Pod Insights Normal Gossip Holiday Bonus: Caked Up Spirit of Christmas About this episode In today's bonus episode, Rachelle and Kelsey discuss the cinematic experience that is 2015's The Spirit of Christmas. Warning: we could not stop talking about sex and drugs in this episode, maybe because the movie is so chaste.
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Transcript 10,043 words · 3 speakers
0:00 Speaker 00 Hi, Rachel Hampton here. If you missed last week's episode of Normal Gossip, please go back and listen because spoiler alert, I have been crowned America's Next Top Gossip Queen. I wanted to say a very, very heartfelt thank you to all the listeners who have been so generous and so excited about the next phase of this show that we all love so much. We here at the Normal Gossip Team really appreciate it, so much so that we thought maybe y'all might like to have a little holiday bonus episode as a treat. Before we get to your present, though, I just wanted to say that I am so, so, so, so, so excited
0:45 Speaker 00 to start working on season eight of Normal Gossip, which will come out this spring, but I need your help. We are looking for gossip. You can email us at [email protected] , or you can leave us a voicemail on our hotline at 2679 gossip. Some gossip that I am dying to receive, real estate gossip, gossip that is secretly a romance novel, service industry gossip, and fandom gossip, but truly anything you have that you think might be a fit, please send it over. If you have ever in your life thought, "Maybe this story might work for Normal Gossip," send it, please.
1:30 Speaker 00 I will work with you on anonymization, and if it turns out to be too hard to anonymize, well, I still want to read it. Okay, now for your present. As many of y'all know, we put out an extra episode for our subscribers once a month. For December's episode, we tried something just a little bit different. I made Kelsey watch the 2015 Lifetime original movie, The Spirit of Christmas, and we just gapped about it for an hour. As literally anyone in my life will tell you, I'm obsessed with this movie, and I think in my heart, Kelsey forever. What more could you want? Happy holidays.
2:18 Speaker 00 Hello. I'm so excited for this episode.
2:22 Speaker 01 I'm also really excited. We have a special little holiday treat. I hope that everyone did their homework. If you haven't done your homework, the homework was to watch The Spirit of Christmas. So I guess fucking spoiler alert.
2:36 Speaker 00 It came out in 2015. You've had a decade.
2:39 Speaker 01 You've had a decade, but you know, it is available on Amazon Prime and Apple Plus to rent. So it's not too late to watch this and then come back. Anyway, we're going to discuss this. Rachel, how the fuck did you find this movie?
2:53 Speaker 01 Why are we here?
2:55 Speaker 00 This movie has been in my life for at least the past four years, minimum, possibly more than that. What I think happened is, do you remember back around like 2017, when BuzzFeed would do big lists of like the craziest Christmas movies you should watch? I think this was on there and I think that at the time, this movie was on Netflix. And so I was like, okay, cool. I don't have to buy anything. I'll watch this movie. And then I watched it with my roommate at the time and I was immediately obsessed. And then every single year I brought this movie up to other friends being like, have you seen The Spirit of Christmas? And they're obviously like, no. What the fuck is that?
3:38 Speaker 00 So it has become an annual tradition where every single year I force at least one of my friends to watch this movie with me.
3:44 Speaker 01 And this year, it's me.
3:45 Speaker 00 And this year, it was you.
3:47 Speaker 01 One thing that I think is really important to note here is that this year you have forced me to consume two pieces of culture. The first was James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room, which is a beautiful piece of art. Put it in the fucking Met, it slaps. The second is The Spirit of Christmas.
4:07 Speaker 00 And the thing is, both of those are annual traditions for me. I reread Giovanni's Room every single year around this time. And I also watch this movie every single year. So you're really hitting the Rachel Hampton.
4:19 Speaker 01 I'm in the Rachel Hampton Cultural Experience Class.
4:22 Speaker 00 Exactly. We're on Rachel time, as my friends call it.
4:26 Speaker 01 Wow. I love Rachel time. I'm so happy to be here. Um, you told me to go into this movie not Googling it, no information. So the only thing I knew about it before putting it on was that you had, in an effort to try and help me understand if I had seen it or not, you had mentioned it's about a ghost. The spirit is a ghost. And I was like, okay, no, I haven't seen that. And two, I very much want to.
