping into 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:38.920 secret anyway. It just Elba's character is secretly twelve years old. 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:41.320 That's like, my that's the only way I can rationalize 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:43.720 some of his some of his choices where he's like 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:45.680 I don't get it. Why aren't you married to my 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:49.200 dad anymore? And it's like, this is twelve year old culture. 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:52.840 This is not like oh and literally telling Joe you're 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:58.240 not my daddy. Oh okay, sir, we got that part 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:00.400 when we knew that. I think you're also in adult 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:02.360 and we don't need to talk like that right now, 0:17:02.840 --> 0:17:05.000 right Like, I feel like people should come down. The 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:09.520 things that people come down Quentin hard for, like being 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:12.120 a musician, don't make sense. And the things that they 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:16.000 take really easy on him, like being aggressive towards Joe, 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:19.400 who has never done a thing. People are just like, well, 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:22.159 you know, he's sad about the divorce. You're like, he 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:24.840 needs to he needs to, you know, grow up, figure 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:27.800 out by by all measures. Quentin Senior sounds like a 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:30.399 piece of ship. If I was on the family to 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:35.520 be a fucking musician. Uh, that's not an honorable person. 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:39.240 Sorry so, but but again that's but that's the thing, 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:41.720 like we don't have these fucked up relationships with our parents, 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:44.800 and even though on paper it's bad, we still idolize 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:48.119 them and wrong. There's so much depth to that. It's true. 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.399 It's true. I like Joe. I like Joe too. I 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:54.040 love Delroy Lindo, you know, and whenever when he puts 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:56.240 a good performance, like it felt weird. He felt like 0:17:56.240 --> 0:18:00.080 he was classing up the joint acting like I was like, oh, 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:02.600 you're too good right now, this is a little this 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:04.840 is a little bit of holiday trash, and you're like 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:10.440 earnest performances like Shakespearean wait to the whole thing, even 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:12.240 like when he would have it out with interest elbow, 0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:15.040 these tense moments were like he's like, you probably should 0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:16.960 stay away while I'm around, because you know, I don't 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:18.080 want you to hear what my mom is, Like why 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:19.480 don't you take that up with your mother? And he's like, 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:21.639 I will. And then del Roy Leno just does like 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:25.080 great like reaction acting when he's like yeah, like about 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:27.919 to say something, measures dials back and then goes on. 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:31.880 You're like, wow, okay, del Roy, he really that whole scene, 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:33.760 there's like just a scene where he's just hanging up 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:37.080 lights and getting a little frustrated, and I was captivated 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:41.879 because we're supposed to focus on what's happening in the background, 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.520 which is Kelly coming home from a one night stand 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:48.320 with McKay peiffer, who proceeds to stop her for the 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:51.600 rest of the movie, but in a cute way, but 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:55.840 in acute way when he's very suddenly like dressed up 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:57.960 as Santa with her niece and nephew, I'm like, this 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:00.320 is like this is the end of that story line. 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:03.560 And if we can't depin you, but we did in 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:06.400 the normal world. There's a text that's a girl. You're 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.960 not gonna believe this motherfucker showed up in Santa outfit. 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:13.200 I didn't even call him. I'm trying to get him 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:16.280 to leave right now. No, just the one time, not 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:19.800 since then. No, he brought gifts and ship too like 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:22.240 once they like as if he knew what they wanted. 0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:25.879 This is you run even a cursory bushemy test on 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:30.080 that it all falls apart. Stu Bushemy comes the next 0:19:30.119 --> 0:19:34.320 morning into Santa Suit. You're like, it's not going to 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:38.040 end well, You're like, get out of my house. Um, okay. 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:41.720 So we meet Madeer and Joe, we meet Baby. That's 0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:45.159 Chris Brown's character. He is the youngest member of the family. 0:19:45.200 --> 0:19:47.440 I think he's a senior in high school about to 0:19:47.440 --> 0:19:50.119 graduate because he still lives it. They like make it 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:52.480 seem like he's still in high school right even though 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:56.320 he's yes, but he's acting like again, he's acting like 0:19:56.400 --> 0:19:58.840 he's tent like he's always like hunched over like he 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:02.280 and also twenty five because like I'm singing at a 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:10.040 nightclub snuck out the age right. They never like, they 0:20:10.080 --> 0:20:13.120 never specify really how old anyone is supposed to be, 0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:15.720 which works to the movie's advantage because I'm like, I 0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:19.520 don't know what I would believe. And then the rest 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:23.320 of the family starts to arrive at Madeir's house. Lisa 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:28.480 that's Regina King. She arrives with her husband, Malcolm that's 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:32.520 laz Alonso. They have two kids together, who could not 0:20:32.680 --> 0:20:36.760 be in the movie less if they tried. That's fucked up. 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:40.040 It was weird. And another like moment when I was like, 0:20:40.119 --> 0:20:42.679 I'm so fucking confused, like when I was watching it 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:45.520 last week and I'm like, wait, who, who the who's 0:20:45.560 --> 0:20:48.080 fucking kids are these? And why are they being neglected 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:51.360 the whole film? Like they don't exist in the reality 0:20:51.359 --> 0:20:55.359 of the film. The fact that they're even there is 0:20:55.480 --> 0:20:58.720 introduced so late in the movie, and then I was 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:02.400 still like, wait, who whose kids are these? And then 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:04.720 you're like, oh, like, oh, okay, that makes sense that 0:21:05.560 --> 0:21:08.000 I don't know. The way that they're introduced was very confusing, 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:10.159 and then they're like in the background of two scenes, 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:14.240 they don't even sit at the table, Like the table 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:17.480 I honestly thought in the first like soul Train dance 0:21:17.520 --> 0:21:19.760 line that they did as a family, Like when Quinn 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:21.719 comes home and one of the kids was there, I 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.400 honestly thought it was an intruder. I was like, who 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:27.600 the funk is? And like, y'all aren't really you're just 0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:30.359 gonna act like okay whatever. I'm like, this family is 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:34.640 on some other ship. You know, those infamous child intruders. Yeah, 0:21:34.640 --> 0:21:37.919 I don't know exactly. I'm like, Yo, one of these 0:21:37.960 --> 0:21:40.560 little cutesy thieves is in your house on Christmas. You've 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:42.920 seen this a hundred times. You know the script already, 0:21:43.000 --> 0:21:47.720 that classic Christmas troupe. Hey, it's me, your other little grandchild. 0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:51.399 You're gonna take the presents, you ink. I don't know 0:21:51.400 --> 0:21:53.640 why they talked again New York Burglar from the twenties, 0:21:53.680 --> 0:22:01.040 but given Adris Elba's character, you know, I believe almost anything, right, Okay. 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:04.720 So then we also meet Kelly. That's Sharon Leal. She 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:09.320 works in New York. I think in advertising. She went 0:22:09.359 --> 0:22:12.040 to Harvard. Her main thing is that she's a terrible cook. 0:22:12.400 --> 0:22:15.040 A lot of jokes are made at her expense about 0:22:15.040 --> 0:22:17.560 her being really bad at cooking. Don't forget she also 0:22:17.640 --> 0:22:20.440 has a vibrator, and she has a vibrator. Yes, she's 0:22:20.480 --> 0:22:23.600 one of those Harvard non cooking knows how to pleasure 0:22:23.640 --> 0:22:28.240