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S1:E16 - Holiday Special: Skipping Christmas & Christmas with the Kranks
44 Plays3 months ago
Ho-ho-hold onto your Santa hats because we’re wrapping up Season 1 with a festive bang! 🎁 In our final episode of the season, we’re diving into John Grisham’s hilarious holiday novel Skipping Christmas and its over-the-top movie adaptation, Christmas with the Kranks. Is this a holiday classic or a seasonal misstep? We have opinions! Plus, we reflect on what makes the holidays truly special—and why it’s okay to rewrite traditions. Don’t miss this cheerful and chuckle-filled finale as we say goodbye to an incredible first season and look ahead to what’s coming in Season 2! 🥂
Hosted by Keri with co-hosts Lindsey and Crystal.
Content Warnings: Humor based on social pressure, mild violence/slapstick, body shaming/appearance comments, grief and loss, bullying/peer pressure
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
Question of the Episode:
- What is one of your holiday or winter traditions?
Share your opinions with us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, or email us at basedonabookpodcast@gmail.com
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Intro/Outro Music: Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!)
Happy holidays from all of us at Based on a Book! Thank you for an amazing season, and we’ll see you in 2025!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(01:55) Synopsis
(02:30) Non-Spoiler Reviews & Ratings
(08:03) Book vs. Movie Breakdown (SPOILERS)
(01:19:31) Final Verdict
(01:21:40) Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:12
Speaker
and happy holidays.
Introduction to Podcast & Book
00:00:14
Speaker
Welcome to Based on a Book, the podcast that appreciates all of their supportive friends, family, and listeners that helped them through their very first season of reviewing book adaptations. Yay! I'm your host, Carrie, and I always avoid my neighbors year-round. I'm Lindsay, and I'm skipping my intro.
00:00:40
Speaker
Okay, I'm Crystal and I have a personal relationship with the guy at the liquor store. Today's episode is a holiday treat as we dive into Skipping Christmas by John Grisham and its 2004 movie adaptation in my personal favorite, Christmas with the Cranks starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen.
00:01:06
Speaker
John Grisham is actually known for many of his legal thrillers that were also made into films and TV shows, which I did not know about. I believe he has a total of 14 different works made into film or TV shows. You had no idea? No, I had no clue.
00:01:26
Speaker
Okay. All right. That's all right. I also had no clue. Brand new to me. Oh my gosh. This is the generational gap in its finest moment because like John Grisham is like, we all know, like at least me in my group, like legal thrillers, like duh. No, I don't care. And you guys are just like Christmas with the cranks. Yeah, that was just, that's the skipping Christmas guy.
00:01:49
Speaker
Oh Lord. His name sounded familiar, but I couldn't tell you any of his other works. Oh my.
Plot Summary of Skipping Christmas
00:01:55
Speaker
But that's just a scene for today's episode, which is after the Krank's daughter leaves to spend Christmas away on a Peace Corps mission, Luther proposes they skip the holiday entirely and use the money they would spend on gifts, decorations, and parties to take a cruise instead.
00:02:14
Speaker
As chaos ensues from their holiday obsessed neighbors, this hilarious holiday classic proves that no matter how hard you try to avoid it, Christmas has a way of finding you. So let's get into our ratings and non-spoiler reviews. So I'll go ahead and start first this time. This I think my rating was probably caused from the fact that, you know, I've watched this movie like a million times. I've never read this book before, but I've watched it a million times and love this movie specifically because this is something my parents would do.
00:03:00
Speaker
You know, my me and my sister go away to college and they're like, you know what? This year I think we're going to skip Christmas and go on a cruise. So this is something very specific. I think my parents would do and we always would laugh about this. And then we would come home and be like, actually, we're coming home for Christmas. So you're going to need to, you know, get everything together and traditions need to continue. So.
00:03:25
Speaker
I think because it reminds me of that, and it I've always loved this Christmas movie a lot, I gave it four Frosties that must be freed from the basement. Okay. Get it, girl. Yeah. Lindsey, what about you? I'm going to be honest, it kind of made me angry.
00:03:52
Speaker
I had seen the movie before, so
Host Reactions & Personal Reflections
00:03:54
Speaker
that wasn't new. The book, everybody's just so nosy and Luther is such a Debbie Downer. ah So my rating is basically the same for the book in the movie, but I gave it two and a half ho, ho, hoes. So more like ho, ho, oh.
00:04:17
Speaker
Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay, Crystal. Well, I read this book not long after it came out. It came out in 2001, not long after 9-11, the country was definitely and different from when it was written. like Obviously, he wrote this before 9-11 happened for it to get edited and proofread and sent to the printers and all that.
00:04:47
Speaker
so
00:04:50
Speaker
ah you know i I think a lot of us at the time needed something to laugh about. And right away, like John Grisham wrote a holiday novel. like you know Everybody at first was like, no way. But then you know everybody started talking about how good it was. And you know again, we all kind of needed something to be lighthearted and and funny after something so horrific.
00:05:17
Speaker
So I picked it up then and I loved it. It was exactly what I needed. You know, it it brought a little bit of levity and joy and normalcy back to a world that kind of still felt scary, you know, especially a whole bunch of people who were suddenly wanting to travel for Christmas after something so horrific involving travel, you know.
Cultural Context & Changes Over Time
00:05:42
Speaker
something like this kind of lifted a lot of that stress out. So I think part of why this hit so well when it did is because it was exactly what we needed at the exact right time. Having said that, this reread definitely opened my eyes to some things that like, oh, this is an over 20 year old book.
00:06:06
Speaker
Um, so there, there's some stuff in there that, that now made me, you know, kind of raise my eyebrows cringe a little bit. But having said that, I gave the book three and a half nosy neighbors. They were so nosy. They were so nosy. It was still an enjoyable read to me.
00:06:30
Speaker
not quite Not quite what I remembered, but again, I think it was just it it's a reading it at a different time oh yeah made a significant difference. Definitely, totally. I know exactly what you're talking about. but Especially sure you with like these like early 2000s books, it's just the language, what it's talking about or discussing, it's just like, really? Right. Well, there's one part in the very, very beginning like within the first two pages.
00:06:57
Speaker
Where they're at the airport because their daughter is like you said going off to the and going on a Peace Corps mission um And they're at the airport dropping her off But they don't just like kick her at the curb or even take her to the ticket. They walk her all the way to Her concourse all the way to the and that's something that did happen pre 9-11. You know what I mean? So when I read that part, I was like, oh wow, this is From a different time. Yeah, you know like it it's it's Still, like they have cell phones, they have you know nice cars, they have like the news. they don't I don't think they ever bring up the internet or email that much, but like it's not so hard to picture yourself there, but at the same time, it's a whole different world.
00:07:46
Speaker
So that was really kind of interesting, like that little flashback in my head of remembering like when my parents took me to the airport to drop me off and they walked me all the way to my plane. They sat with me until I boarded, you know, that doesn't happen anymore. Yeah, for sure.
00:08:03
Speaker
Yeah, so before we get into our book versus movie breakdown, big spoiler warning, because we're gonna get into all of our spoilers. So before you move on with us, read the book, watch the movie if you already haven't, because it's pretty hilarious in my opinion. um Maybe not to Lindsay. Not to Lindsay. Overall good time to me, maybe upsetting.
00:08:31
Speaker
So if you've already done that, grab your hot cocoa, sit back, and let's get into the festive fun. And in my opinion, a pretty spot on adaptation. I was shocked.
00:08:45
Speaker
Because again, I've read the book and I've seen the movie. I think everyone, if they haven't seen the movie, they should have. It's it's out there. It plays all the time every year. And it should, it's good. But I remember watching the movie and I i guess I just didn't realize how, like there was such a gap between when I read the book and when I saw the movie for the first time that I didn't i didn't realize how spot on it was. It's really,
00:09:15
Speaker
it It follows the book so well using the same names, using the same names as some of the stores that she visits, oh yeah you know at using the same names as like the business that Tim Allen works for. like It's Luther works for. It's really kind of awesome.
00:09:35
Speaker
Yeah, I loved it. And i even bringing like the neighborhood to life, bringing exactly, I mean, it's kind of hard to say considering, you know, if you've watched the movie like a ton of times and going back to read the book, it's a different kind of experience because you're kind of all you're really getting when you have when you have that experience is you're getting added detail, right? Right, right. You're just getting some more background information of what's going on. Like, I'll get into it in a little bit, but it's not going to be the same as bringing the story to life. Right. But I can imagine, like, especially the characters, bringing the characters to life, like Jamie Lee Curtis, bringing Nora to life.