4:51 Speaker 00 Beautiful. Um, I really want to hear your thoughts, but I feel like we should do a brief recap of what happens in this movie.
5:00 Speaker 01 I don't think we're gonna be able to be brief because I have a lot of notes.
5:06 Speaker 00 Let's do the longest recap ever. This is a recap pod now. So we open. Let's start with that opening scene.
5:15 Speaker 01 Yeah.
5:15 Speaker 00 All right. So it's snowy. It's clearly like, what, fucking Michigan or something? I don't know. We're in the woods and we're also in the past.
5:25 Speaker 01 Our main, I would say he's the main character, even though he's not like the protagonist. Our main character, giant man, walking through the snow. He's like looking at a white inn where he can see like a woman embracing a man on the like little patio veranda situation. And he's like clearly upset by this because there are no subtleties in this movie at all.
5:48 Speaker 00 Not at all.
5:49 Speaker 01 And then he pulls out a pocket watch out of his pocket that looks to have been made of like, I don't know, plastic.
5:57 Speaker 00 Mm hmm.
5:58 Speaker 01 Um, and he looks at that and then he is hit in the back of the head. The screen goes dark and we flash to the present day.
6:06 Speaker 00 So tell me how you felt after that scene.
6:08 Speaker 01 The first thing I did was Google, what year did this movie come out? Everything about it is insane. This man has the most like 2010s face I've ever seen in my life.
6:18 Speaker 00 Right. He has iPhone face. And he also has that haircut that now is a little fashy, but in 2015 was the hipster haircut.
6:29 Speaker 01 Yep.
6:29 Speaker 00 And the outfit that he's wearing, which is like this vest with a little shirt under it and boots, is giving Williamsburg hipster.
6:38 Speaker 01 Yeah.
6:39 Speaker 00 Like, so it's really confusing as to where we are in time. But I'm buckled the fuck in.
6:45 Speaker 01 It's also like, if you had put this man in a suit that was not made out of polyester, it would be like immediately apparent that he is not from the present. But because everything that everyone in the past is wearing, looks like it came from Kohl's.
6:59 Speaker 00 Yes.
6:59 Speaker 01 It makes it feel like you have no idea where you are or what time it is. And that's fun.
7:03 Speaker 00 It is. It really, it keeps you guessing. It keeps the girlies on their feet. And speaking of girlies, we have to talk about our main girlie of this movie. Whose name is Kate.
7:14 Speaker 01 Kate.
7:16 Speaker 00 And Kate, Kate's a lawyer. And lawyering is her entire life.
7:22 Speaker 01 Yeah.
7:22 Speaker 00 In the first scene where we're introduced to her.
7:25 Speaker 01 This scene rules, to be honest. I love this scene.
7:28 Speaker 00 It's such a good scene. At dinner, she's talking to this guy and he's like, you know, you're really great. You're so ambitious, but like, I just feel like something's missing. And she's like, yeah, so true.
7:43 Speaker 01 So true.
7:44 Speaker 00 Everyone I date knows nothing about me. My ex called me his ghost girl. Like, and then at the end, she's like, can I have your dessert? And she takes this creme brulee and she's like, yeah, I didn't want to be here anyway.
7:58 Speaker 00 It's perfect.
7:59 Speaker 01 Okay, so the plot that we're given, right after she breaks up with his boyfriend, is deranged. The plot is like, she's a lawyer, unclear what kind of law.
8:09 Speaker 00 I think property law.
8:11 Speaker 01 Property law, okay. And her boss is like, a rich lady died. She had no heirs. She had this fancy inn and we don't want to pay taxes on it. So it has to be sold by the end of the year, which is in three weeks.
8:25 Speaker 00 Yes.
8:26 Speaker 01 Already insane.
8:27 Speaker 00 Also, is that how taxes work? Is that real?
8:30 Speaker 01 I don't think so, one. Two, he's like, it goes to the trust and the whole point of having a trust is to evade taxes.
8:38 Speaker 00 Yeah.
8:39 Speaker 01 So it's like, I don't really believe that this is like a premise that exists at all. But whatever, it works.
8:45 Speaker 00 Works for me.
8:46 Speaker 01 So she drives her Jeep Cherokee out to this like.
8:50 Speaker 00 Like, she's not a girl who has a Jeep Cherokee.
8:54 Speaker 01 No, she's not.