00:10:24
Speaker
His name is slipping from my mind at this moment that plays Luther. Tim tim Allen. to yeah Tim Allen bringing Luther to life like exactly being the grumpiest guy and just being, you know, somewhat of like a Scrooge basically this entire time, kind of bringing that to life as well. I thought they did those roles perfectly. Absolutely. Yeah.
00:10:50
Speaker
for meyer which i Even There are so many cameos in this movie, he but seeing Dan Aykroyd, he was so perfect for this role.
00:11:06
Speaker
ah like There were a couple of parts even at the end that I was like, oh my gosh, that's so Dan Aykroyd, but it it fit the character so well that I, ah like legit, this is probably, I'm so glad we did this one. Like at first I was like, like it's skipping Christmas. It's, you know, everybody knows that one. Maybe we won't do that, but I'm so glad we decided on this. I, cause it was a real pleasure, a real joy to watch that and remember how much fun it was for me at
Comparing Book and Movie Adaptation
00:11:34
Speaker
least. Sorry about your luck there, Lindsay.
00:11:36
Speaker
ah Honestly, no, I mean, there were some really good moments in the book and in the movie. You know, there's the scene, I don't want to get too much into it, but there's a scene with the Christmas trees and the Boy Scouts. And when they really introduce Dan Aykroyd's character, and Nora and Luther are staring out the window. And one of them says,
00:11:58
Speaker
Who's he going to call? I was like, right. Yes. Yep. There are so many just like little tiny, like, and I can't think of the kid's name. He's an adult now, but he was on Malcolm in the middle and he plays Spike and he, he's like the perfect casting for Spike. Yeah. It just really, I like the cat, the casting of this movie.
00:12:24
Speaker
is far and away one of the best castings of any book adaptation ever, really. Yeah. And every single year, I'm just like in tears laughing at this movie. I don't know why. It is just so funny to me. It just hits all, it just hits my funny bone every single time. well Even though I'm like quoting it and I'm still cracking up.
00:12:46
Speaker
Well, there's there's so many different kinds of humor too, though. yeah like There's puns, there's situational humor, there's sarcasm, there's physical comedy. like it's just it It hits every box and it's really...
00:13:01
Speaker
it's This is a good movie. I honestly forgot how good it was. Yeah. And then whenever what whenever I was reading the book, it's hard to say if like the humor is as good on page as it is in the movie. like i would say I would say the movie like does it better. like I don't think the book is as funny. like They really take it really far in the movie. So I listened to the audiobook.
00:13:28
Speaker
and like And I have the physical copy, but again, I was just like, oh, we're doing Skipping Christmas. And so I turned on the audio book thinking I'll clean the house while I'm doing this. And at a certain point, I sat down and followed along in the book because the audio book was really well done.
00:13:45
Speaker
hu And I think the way the narrator read kind of helped to like those those moments of comedy when you're trying to read it that don't quite hit, they they read it in a way that really kind of like that extra punch of of levity, of of funny, of sarcasm. And I started marking along in the book, you know, moments that were just like, but i'm I'm glad I'm listening to the audio book, it was worth it.
00:14:11
Speaker
Yeah, that's always good. I love when a narrator can bring that to life and it's not like monotone or something like it makes it funny. So I love that. So let's go in and get into, you know, starting from the very beginning of the book where, like we said earlier, the book begins with the Sunday after Thanksgiving where they are spending at the airport, which is pure nightmare fuel
Nostalgic Elements & Pre-9/11 Context
00:14:37
Speaker
for most. Nobody wants to spend the Sunday after Thanksgiving at the airport.
00:14:41
Speaker
where our two main characters, Nora and Luther, are dropping off their only daughter, Blair, who is leaving for Peru to join the Peace Corps and will not be home until next Christmas. So Nora's really sad, her only daughter's leaving, and it's really emotional goodbye between Nora and Blair. But Luther is like, you know, dad, more focused on the traffic and how fast he can get back home.
00:15:05
Speaker
you know He's like, all right, let's wrap this up real quick. We got to go. Airport traffic is like, gonna I'm not going to get back home till midnight at this point. right There's also a quote from the book that I wrote down at this point where it says, things would get worse for Luther.
00:15:20
Speaker
I love the foreshadowing. That's such a good touch. and We've seen it in a few books, but like this was nice. yeah I love, honestly, this first chapter like ah luther of them going home and then they stop at the store. and like he's fighting He's already upset because like obviously his daughter's leaving and his wife is Very upset right so he's already like kind of grumpy because like now he has to deal with his upset wife and he's upset too. But at the same time it's like but i also have to like care for her and tell her she's gonna be fine how many times can you say she's gonna be fine yeah but then he's got a fight traffic.
00:16:00
Speaker
and it's already snowy rainy outside and then he's like they gotta stop at the store and it's pouring down rain and he can't park close it like it's just one thing after another and like i think we've all had those days yeah for sure and the way it's written Man, I felt it. Yeah. In this first chapter, like, yeah, Luther's a kind of a jerk, kind of an asshole through the whole thing. He's grumpy, Gus. It's just annoying. But like the way they set it up in this chapter, we kind of get it, you know? Yeah. Yeah. That entire scene where like Norris making himself for groceries.
00:16:37
Speaker
you know, it's raining and he's like goes in and he needs to get like the chocolate. He needs to get the pistachios. It's very specific kind of pistachios, very specific kind of white chocolate. And you know, it's like this funny back and forth in the movie where he's like, he's like running around in the rain. It's like Lily pouring rain. And she's like, no, I'll just go do it myself. Then he's like, no, no, fine. I'll go do it. It's like,
00:17:03
Speaker
It's just like a funny little moment and I feel like everyone can kind of like relate to this moment, especially whether you witnessed somebody doing that or you've been in that position yourself and I think it's really funny. I will say like I didn't notice it until this time, but what's the deal with John Grisham writing about Luther's feet?
00:17:23
Speaker
Cause like first Luther steps in a puddle on his way out of the car to go into the grocery store. And then on his way out of the grocery store, he steps in a puddle with his other foot. And then later on he talks about like further down in the book, he's wearing warm socks in bed to keep his feet warm. And then he has to take his socks off because his feet get too warm. Like there's just, he goes on and on about Luther's feet. I didn't even notice that, but now that you bring it up, I totally remember that. It's the foreshadowing for the ending.
00:17:54
Speaker
but i Honestly, I think so. I think so. Maybe. That we won't tell you yet. Yeah. We're not there. So in the movie, this moment, whenever he's like running back and forth between inside the store and out of the store, this actually triggers an idea for him because he sees an advertisement on the store. Wait, I have a mark that I want to talk about. Okay. Well, I don't want to talk about it. I want to bitch about it because I'm mad. What do you know? Crystal's mad again.
00:18:23
Speaker
So at one point in the book, she does go back into the store, Nora nora goes back into the store, and Luther stays in the car. And he is sitting in the car waiting, and he's kind of just like staring into the parking lot kind of aimlessly. And he switched the heater vents to the floorboards to thaw his feet. But what I really marked was, then watched the large people come and go at the burger place.
00:18:54
Speaker
fat shaing Yeah, mind your business. Pretty much. like And this is how you know it was written in 2001. Yeah. Nobody would dare write that now. And if they did, I'd let them know about it. Yeah. like you got John Grisham, get it together. I would like to know what you have against large people and fast food.
00:19:16
Speaker
Oh man. Okay, so. I only have two other marks in the whole book. I believe you. ah So in the movie, like I said, this triggers an idea for him because he sees an advertisement on the store of a cruise ship. But in the book, the cruise idea comes a little bit later because he is just like thinking about Christmas, thinking about all the money they spent on Christmas because he's also an accountant.
00:19:42
Speaker
So he calculates all the money they spent on Christmas, like Christmas decorations, presents, you know, that, you know, that cheap perfume that you gave somebody and that they never ever use and just pass away forever. And, you know, the scarf that somebody that you gave someone and they never ever wore again. He's just calculating all the stuff. And all those stupid donations that you feel like you have to make and the calendar you have to buy for the fundraiser. Yeah.
00:20:11
Speaker
And he comes to a grand total of around $6,100 that they spend on christmas that spent on Christmas last year. I believe it's $6,132 in the movie. Yeah. Which is, according to the book, 9% of his adjusted gross income. So I did some math.