8:57 Speaker 00 Yeah. So she drives her Jeep Cherokee out to this huge house and it's beautiful. Also, this movie is supposed to take place like somewhere in snowy United States.
9:07 Speaker 01 I think it's supposed to be like New Hampshire, Vermont, because at some point he's like, you've got to come back to Boston. And it's clear that she like drove.
9:15 Speaker 00 Yeah.
9:16 Speaker 01 But whatever. One problem that I have is that, and you may also have this problem, is that I spent my whole childhood watching movies about Christmas in the Northeast. And I thought it was gonna fucking snow here.
9:26 Speaker 00 Yeah.
9:27 Speaker 01 And it doesn't usually.
9:30 Speaker 00 That's because of climate change.
9:31 Speaker 01 I know, and I want it.
9:33 Speaker 00 Same. Speaking of James Baldwin, I have been reading Another Country.
9:38 Speaker 01 We've both been reading Another Country.
9:39 Speaker 00 And there's a scene that takes place like right around the, like near Thanksgiving. And the character is thinking about, oh, it's snowing again. Like it's all on the ground.
9:50 Speaker 01 It's cold.
9:51 Speaker 00 It's cold. And they're like, we're leading up to Thanksgiving. And I read that and just like, had one of those Raven Baxter moments where I was just like, oh, fuck, it used to snow.
10:02 Speaker 01 Oh, shit.
10:02 Speaker 00 Before Thanksgiving. But in the mythical land of 2015, New Hampshire, Vermont, wherever the fuck we are, it's snowing. It's snowing hard.
10:13 Speaker 01 It's snowing like feet of snow on the ground. Like there's so much snow, which is maybe why she has to have a Jeep Cherokee.
10:18 Speaker 00 Unclear, unclear. But she arrives at this inn and the innkeeper, whose name is escaping me at the moment, but does end up becoming kind of an important tertiary character at some point.
10:32 Speaker 01 Yeah.
10:32 Speaker 00 But the innkeeper is like, oh, I'm leaving. And asks her, where are you staying while you're figuring out where to sell the inn? And Kate's like, it's an inn. I'm staying here.
10:46 Speaker 01 Which first off is insane to assume that you're just gonna stay at an inn. Like that's what you have to pay for things.
10:53 Speaker 00 Maybe email someone to confirm.
10:55 Speaker 01 As a writer, one of my favorite things to recognize in dialogue is where someone has poked a hole in the plot. And then instead of resolving the hole in the plot, they just have one character say a line.
11:07 Speaker 00 Yes.
11:08 Speaker 01 So in this case, the question is, she's like, why aren't there people here? Wouldn't this be the inn's most busy season? And then he's like, yes, but we are never open. And it's like, that doesn't act, what?
11:21 Speaker 00 Yes, yes, they are never open during the 12 days of Christmas. Which, do I know when those start? I'm assuming it's 12 days before Christmas, but does it include the day after Christmas? I don't fucking know.
11:33 Speaker 01 Partridge in a pear tree?
11:35 Speaker 00 Partridge in a, yeah, exactly. But he's like, we're never open during the 12 days of Christmas, so no one can stay here. And Kate's like, I'm a hardened lawyer from the city. I'm fucking staying here. And he's like, there's a ghost. I wouldn't recommend staying here. And she's like, fuck your ghost.
11:51 Speaker 01 Rachel?
11:51 Speaker 00 Yes.
11:52 Speaker 01 Do you believe in ghosts?
11:54 Speaker 00 Yes.
11:54 Speaker 01 Okay, me too. And I'm like, if someone who lived in a house told me I couldn't stay there because there was a ghost there.
12:02 Speaker 00 Yes.
12:03 Speaker 01 I would be like, is the ghost nice?
12:06 Speaker 00 Correct.
12:07 Speaker 01 And then if they said, no, I would be like, cool, I'm not staying here. That's not my business. But our girl has like true, like first girl dead in a horror movie brain where she is like, well, I'm actually different because I'm a girl boss and ghosts can't hurt girl bosses.
12:24 Speaker 00 Yeah, I think we were both raised too Christian to not believe in ghosts and demons. I'm just like, you know what? I wish not to fuck with it. I don't want it near me. Don't bring it near me. I, I have a respectful distance. It's like the ocean. I respect her. I don't want to be near her.