00:20:32
Speaker
but I did math too. What's your math? Yay! Basically, $68,000 a year. Basically, he was making $68,000 a year. That's the math I got too. I did inflation. Oh, I didn't do any... I was just... because And this is my point. In 2001, at $68,000 a year, they were living in a really nice house. And I know that you can be all like, oh, the movie made it look huge. Well, the movie did make it look huge. But even in the book,
00:20:56
Speaker
They're living in a fairly comfortable neighborhood. His wife drives ah an Audi. He drives a Lexus. These are very well-to-do people. She also doesn't seem to have a job in the book. She does a lot of charity work, and she's on like all these little housewife committees. But for $68,000 a year in 2001, they were living high on the hog.
00:21:23
Speaker
Just saying. And there are people in this world today that do not make $68,000 a year. There are whole households that do not make $68,000 a year. And even if they made $68,000 a year, they ain't barely living in a house like that. Just saying. Nope. That's my rant. I was mad about it. But what do you know? But it's facts. It's facts. And my next mark isn't for like seven more chapters. So we're good now. Wait, what were you going to say, Lindsay? I did the inflation math. So $6,100 back in 2001, 2004, depending on book or movie, is roughly about from 2001.
00:22:08
Speaker
There you go. So that's an expensive Christmas. That's an early expensive Christmas. And that's 9% of his adjusted gross income, then his adjusted gross income would have been around $120,000 a year.
Financial Motivations & Community Pressure
00:22:24
Speaker
Just saying. And there you have it. Boom. Math. Mic drop. Man. I hate math. It makes me feel poor.
00:22:32
Speaker
Okay, so now he's made all these calculations. Now he has decided to present the possibility to Nora to take a $3,000 cruise instead of celebrating Christmas, doing spending money on Christmas and doing all that. Essentially skipping Christmas and going on a $3,000 cruise and instead. Which would be $5,350.
00:22:58
Speaker
Which is kind of an expensive cruise. Like I went on a cruise like two years ago. That's a very expensive cruise. Like I was like, how long are they going on a cruise for? Well, it was 10 days, according to the movie. I went. They didn't say that in the book. It was a seven day cruise. And I mean, it depends on your location, I guess. And I think that that was the cost for both of them.
00:23:21
Speaker
So the double occupancy yeah yeah for 10 days. And he did say like that's true that it was like all inclusive and everything. And I still feel like that, they they probably got a nicer room. And maybe that included the I think this is set in the Chicago area, right? I'm pretty sure. Possibly. and But either way, they're set where there's snow. So they're going to have to fly yeah to the cruise. yeah So maybe that included the flights. Yeah, that makes sense.
00:23:50
Speaker
So he presents this to Nora, so he's sitting at the dinner table. This was this how part always makes me laugh because he's pretending to be so sad. You know, he's like, Christmas just won't be the same. It'll be so depressing, you know, without Blair here. And Nora's like, yeah, he hams it up. I know he really does. And he's like, I have an idea.
00:24:11
Speaker
You know, I know how to make it better. And, you know, presents his idea PowerPoint. Yeah. this whole Well, instead of welcome to my talk. Yeah. A binder here. You know, it me if it was me, it'd be an Excel spreadsheet. This is why this is a good idea.
00:24:29
Speaker
you know, sitting at the dinner table and basically presenting why they'll save money going on this cruise instead of spending all this money on Christmas, but they have to skip Christmas. And Nora's like, we save money? I mean, that doesn't sound like a bad idea, but they have, she's like, we still need to like donate to charity, do our regular donations. He's like, no, it's basically a boycott. Like we can't be doing any of it. And she's like, no, but eventually he agrees.
00:24:57
Speaker
Let me say, I'm very proud of a woman in a book setting a boundary and sticking to it. Yeah. And it worked for her. And you're saying women out there, it'll work for you. Do it. It was funny because he's like, you're going to let a lousy like $600 staying in the way of going to the cruise. She's like, no, but you are. Uh-huh. She was not going to let him manipulate her. yeahp I loved it.
00:25:20
Speaker
So now at this point they like made the final decision, okay, they're gonna skip Christmas and go on this cruise instead. So now this whole neighborhood or town is weird as hell. And, or maybe it's just me, you know, but personally, I think it's very strange and requires everyone to follow rules regarding their Christmas traditions. So when someone falls outside the rules, no one knows how to function anymore. And they don't mention that there's an HOA, but this is straight up HOA activity. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's definitely giving HOA vibes.
00:25:53
Speaker
So because of this, Nora and Luther begin encountering neighbors and such that are used to them participating in Christmas neighborly traditions, and they have to slowly reveal to them that they will be skipping Christmas, basically.
00:26:10
Speaker
And at first, everybody seems to kind of get it because they're like, yeah, with Blair gone, like we understand, but you're still going to do the party, right? like You're still going to decorate, right? yeah You're still going to send out Christmas cards, right? And like and that's when they're like, wait a minute. What? Yeah, it feels more like OK in the book, but in the movie, it's very dramatic that they're like so appalled. Like, for example,
00:26:35
Speaker
the very first time like Nora kind of has to tell her friends or has to tell the guy at like the pumpkin seed where she usually gets her Christmas cards. Her stationer. Yeah. I mean, come on. I know. Come on now. Okay. Listen, again, i'm I'm older and I know it's like I'm older by a whopping 10 years, but that 10 years makes a huge difference because legit, I used to have a stationer.
00:27:01
Speaker
like My family could tell you exactly where to go to order your printed Christmas cards every year. like And we knew the people who who worked there by name. And they knew who ordered every year. like That was not an uncommon thing in the 90s at all.
00:27:21
Speaker
You know, to to know where you could get stuff printed, like not just your business cards, but like like we didn't go to Vista print. There was no snap ish. There was no like, you you know, we weren't ordering all this online. We had to call someone at a printers where you could order all that stuff. So, so that Honestly, watching it now, I was like, Oh my God, this is so old, but like legit, like shout out to print and go like,
00:27:51
Speaker
I'm just saying. We knew. And in the movie is just so, it's so funny and dramatic because she's like, oh, i I won't be needing Christmas cards this year. And like, they're just so appalled. Like, they just can't believe that she wouldn't be ordering Christmas cards. There's no Christmas cards. there and then And then he's all like, but what about the invitations for your Christmas party? You were going to order those, right? Yeah.
00:28:16
Speaker
And then he's like, oh, no party. There's a moment where like in the movie there she's like sitting at a table like with her girlfriends and they're talking. She's trying to explain that they're not going to have a Christmas Eve party and because they're going to be skipping Christmas and that they're going to be going on a cruise and they're leaving on um December 25th. and you can see the guy who does the invitations in the background whispering with everyone and like looking at her like evilly and i'm like oh my gosh and like she's like no we're not doing it everyone like quiets down is like looking at her and it's like
00:28:54
Speaker
And she's like crouching down it at the table, like embarrassed. I'm like, oh my gosh. This town is insane. It was definitely over the top. Yeah, but it's so funny. It's so funny. It's honestly hilarious. The harassment level, yeah not not good, don't harass your neighbors, but also hilarious. Lindsay's so upset. She's upset, yeah. That's what got me. Yeah. The neighbors being too nosy.
00:29:23
Speaker
So they also have like a moment like where they're confronted by the Boy Scouts, you know, trying to sell them the Christmas tree because they get one every year and they're like, no, we won't be needing a Christmas tree this year. We won't be buying one. And in the book, he's like, I'll donate, or I'll be giving money later in the year. Basically, like in Luther's mindset, he's like, if I give in for like just one little thing. It's just gonna be like a domino effect and I'm just gonna do everything. And then I'm gonna be buying a cruise and spending all this money on Christmas. Yep. So that's like, I feel like that is his mindset. He's like, if I give in one thing, and then he like is so tight on it, that he becomes- He becomes a Grinch. Yeah, he becomes a Grinch.
00:30:16
Speaker
but So what I think is another big difference between. I mean, not another big difference, but like one big difference between the book and the movie is that in the book, they're very like try to be hush hush about things. But in the movie, you know, Luther is very confident and he sends like a yeah email out to like his whole um were Yeah. He really hand delivers this letter to people at work and is like thrilled to like tell them, I ain't coming to the Christmas party. I ain't coming to the gift exchange. We're not doing the fun. You can tell me Merry Christmas and I won't bomb bug you, but I ain't showing up for nothing. And it was like, Oh, okay. Yeah. Get a Tim Allen.
00:30:59
Speaker
yeah Now in the book, he you know he kind of tells people and people find out like when he has to tell people. And one of the guys at his accounting firm is like, this is brilliant. I want to do that too, but my wife would kill me. And he's so excited that he starts keeping track of every red scent.
00:31:18
Speaker
that gets spent on Christmas in his own house and keeps giving Luther a running tally throughout the next few weeks. I thought that was hilarious because like of course at an accounting firm, the accountants don't want to do Christmas. like Yeah, definitely.
00:31:35
Speaker
Then also during specifically that Christmas tree incident, you know, all the rumors are going around like crazy. And then someone catches wind of these changes in the Crank family. And as I said earlier, big Fromeyer, the self-appointed ward of the neighborhood. He's the president of the non-existent HOA. He is not happy about this. Like we said before, he's played by Dan.
00:32:04
Speaker
Acroid in the movie. So in the book, Fromire puts Luther's, we don't really see this too much in the movie, but in the book Fromire puts Luther's seriousness to the test by sending out a letter announcing when everyone in the neighborhood will be putting up Frosty. And Frosty is like this huge plastic Frosty the Snowman that goes on everyone's roof This is part of the HOA, apparently, that goes on everyone's roof on Hemlock Street. And it's basically used to win this, like, Christmas competition. You know? And they all have to, like, decorate their house and put this giant Frosty on their roof. And every single house on the street has it.
00:32:54
Speaker
And Luther says that he's not putting up the Frosty because, you know, like I said, it's going to be cause of the domino effect, even though that wouldn't do anything about money. It wouldn't cost any money. Yeah. And this is the one part of the book that like, I kind of see where Luther's coming from. Like you give an inch, they'll take a mile.
00:33:13
Speaker
But at the same time, like if they would have said from the very beginning, we will do all the things that cost zero money. We'll still put out the Christmas lights that we already own and have already paid for. We'll still put up Frosty because we already have him. He's already paid for. You know, we'll show up to your Christmas party or we'll come to the Christmas parade because it's free. Yeah. But we're not doing We're not spending any money. Like if they had put that line in the sand, I think people would have been a lot more respectful of it, in which case we wouldn't have such a hilarious book. But I still feel like that was just kind of like, really, Luther? Come on, put the frickin' Frosty up. And this played out pretty funny in the movie. It was hilarious. Like Froemeyer, he has this moment because you don't know who it is. And he is like standing off in the distance. And, you know, Nora and Luther are both hiding behind the curtain.
00:34:10
Speaker
ah in the window and like looking out and seeing him standing there and then he turns around and you see who's playing for a mire and it's really funny. It's hilarious. And then eventually they actually like go in the basement to like hide from everyone outside and like Frosty's down there and it just plays out hilariously.
00:34:36
Speaker
Where was I? i'm like getting well I'm just getting ahead of myself. They're supposed to put up the Frosties. He sent out the notice. Yeah. so ah So as Luther sees everyone is starting to put up their Frosties and Christmas decorations, we also get introduced to neighbors Walt and Bev shield.
00:34:55
Speaker
um Luther is like super competitive with them and they have like a really funny banter in the movie between Walt and Luther. Bev is like a really sweet woman, but she is also very sick, which is sad.
00:35:10
Speaker
and We're also introduced to, like we said before, Spike Fromeyer, which is Fromeyer's son. He's like the little mini Fromeyer riding his bike around the neighborhood, also, I guess, policing the neighborhood in some sense.
00:35:27
Speaker
with all the other neighborhood kids about Christmas. His dad made him feel like, like, this is your job, Spike. Like, keep an eye on things for me, bud. And he does. He goes back and reports stuff to his dad all the time. Yeah. And, you know, Fromire, like, confronts Luther as well about Frosty, making it more like, you know, Fromire wants to win this competition. And this competition thing isn't really in the movie. It's like alluded to.
00:35:54
Speaker
But it's more like we, Frosty, like I remember watching the movie and be like, what is the deal with Frosty? Like what is the big deal about Frosty being on the roof so badly? Like I understand like it all looks nice together, but it wasn't really like talked about the fact that it was like a part of a competition on the street. So that kind of gives more information in the book of why the whole point of If you don't participate, then they're probably not going to win or something. This is a whole other street. They do, like, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. Yeah. So at this point, also, like, Nora kind of has her moments of, like, questioning her decision. um But ah you know what I just thought of, too? This is off topic, random. But I thought of the fact that
00:36:46
Speaker
They probably also weren't like decorating for Christmas and stuff because I just remember like whenever he was like doing all those calculations, like they spent like an astronomical amount on like just ornament repair. I was just like thinking of that. That's true. That was insane. Yeah, I've never heard of that before. Like that was really crazy.
00:37:08
Speaker
But yeah, so at this point, Nora has her moments of questioning her decision. But in the book, she receives a letter from Blair, which is not in the movie, that kind of solidifies her decision. And they continue to prepare for like their cruise with Luther, setting them up for tanning at one point. and And basically, we have a snowball effect on their decision and the choices just keep piling up on top of each other, like the police coming for donations with their calendars. I feel like in the movie, Luther is like more of an ass than he is in the book. I mean, they kind of go like he's like a different type of asshole in the movie than he is in the book. Does that make sense? Yeah, yeah. No, I can definitely see that. Yeah, like he's just like the way that he acts in the movie
00:38:02
Speaker
Is like he's hockey. Yeah, he's very cocky in the movie and he's more like. Like almost stoic kind of jerk in the book, like he's just very matter of fact, very logical, like you're not even going to discuss it kind of thing. Whereas in the movie, he's very like, we're not going to discuss it because I know I'm right. You know, like. Yep. Yeah, exactly. It's like a different type of jerk, basically.
00:38:29
Speaker
And, you know, during this moment and whenever these like whenever they have people that come to their door for like what they usually would give money to in the book, Luther is like, well, whenever after Christmas, like I still will donate and do all these things, just not right now during Christmas because, you know, he needs to stick to his guns, I guess. And You know, in the movie, he, like I said, he's kind of has like this more like cockiness about it. And he's just like, yeah, we're not doing that. You know, we're not doing that, you know, moving on. And, you know, the cops are like, oh, okay. Like you're not going to buy a calendar like you do every year or like the Boy Scouts, you're not going to buy a Christmas tree like you do every year. So, you know, it's becoming the snowball effect where like everyone is kind of hating on the cranks.
00:39:20
Speaker
Well, you know, Nora is also somewhat different in the movie, in the book, because in the movie, she's like, oh my God, I can't believe you're not going to do that. You're not going to buy the calendar. I can't believe you're not going to buy a Christmas tree. How dare you? In the book, she basically just ran away the whole time. Yeah. right yeah I feel like in the book though, like it did a slightly better job of differentiating the different roles of a man and a woman in a very traditional 90s middle income Christmas. right like The man had to deal with explaining to the guys at work why he wouldn't come to the Christmas party.
00:40:02
Speaker
well i mean it's a whole bunch of men working in an accounting firm. him Nobody cared. you know Whereas she had to explain to all of her girlfriends and all these people on the volunteer committees and stuff that she wasn't going to be hosting the annual Christmas Eve party that everybody looked forward to, which was a lot more pressure because everybody kept saying, well, why not? And they didn't understand or they didn't want to understand the why. So I feel like in the book, they did a really good job of kind of like the societal pressure of keeping up those social norms on a woman, whereas the financial stuff was more on Luther's side.
00:40:42
Speaker
But again, he works in an accounting firm. So the majority of people he had to explain it to didn't care. And the ones who did care, he didn't have to deal with. She had to hear about it later, like from the Boy Scouts and the firemen. And she was the one who had to like, you know, duck down low in her car when she was trying to leave the neighborhood to go shopping or whatever. Yeah. Whereas Luther was just like going about his daily life. Mm hmm. Yeah.
00:41:08
Speaker
There's also a moment, I think, in the movie where she's like, I'm on the front lines. I'm on the front lines during this. You get to like lay back, do whatever, and I'm on the front lines. I have to take like all the brunt of it. You get to sit in your cozy little office. Yeah.
00:41:27
Speaker
yeah And speaking of that time, it kind of goes into this whole tanning incident, which I find is so funny, hysterical in the book.
Humorous Moments & Embarrassments
00:41:38
Speaker
I mean, this isn't as funny because there, there's this moment where, you know, Luther takes Nora to, cause you know, they got to build up their tan in the tanning beds because back then people were going into any beds. I don't know if people are still doing that anymore, but, uh,
00:41:56
Speaker
So Luther's taking Nora to ta to go tanning. But in the book, she's like in my I'm pretty sure she's like in a bikini, but she puts on her clothes to go out.