12:42 Speaker 01 Yeah.
12:44 Speaker 00 I will watch from a distance. So I would also not stay in a haunted hotel. But Kate does not believe in ghosts and she is too logical and too lawyerly to believe in ghosts. So she stays at this inn overnight and surprise, surprise, there's a fucking ghost.
13:02 Speaker 01 Okay, also more terrifying than a ghost, right? Cause I know what you're thinking. If you haven't seen this movie, you're thinking like, uh, maybe he's a little blurry.
13:11 Speaker 00 Exactly.
13:12 Speaker 01 Maybe he's like transparent.
13:14 Speaker 00 Maybe he has no legs.
13:15 Speaker 01 Maybe his body, you can't touch it, right? Like typical depictions of ghosts. No. What this actually is, is a full man who is fully embodied.
13:25 Speaker 00 Yes.
13:25 Speaker 01 Who is giant.
13:27 Speaker 00 Yes.
13:27 Speaker 01 And from 1920.
13:30 Speaker 00 Yes.
13:30 Speaker 01 Who is just in the same house as you. Like in some ways that's scarier than a ghost. I'm like, I don't know. Absolutely not.
13:38 Speaker 00 Oh, being trapped in a random house in New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan, with a white man from the 1920s who's absolutely huge.
13:49 Speaker 01 With a fash haircut?
13:50 Speaker 00 With a fash haircut? No, exactly, exactly. And the thing is, Kate does respond correctly to this in that she immediately calls the police. And she's like, there's a strange man.
14:02 Speaker 01 And she has a weird knife.
14:04 Speaker 00 Yeah, where, where did that come from?
14:06 Speaker 01 I don't know.
14:07 Speaker 00 It was a weird knife. But the police comes and he's like, well, there's no one here. And also this inn is famously haunted. Why are you staying here? And she's like, babe, I don't care about the ghost. There is a caporal man in this fucking inn with a fash haircut. Save me. And the police is like, just turn on your alarm.
14:32 Speaker 01 I don't see him. Yeah.
14:34 Speaker 00 Make sure your alarm's on. And she's like, all right, well, fuck the police. She doesn't get that far, but this is kind of an A-CAB movie.
14:41 Speaker 01 It kind of is an A-CAB movie in that she calls the police. They do not help her and then they leave.
14:45 Speaker 00 Yes.
14:46 Speaker 01 But another thing that you've skipped over, at some point during this, before she calls the police, he picks her up
14:54 Speaker 00 Yes.
14:54 Speaker 01 over his shoulder, carries her outside and sets her down. And as he's doing this, the producers, God bless them, give us a shot from behind this man where he is like, I don't know, this man played fucking hockey or something. Like he is caked up. Like this man has a giant ass.
15:10 Speaker 00 You're so right. I actually did forget about the fact that my man has giant cakes. He is caked the fuck up.
15:19 Speaker 01 Huge. And he carries her outside like she's nothing.
15:23 Speaker 00 Yeah.
15:23 Speaker 01 And sets her down. And in that scene, there is not a hint of flirting. And I'm like, come on, man. Like.
15:30 Speaker 00 No.
15:32 Speaker 00 And it's like, you can tell where we're going. It's gonna be flirty at one point. I do appreciate that it was clearly enemies at first. There was not a single hint of sexual tension at first. It was just like, this is a ghost made into a man who is trying to get me out of this inn. And I shan't be leaving because I need to sell this inn. And meanwhile, the ghost is like, I just want to eat food.
15:57 Speaker 01 This is like an incredible touch that this movie has. In this one scene, I was like pumping my fist. So I was like, let's fucking go. Because he's eating an apple with a knife, right? Like slicing pieces of an apple off to put into his mouth with like a giant Bowie knife.
16:14 Speaker 00 Yes.
16:14 Speaker 01 And he's like, I'm real. And she's like, well, I don't think he's real. And he's like, well, what is real? And then she touches him and it's clear that he's not going to disappear. And then at some point, someone says the phrase, which I have written in all caps in my notes, "All his senses are heightened upon his return."
16:35 Speaker 00 Yes, the innkeeper comes back. She calls the innkeeper. Kate calls the innkeeper and is like, yo, what the fuck is going on? Who is this man? And the innkeeper, who has been keeping the inn for it seems like his entire life.