00:42:07
Speaker
And she runs into like Father Zabriskie. Is he named Father Zabriskie in the book? I don't remember. I don't remember. Yeah, he is. But runs into him and she just is like thinking about the fact that she's wearing like her bathing suit on you. She's like getting a wedgie the whole time and she's uncomfortable. This is way more embarrassing in the movie. I loved it in the movie, honestly. I really needed this in the movie. It was great.
00:42:32
Speaker
where she's wearing like her but she's going to tanning for the very first time using a tanning bed for the very first time and she like hits her head or and she's wearing a bikini and runs out and who first of all i ain't going to a tanning place in the mall where there's no doors in the front for why no no And it's wide open on a busy, like during Christmas season where everyone's and their mother's walking by. jit That was a 90s thing. Everything was in the mall. Everything was in the mall. Putt-putt golf in the mall. The movie theater in the mall. The tanning salon in the mall. The hair salon. Nail salon. It's all in the mall. Yeah. i I'm not doing that. But there also weren't doors on the rooms for the tanning beds. They were just curtains. That was weird. Yeah. Well, the curtain thing was, again, that was a normal thing, was the curtain thing.
00:43:21
Speaker
Somehow you're supposed to be comfortable getting naked behind a curtain that you can't walk. Yeah. No, that's gonna be a no from me And she like runs out and she hit her head and like the whole freaking somehow the neighborhood is still here in the mall seeing you in this bikini. And it was like a bikini that was purposely like ill fitting because they're they're going to they're trying to be on a diet too because they want to lose weight for this cruise. Yeah. Yeah. Which I feel like the diet part was definitely emphasized more in the book than it was. Oh, 100%. Yeah. no Yeah.
00:43:54
Speaker
Yeah, they were like darn near starving themselves. Yeah, they really were. And this is like kind of. alluded to later in the book. But at this moment, they are put in the newspaper the next day of them in their bathing suits because Luther comes out and he's like, you hit your head and he's in a freaking speedo, which is oh my God, which I guess is better than the book because he's naked in the book. Yeah, he's in a speedo, runs out and and tries to help her. And they're literally on the front of the news, local newspaper, which is insane. Mm hmm.
00:44:33
Speaker
and well And so in the book after that point, they actually, this is where the carolers come in. So eventually carolers come to their house, sent by their neighbors singing outside their window. In the movie, this part is hilarious because the carolers come and they're trying to ignore them. And there's a point where it's like finally silenced and like, okay, I think they went away. And Nora's like,
00:45:04
Speaker
bends over it's like get some yarn as she's like sitting at her chair and then she gets up and they're like frosty snowman like right in the window on her face and they're like screaming and like run to the basement in their own house Also the basement, the creepiest frosty ever. Close the curtains. like At this point, this is your own fault. Close the curtains. like What are you doing? But then like they they're in the basement and it's like the creepiest frosty ever hiding back with glowing eyes. I almost had nightmares about that. In the book, whenever they have this like whole the carolers there, the news is also there and they're like trying to harass them.
00:45:47
Speaker
Basically into like the Christmas spirit up in here and they're just like, but why are you skipping Christmas? Like, what do you have to say about that? Like the news is there. It's like, okay, everyone needs to relax. Everyone needs to relax. Everyone take a deep breath. In through your nose. Out through your mouth. I need everybody to relax right now. Luther was all about saving money. Do you want to know something that's free?
00:46:13
Speaker
minding your own business there you go there you go that's the truth she said what she said yep so eventually the whole neighborhood is judged for this competition and it's this part's funny because in the book they like literally go out to eat and they try to stay far away from this from their neighborhood during this moment and the neighborhood gets fourth place and everyone blames the cranks out since it's not decorated, for one, and they don't got no frosty on their roof. And their house is put in the newspaper. But like I said, in the movie, the house is in the newspaper, but next to them in their bikini and speedo. Well, and but in the book, like, Normally on the day that everyone, the neighborhoods get judged or whatever, there's a big Christmas parade and they usually go sit with their neighbors for the Christmas parade. And they didn't even do that. And part of it was like, that is free. All you got to do is show up, like bring your, bring your little lawn chair and come sit, like have some hot cider or whatever.
00:47:20
Speaker
And they didn't even do that. Even Luther was just like, I hope it doesn't snow because then Nora's going to get so upset and then want to stay. Like he was like literally holding on for dear life. Mm hmm. And eventually like kids are. Kids are like protesting outside their houses like free, frosty, free, frosty. It's so dramatic, but just so freaking funny.
00:47:47
Speaker
Like I can't. Quite possibly one of the most extra Christmas movies. Yes. In existence. Yeah. And the two things are not in the book, but whenever he sprays down his, Lindsay's already upset.
00:48:06
Speaker
He sprays down his sidewalk and his like whole front yard with water, which turns into ice because it's so cold. And for the carolers and the mailman to like slip and fall, I'm like, okay, you're getting your ass is getting sued. Right. yeah Your homeowner's insurance is new. Yeah. Your ass is getting sued. And then second scene that's not in the book, which is one of my favorite scenes in this entire movie.
00:48:36
Speaker
is the Botox scene. The Botox scene is great. The Botox scene is excellent. First of all, Botox does not raise your eyebrows like that. I wish it did. like I wish it would lift up my eyes a little bit, but it does not. so I don't know why they made him like All right. Everybody do it. Not just me. Especially not. Maybe like if you've done like Botox like a million times, it'll raise your eyebrows like that. But not for your very first time. Like I've seen people that have had Botox a lot and they have their their eyebrows be looking like that. Right.
00:49:09
Speaker
but For the very first time getting Botox, your eyebrows do not look like that. But it was pretty hilarious. And then he takes a sip of water and it just all kind of comes out because he's like numb everywhere. And I'm like, he was like, I got a shot of Botox. Nobody. You got like 80 units everywhere. I've watched enough of the, what is it? The Real Housewives of Mormons or whatever it was.
00:49:35
Speaker
I've watched enough of that to know how many units of Botox you need for that look. And that was not one shot of Botox, my friend. And like whenever he's trying to eat like his little cup of peach. It was a fruit cup. Oh my gosh. I talk about that scene all the time. That scene is hilarious. We didn't even talk about we didn't even talk about the cat.
00:50:01
Speaker
When he ices down the the yard and the driveway he ices the neighbor's cat. The cat is Walt and Bev's cat and the the neighbors that he always has a problem with and is always like occurring with. The cat is always a problem like throughout the whole movie yeah like and it's not really in the book but in the movie like he's constantly accidentally stepping on the cat or kicking the cat and it legit is an accident more often than not but it's turned into Like a little vendetta against the cat. Yeah. And he sprays the cat with water. And then it was frozen. There's a little frozen, like white Persian. It was fake ones that I promised. It was fake. It was fake. He was just trying to exist.
00:50:47
Speaker
It wasn't real. It wasn't real because of his ears. I know. Don't listen. It's okay. I'm sorry. Poor fuzz. I was like, you woke me up. I don't care about that cat. OK, so it then eventually becomes Christmas Eve and they're packing, which OK, why are you packing the day before you leave? OK, first of all, but.
00:51:10
Speaker
I'm in that way. I'll have a list, but I don't throw stuff in the bag. Don't upset me right now. Don't upset me. I pack day of. Listen, I don't have enough stuff to have stuff packed and then continue to live. Lindsay, do not upset me. Packing day of, are you trying to be stressed? I'm on it. It's just way easier that way. I throw it all in a bag. I'll even take dirty clothes with me if I know where I'm going and I can get to a washer. I'm sweating.
00:51:39
Speaker
Okay, so Christmas Eve, they're packing to leave, but they get a call from Blair saying she is coming home for Christmas. And she's got a man. She's got a man. She's been gone a month. She's only been gone one month and she's already coming home for Christmas. She's literally was in Peru. And she is now right now in Miami with her new fiance. And is up and Blair is like, we're having, you know,
00:52:10
Speaker
Christmas Eve party, right? Like tonight. And, you know, there's decorations up, right? Is it snowing there? And this was the moment that Nora could have been like, oh, no, baby, we weren't going to do the party without you. I'm sorry. But no. She lies. Nope. She's like, of course we're having a Christmas Eve party. Of course the tree is up. Of course I'm making your favorite hickory honey ham. And of course I'm making your favorite dessert. And all hell breaks loose.
00:52:39
Speaker
because I'm trying to get everything together. So this is my only other mark in the book. It it just really made me laugh because legit, this is so real. This is so real. So Nora hangs up the phone. Luther's like, why did you tell her that? And she's like, because we're gonna make it happen. And he's like,
00:53:02
Speaker
I don't know what you're thinking. You're smoking crack. This isn't gonna happen." And she's like, no, it's gonna happen and we're gonna make it work. And then he starts to argue with her and she says, don't start, Luther. This was your stupid idea. And he says, you didn't think it was stupid yesterday. And she says, yeah, well, today you're an idiot. We're having the party.
00:53:24
Speaker
And they use that exact same line in the movie. I love it. Like, cause I don't know how many times I've said that to people in my life. Yeah. Well, I liked you yesterday. Today you suck. as move on yeah Moving on. We gotta go. exactly It was so perfect. And Jamie Lee Curtis delivered that so perfectly in the movie. She was just like, well, today you're an idiot. like We're having the party. That's my girl.
00:53:49
Speaker
She's like, got to get my Christmas vest because I love Jamie Lee Curtis so much. She's just she's legit. She's my hero. I want to be like her. I think she just did so good in this movie. She is good in every movie. Let's be honest. yeah like like It doesn't matter if it's horror. We're talking about like scary Halloween movies that I'll never watch. Yeah. Or or like was the one where she traded played parent trap? No, not parent trap. No.
00:54:15
Speaker
ah Freaky Friday. freaky friday like she's just She's always good. She's always good in everything. I love her. She was excellent in this. I 100% believe she was Nora. Yeah. I love her. She was just relatable in the sense that like you could relate Someone to her like you could really whether it's your your mom a friend's mom or like yourself Like it was just like very like it's so relatable a person and she did it so Well, yeah, it was so good
00:54:49
Speaker
So at this point, like I said, all hell is breaking loose. You know, she's like, all right, we are about to, you know, we got to do this Christmas Eve party. We're going to about to save Christmas right now. And Blair is going to be here at like 8 p.m. I'm pretty sure I was trying to figure out what time she had called.
00:55:10
Speaker
Yeah. And how many hours they had? Well, and in the book too, her plane arrived at like six something and in the movie it didn't arrive until like eight. Yeah. One more point I want to make is that like the first part of the book is 140 pages, setting up Blair leaves. We have decided we're going to skip Christmas and dealing with all the BS that the neighborhood throws at us and our community throws at us for skipping Christmas.
00:55:36
Speaker
And the next, like, darn near half of the book is from this moment when Blair says she's coming home to when she actually gets home. It is All hell breaks loose. All hell breaks loose. And I think it's hilarious because even in the movie it's right about it's just a little after the halfway point that Blair calls and says I'm coming home. And so like the first part is funny. The first part is
00:56:07
Speaker
you know, just in like a silly, you know, humorous stuff. But then from this moment on is chaos. And it's amazing. It's amazing. It's like the last 100 pages of a Sarah J mass book. yeah really Yeah, exactly. That's exactly what it is. Like, so Luther, like she gives like a list to Luther, like you need to go do ABCD and I'm going to go to the grocery store and I'm going to go do all these things. And he's like,
00:56:34
Speaker
I don't want to do this." And she's like, okay, bye. I'm leaving and you're going to go do this. And he's like, okay. So he goes to get a Christmas tree. They don't have a Christmas tree. So he goes back to, you know, the Boy Scouts that visited him earlier.
00:56:48
Speaker
to go get a Christmas tree. And he literally, it's like a branch left. The Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Yes. And he's like, uh, how much for this Christmas tree right here? And they're like 75 bucks. And they're like, he's like, but the sign says it's only 15 and they're like supply and demand, you know, it's going to be $75. They're like, he's like, I'll take it. They're like, really? He's like, yeah, I'll take that. And then somehow the tree stays on top of his car with a piece of duct tape. And I don't know how that happened, how gravity worked, but we'll take it. Gets back to the house. Not a single pine needle. Oh, it started with three pine needles. yeah Now it has zero. OK, get to the house. No pine needles. That's one of my favorite parts, honestly, is is them just being like,
00:57:42
Speaker
$75. He's like, I'll take it. And they're like, wait, what? you like No. and It's the fact that the kid was negotiating and he's like, is this your kid? Capitalism, my friend. yeah he He knew what was up. Yep. Those Boy Scouts ain't dumb. Yeah, taught him well.
00:57:59
Speaker
So he gets the the branch back to the house, sees it has no pine needles on it, takes it, yeets it, yeets. He does. In the book, he just puts it in the backyard. yeah In the movie, he gets home and just immediately throws it across the yard. Yes. Then he actually sees that his neighbor across the street, Wes, is leaving with his wife and his kids. They're leaving out of town for Christmas. And this is unhinged. This moment is unhinged. So unhinged.
00:58:28
Speaker
So he goes across the street and he's like, I need to borrow your Christmas tree. And they're like, what the hell are you talking about? He's like, Blair's coming home for Christmas and his neighbor is crashing up. This is very much husband to husband, man to man. Yeah. The wife is inside. He's like, cause we can't talk around in front of the wife because the wife will say a hail now. Exactly. Yeah. So she should. Yeah.
00:58:56
Speaker
And he's like, let me borrow your Christmas tree. You know, just give me the key and then I'll just go in and get that Christmas tree. Yeah. Just don't tell anyone. He's like, all right. Like the neighbor's like, okay, have it back in the house by morning. When I get back and you can have the Christmas tree, if you break a single ornament, then we're both dead. Okay. So.
00:59:18
Speaker
And then he enlists the neighborhood hooligan, Spike. Yes, Spike. See Spike tackles him to the ground, by the way, in the movie, tackles him to the ground. I'm like, that's a child. Look, he doesn't tackle him in the book. This is extortion. He basically like pays him and says like, but keep quiet or I'm telling everyone. Yeah. like In the movie, it's a full blown tackle to the ground, you know, saying you're going to help me.
00:59:47
Speaker
Okay. He's like, and he's like, I don't want your money. Cause he's like, all I got is a 20.
00:59:56
Speaker
He's like, I don't want your money spike. I just need your help. And he gets a wagon and they go inside to kit the neighbor's Christmas tree. And this is the most unhinged, chaotic thing. And it honestly drives me insane. They're like, where you can't break a single ornament on this tree.
01:00:12
Speaker
They're not taking the ornaments off the tree while they're trying to sneak it out of the house. All the ornaments are falling off. They're breaking. He's like breaking baby's first Christmas. The way that they're moving the tree, they knock it over, falls on the wagon with all ornaments on it. You hear the ornaments breaking.
01:00:33
Speaker
It's driving me insane. Eventually they get the tree out of the house on a wagon. It's like going down the driveway on the wagon. Eventually they like lose it. It's so chaotic. It's so chaotic that I love it. It's just hilarious. It's just like classic like funny Christmas movie, and you know, and it's chaotic in the book. It's funny in the book too. And, you know, eventually You know, the neighbors are calling because, you know, these nosy ass neighbors like it's Christmas Eve. Don't you got something else to do? No. And they're binoculars. I am that neighbor. I am that neighbor. I am the one like I have given. I don't talk to my neighbors because that's gross.
01:01:16
Speaker
But I know what what time they all leave for work and I know when they're supposed to come back and I know when so-and-so's got a girlfriend coming over and I know when so-and-so, you know, his wife is like doing the grocery shopping. like I watch because I don't have anything else to do with my life.
01:01:35
Speaker
And so part of me is like, it's Christmas Eve. I'm stuck in home with these kids who are just like bouncing off the walls. I'm going to be watching out the window. I'm going to be paying attention to my neighbors clues way better than dealing with these kids.
Community Dynamics & Observations
01:01:48
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I feel bad though. And especially if like you see this chaos, like a Christmas tree. Right. now she like and yeah And you know this one neighbor does not belong in that house. Yeah, exactly. like like But I mean, the neighbor had full blown binoculars on. And then you got the neighborhood hooligan working with you. like yeah This can't be good. Yeah. So then he yeah calls the police on Luther because he has a wagon with someone else's Christmas tree in it. And Cheech Marin shows up. Yeah. yeah
01:02:23
Speaker
It was the name of that other actor. I don't know, but I recognize him from a few other movies. Oh, I don't remember. He's Gary Busey's son. He's Gary Busey's son. Yeah, he's in so many like he's he's a I don't know. He makes so many cameos in a bajillion and a half movies. This movie is full of them. Yeah, he he was in the wrong War of the Worlds movie that I watched. Not the Tom Cruise one, the wrong one.
01:02:50
Speaker
So these two cops are the cops that tried to sell him a calendar before and he denied them. So that instantly they come up and they're like, well you're done. Yeah, you're done. And, but then Spike comes back, you know, Spike ran away at that moment when he saw the cops. He's like, face like see ya. Cops, I'm out. Yeah.
01:03:10
Speaker
But then he came back and he's like, kind of kid yeah, he came back and he's like, look, Luther did have a key. I have the key right here. He wasn't breaking into the house. So then he eventually gets let go and gets to go in. And so he brings the Christmas, Luther brings the Christmas tree into the house and During this entire incident, Nora's at the grocery store. This isn't told in the book, this entire incident with Nora. We only see like the aftermath of this. But in the movie, this is like this brilliant... It's hilarious. Unhinged. Have you ever been to the grocery store?
01:03:46
Speaker
on Christmas Eve chaos like I worked in Starbucks for a very very long time years and years and years I've worked Christmas Eve I've worked Black Friday I've worked Thanksgiving night whenever they would have people you know working then and I know a chaotic store, okay? I know chaotic customers when I see one and you know I've seen people running
01:04:20
Speaker
for some food or for anything, merchandise. So this incident honestly cracks me up. Of them, Nora needs a hickory honey ham. You know, Blair needs her hickory honey ham. And there's only one left. And her and this other lady are chasing each other after it. And she has only cart surfing.
01:04:43
Speaker
it's And then she doesn't get it, and then sees somebody about to buy a hickory honey ham in the front, and then they're like, you know, it's never too late to put some money aside for your kid's college fund, and writes a check for someone for the hickory honey ham. Capitalism, my friend. Yes. But then eventually it's ran over by ASMI trucks, so. The ham. The ham. Yeah, not not Nora.
01:05:13
Speaker
RIP.
01:05:16
Speaker
So she eventually comes home and she sees the Christmas tree and she's like, what the hell is this? Like, what are all these freaking ornaments? What are these? Broken ornaments. These are not our ornaments. Chicago Bears. What the hell is that? Like, I don't even know. I don't know her.
01:05:32
Speaker
And so she's pissed. She's like, and he's like, I don't know what you're talking about. In the book, it's funny because he's like, I don't know what you're talking about. This is all from the boxes you gave me. Like he's gaslighting her about the decorations. He's such a jerk. I'm telling you. And she's just like, okay. And she's like, all she has is like- And the movie, he's just like, stop asking questions, just deal with it. Yeah. And during this entire time, they're trying to invite people to the party, the Christmas Eve party, and no one can come. and Because everybody's made plans. Yeah. Also, like and they haven't started inviting the neighbors because they don't want to do that because they're just like, this whole chaotic nosy neighbor incident was insane. Right.
01:06:10
Speaker
so They continue. I think Blair in the movie calls again like updating her location and saying something about like this dessert that she wants. So Nora has to leave again that she like to the store. There's also a character that's kind of in the book.
01:06:33
Speaker
kind of in the movie but in the movie it's supposed to be this like santa character i'm yeah not really sure what's going on there but in a book there's like a character that she sees like whenever she's shopping for wine that like she doesn't recognize him or recognize she recognizes his face but she's like where do i know this guy from yeah And then invites him to the Christmas Eve party. Same thing kind of happens in the movie, but they kind of like wrap it around. The movie they explain it. Yeah. In the book. Yeah. He's still just this guy who showed up. Who knows everyone by name. Who knows everyone. Yeah. I think it was supposed to be like potentially Santa Claus. Yeah. Everyone knew him, but nobody seemed to know who he was. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
01:07:22
Speaker
So during all that chaos while she leaves again, Luther attempts to put up Frosty. Even though at this point I'm pretty sure he has to pick up Blair from the airport in like two hours or something. right Because it's like dark outside at this point. But instead the idiot decides to climb the roof by himself. Yes, he climbs the roof. And this causes all the neighbors to come outside and watch him because you know like the neighbors are nosy as hell. I would have too, let's face it. I would have been watching from the comfort of my own home, thank you. i would have with my been on a diway You're back in the driveway because you want to see what's going on. i would have It's cold outside. I would have just shoved my chair right up into the window with my binoculars. yeah like
01:08:10
Speaker
So and then eventually he falls off the roof and the ambulance comes. But this is one of my favorite scenes and i because Walt and Bev are there because, you know, all the neighbors are neighbors are watching him. And Walt is like, I called 911 and Luther's like, thanks, Walt. And he's like, Bev made me. yeah He's just dangling from ah the rope or something like yeah by his leg.
01:08:36
Speaker
Yeah. And at this point, Frohmeyer does this like, you know, this is the cute classic Christmas, like everyone comes together, gathering everyone around.
Community Spirit & Christmas Preparations
01:08:46
Speaker
He's like, listen up. You know, he finds out about blares coming home and that's why, you know, it's all chaotic over at the cranks. He gathers everyone around. He's like, listen up. We're going to help out Luther.
01:08:57
Speaker
even though he's been a selfish piece of shit. Basically, that's what he's saying. How come the daughter should pay the sins of a father? That's what he says. I'm not going to lie though, I started to cry during the audiobook, the the narrator's reading this part and I'm like, community neighborhood friends like this is a family man i don't know what got into me but i started to tear up and i was like get it together crystal i didn't like this part yeah i always cry during the movie during this like whole oh okay so i'm not the only one but yeah ah during this entire end i always cry dan ack right over here like
01:09:41
Speaker
This is what neighbors do. And Blair was the one who babysat all of our children. Yeah. Well, we're doing this for Blair. Mm hmm. And I'm like, who's got a turkey? And who's we we got to have all the side dishes, everybody bring a dish, everybody get ready and we're coming back here in 30 minutes. And yeah. like And he's like getting like everyone like runs around and like helps like decorate and like, you turned up like some sort of like neighborhood general. Yeah. Like,
01:10:12
Speaker
And you always cracking me up. I was cracking up at the, so whenever the the ambulance came, there was also firemen. The fire, can we please?
01:10:22
Speaker
i Well, okay, the ladder incident when he cuts but Luther and he just like falls to the ground. But okay, so whenever they're decorating in the house and stuff, the firemen are walking around in their full gear. Did anyone see that? Yeah. They're talking about the firemen getting hit in the face with the ladder. No, I didn't even notice that.
01:10:48
Speaker
there are so many just like little things throughout the whole movie that are like that like even near the end whenever they're like literally toasting at the end there's a fireman in the background in full gear helmet on and everything i'm like Take off your gear. There's no fire. There's no fire. But so at this point, he old frome also assigns the two cops that were there. This is not in. I don't think that this is. ah Yeah. OK, OK, OK. I couldn't remember because the robbery incident is really throwing me off. The robbery is not in the book. hate The robbery incident is not in the book and it's in this whole robbery situation in
01:11:35
Speaker
the movie and i have no idea why it's in there and i have no idea the purpose i don't really get it either so whenever in order to help save time from ira signs the two cops to go pick up blair and her fiance from the airport but during that process Spike like gets them on the radio because for some reason he knows how to contact them on the radio. oligans um yeah yeah And tells them to basically stall.
01:12:07
Speaker
and because they need more time because they somehow like got there early. and so During that, they're like pretend the cops with two civilians in the back here, literally were like, oh, we're going to go you know trail around and- We got a call about a domestic- Possible incident. possible incident over here and like they're pretending in order to stall and then it turns into like there's a real-life robbery and they have to arrest someone okay so then they eventually get back to the cranks house and you're like oh whatever happened to the guy that they arrested oh he's sitting in the back with chilair and her fiance so the three of them are in the back of that car the police car chilling
01:12:53
Speaker
so that all three of them are in the back. They get to the crank's house. The cops get out of the car and join the party with the freaking person in the back seat still back there. Yeah. And Spike comes outside. And they just leave him. Yeah, they leave him there. Of course it's Spike. He comes out and he's like. Talk to him. He's like, what are you doing back there? He's like, what are you doing back there? And the guy back there, he's like, I haven't ate in seven days. He's like,
01:13:23
Speaker
Yeah. And it was just like this whole incident. The guy gets out like Spike lets the guy out because somehow he has keys to the handcuffs because it's Spike. You know, it's just Spike. He just does things like this. He's a menace to society. It's OK. Somehow, Robert gets on top of the roof. It's a whole incident. I don't understand why it's here. It's not. It doesn't add anything to the movie, really. No. At all. Other than the fact that Tim Allen got to say something like, what are you doing up there? And I thought I was watching the Santa Claus movie. ye Yep. Yep. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the only that's the only reason to put that this whole scene and yeah in the movie. So eventually Blair andfiance and her fiancé get to see Luther and Nora and they
01:14:09
Speaker
hurry up and get everything together and everything's decorated the whole neighborhood's there and Blair has no idea that they were about to skip Christmas and the Christmas Eve party is in full effect and like everyone's having a great time and in the movie this is where I really think Luther in the movie is like particularly Jerk because he's not like this in the book like in the book he I feel the sense that he's very like Appreciative that all this happened and he feels good about it He's just like it is what it is in the movie. He like still has the sense of resentment that yeah came home Yeah, he's pouting that he doesn't get to go on his cruise Yeah, so, you know Nora does like a little toast like even her fiance does a little toast Yeah, cuz like the the new fiance
01:14:55
Speaker
Gets together with the guy marty that nobody seems to know marty martin wherever is yeah marty. We didn't know his name Yeah, well in the book. Yeah, so in the movie wouldn't know yeah, there's a whole scene that I wanted to talk about okay and talk about you Because I'm about to go into the music scene so you do the before scene In the movie, when they finally find out that his name is Marty, ah Tim Allen goes, Houston, we have a name. And I was like, I feel like we can really relate to that. Yeah. yeah that's yeah No, really. Everybody gets a name in this in this book. Carrie, are you excited? Yes. There were no name one's characters. Yeah, because honestly, I would be livid. Marty, I was like, don't mess with me now. Don't upset me.
01:15:43
Speaker
So they find out Marty's name and then they also find out that somehow he spent five years in Peru and he speaks fluent Spanish. So he like hits it up with. Enrique the fiance and they're they're hitting it off and they're talking and then they decide they're gonna do a musical number and the Frickin stationer back there from the pumpkin seed pops out with a pan flute Just happened to have one in his back pocket right And then Dan Aykroyd jumps in with an accordion
01:16:13
Speaker
That's my favorite part. I cracked up. I was like, what the hell is happening? And here's the fireman sew in the back. That's my family Christmas. That is my family Christmas. Someone will show up with a tambourine and a guitar and then suddenly there's an accordion and suddenly someone else has a xylophone or some random shit. It's happened. And so when I saw this happen in the movie, I was like, oh my God, it's real. It's relatable. Took me a minute.
01:16:42
Speaker
I love that though. I wish I had family members that could all play instruments. That would be fun. No, you don't. No, you don't. I'll send you some videos later. Trust me. Okay. Okay.
Conflict & Resolution
01:16:53
Speaker
But yeah, so this part really upset me because he's just, Luther's just pouting and then Nora kind of looks to him for a toast being like, can you please thank everyone for what they just did for us right now? And he's like, what does he say? He's like, say for me double. Yeah, say for me double.
01:17:10
Speaker
And, you know, Nora's pissed. Like she's like, how can and how dare you? These people just spent their Christmas Eve helping us put this whole thing together for Blair. And that's all you can say. You're still pouting over this cruise. And then he's like, we could still leave right now. Blair and Enrique can still stay here and like have the place for ourselves and we could still leave tomorrow. And she's like, how dare you? Like she just traveled all this way to stay here. How dare you?
01:17:39
Speaker
And like, you know, leaves him to pout about it because she's like, has to treat him like a child because he's acting like a child. And then the door opens and she sees, he sees across the street to Walt and Bev's house because they didn't come to the party.
01:17:55
Speaker
And this part is what makes me cry, is when he, his like act of kindness is going over there and giving the cruise as a Christmas gift to Walt and Bev. Do we even discuss at all in this episode that Bev has cancer? We said she was sick. I said that she was sick. I did say she was sick. Yeah. Yeah. So she's like relapsing and they think this is probably her last few months.
01:18:24
Speaker
Mm hmm. Yeah. So he goes and does and gives that to them. And Walt is just like, we couldn't. We couldn't. We can't. We'll pay you back. And then he's like, this is a gift. Please just go. And legit, like. I didn't cry, but I teared up.
01:18:51
Speaker
And I knew it was coming because again, I've read the book. I've seen the movie. I knew it was going to happen, but it still hits me. It still hits me every time. I love that part. And he even offers to watch the cat that he hates. But in the book, he doesn't admit that like knowing full well that Nora is going to take care of the cat. yeah yeah true Yeah. And then Nora comes out and she's like, I just heard like Bev just called and she just told me that what you did. And then the very like last line is like skipping Christmas, maybe next year. And that that's it. That's it. Yay. All done.
Final Thoughts on Book vs. Movie
01:19:30
Speaker
Now I am curious, your final verdict, book or movie?
01:19:37
Speaker
Both. Legit and both. Yeah. Yeah. yeah You know, they are incredibly close, incredibly close. But the book, the audio book in particular, it's under four hours. It's not like it's going to take up a crap ton of your time. You know, and the movie was what to not quite two hours, an hour and 37 or something like that. So, yeah, do both, especially honestly with everybody traveling, like do the audio book. It's short. It's a perfect book to listen to on a drive on a road trip. Like worth it.
01:20:12
Speaker
Yeah, Lindsay, do you agree? Yeah, I agree. I mean, the neighbors made me mad, but it was fun. I know those neighbors were so annoying. Like, I don't know. I'm not sure how I would feel. I can't say how I would feel if I read the book and watched the movie, but.
01:20:32
Speaker
Like I said, I just feel like, like I said before, i we would like my family always said that this would be something that my parents would probably do attempting to skip Christmas. And then it just like failing miserably and like everyone laughing about it.
Holiday Traditions & Personal Stories
01:20:48
Speaker
But the movie is like has such like a special place in my heart because of that. But honestly, like the book I thought I wouldn't like the book because I'm like, I just love the movie and I feel like the book is going to be like some silly little thing. But the book was really fun. I actually really enjoyed it. John Grisham is just really, really good at character development through these little like insightful moments, these these small, you know, like
01:21:21
Speaker
in the book when Luther sits up and calculates everything. Like we kind of learn, okay, he's meticulous. He's a planner. He's a thinker. He he might not say a ton, but there's a lot going on in his head. And we learn these little things through all his characters, through all of his books this way. It's pretty awesome. Yeah. And so let's get into our question of the episode. I want to know everyone, one of your holiday or winter traditions.
01:21:48
Speaker
So Crystal, I wanna start with you. Well, I kind of already said it. Like my family is- Apparently you're in a band, a band all over there. We legit are a musical family. I joke to everybody I meet or anybody who gets to meet my family that like be prepared. We're like the weird partridge family kind of thing going on. Like we're all musical. We all sing. We play instruments. We know all the fricking musicals. I was about to say that makes sense with the past episode.
01:22:18
Speaker
We are a very musical family, so that's one of the things that we do. And and not even just at the holidays, just any time we we sing, but at the holidays in particular, we we sing, we play. I unfortunately don't play any instruments, but like we we all, everybody busts out whatever they play, like drums, guitar, legit an accordion. ily My family's, we're we're super into music, so that's kind of what we do.
01:22:46
Speaker
I wish I played an instrument. but I'm going to send you videos. You just know. Okay. Lindsey. I want to bring back a tradition. Okay. Ghost stories. I knew it.
01:23:00
Speaker
yeah Of course. Yeah. I don't really have one currently, so. Yeah. I just want to bring one back. That's a good one to start with. Once a upon a time.
01:23:11
Speaker
years ago, and land over the river, through the dark forest, and into the mountains, there was a castle. I don't know, I'm making shit up. Don't listen to me. Once upon a time, haunted, the end. And there was a ghost. There was a ghost. That's it. That's all I know. Oh my gosh. I'll bet you, Carrie.
01:23:41
Speaker
one of our my family's holiday traditions that we do every year is we have basically like Christmas Eve Olympics over here we have a day full with prizes and you know my dad likes to put together all of our games and our prizes and the prizes go from really really terrible to really really good and you just don't know what you're gonna pick and you have to like That's awesome. Hopefully you pick something good. hopeful Hopefully you don't pick something bad and it's just really fun. And they go from like really silly games to like really like intricate,
Conclusion & Season Reflection
01:24:18
Speaker
crazy games. So we do that every single Christmas Eve and it's super fun. That's awesome. Yeah, it's really awesome. So that's a wrap for season one of Bay Stop Book.
01:24:33
Speaker
Yay us! Thanks for joining us this season as we have laughed, cried, and dived into books and movies that some of us never thought we would try. We found new things to hate and new things to love. this And I hope this episode brought a little bit of extra holiday magic to your day.
01:24:58
Speaker
Don't forget to subscribe and follow on our social medias linked in the description and keep an eye out on our podcast platforms for some bonus material. Happy holidays, everyone. And we will see you in the next season of Based on a Book. Bye.