16:48 Speaker 01 Forever, yeah.
16:48 Speaker 00 Like it's giving Sam and Frodo.
16:50 Speaker 01 Yes.
16:51 Speaker 00 But so the innkeeper comes back and is just like, yeah, so this is why I told you to leave. He becomes corporeal every 12 days of Christmas for 12 days. And when he comes back, his senses are heightened. So all he wants to do is eat food. And I was like, does he want to fuck?
17:07 Speaker 01 Yeah, that's exactly, I was like, mm. The thing is, there are many, many senses and many kinds of eating even.
17:13 Speaker 00 I was gonna say, there's so many kinds of eating that could be done when your senses are heightened.
17:18 Speaker 01 Yeah.
17:18 Speaker 00 But he just wants an apple at this point in time.
17:21 Speaker 01 Yeah, I also have a note here, um, that's in all caps, that says they should make porn like this.
17:26 Speaker 00 You texted me that.
17:27 Speaker 01 Because at this point, I was like, all of the scripting in this scene is like, oh, they're gonna fuck. And then you look at the timestamp and it's like, no.
17:37 Speaker 00 No.
17:37 Speaker 01 There's a whole hour and 15 minutes left in this movie. And also it's like cable, right? Like they're not gonna fuck.
17:46 Speaker 00 Correct. But you're right. This is giving like made for women porn. So there's, there's an opportunity out there for someone.
17:56 Speaker 01 We're taking investors to script.
17:58 Speaker 00 Sharks, I'm coming to you.
18:00 Speaker 01 Hello, sharks.
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21:05 Speaker 00 So we kind of have a sense of what's going on. And Kate is like, okay, I need to sell this house.
21:12 Speaker 01 Yes.
21:12 Speaker 00 I can't sell this house with this man in here. But also, why are you here? Why do you keep coming back? Why are you only here for 12 days out of the year?
21:21 Speaker 01 She's just asking questions.
21:22 Speaker 00 She's just asking questions and the ghost, Daniel, is like, I don't ask these questions. I just want to live my peaceful 12 days and eat as many apples as possible.
21:32 Speaker 01 He's on vacation, baby.
21:35 Speaker 00 He's like, this is not my problem. This is your problem. And she's like, well, I need to do my job and get the fuck out of here. So I'm gonna go investigation mode and we're gonna figure out why the fuck you're still here. And then we're gonna get you to the other side.
21:54 Speaker 01 Yes.
21:54 Speaker 00 As in heaven or hell?
21:56 Speaker 01 Or hell, somewhere.
21:58 Speaker 00 Purgatory. I mean, he's in purgatory, right?
22:00 Speaker 01 Yeah, purgatory is the end, kind of.
22:02 Speaker 00 Yeah.
22:02 Speaker 01 Yeah.
22:03 Speaker 00 Nice purgatory.
22:04 Speaker 01 Beautiful, very aesthetic.
22:06 Speaker 00 Yeah.
22:06 Speaker 01 Um, there's also like a whole problem, which is that for the first like 20 minutes of the movie, it's really unclear what time period he comes from.
22:15 Speaker 00 Yeah.
22:16 Speaker 01 Like, because the costuming is so bad and he looks like a 2016 caked up hipster.
22:24 Speaker 00 Yeah.
22:24 Speaker 01 It's like, it's like, what, like, are you from the 1700s? Like, when were you alive?
22:30 Speaker 00 Yes, yes.
22:31 Speaker 01 Clearly, someone asked this in a writer's room because the next scene we get is like her asking him questions and him being like, oh, like the Volstead Act, like I was bootlegging like liquor into America. It's like, okay, all right, prohibition. Now we know where we are. I love that. Thank you.
22:50 Speaker 00 Yes, yes, yes. I appreciated how much of a star term that prohibition plays in this story.
22:58 Speaker 01 Yeah.
22:59 Speaker 00 It's really all about how bad prohibition was.
23:02 Speaker 01 It's like partly about how bad prohibition was, but it's also like kind of moralistic and then it's like against crime, right? Like, it's like he shouldn't be doing these crimes is like a major part of this. And I'm like, I'm sorry. One funny joke he keeps making is that whenever someone says the word bootleg, he's like, I prefer the term rum runner.
23:21 Speaker 00 Yes.
23:22 Speaker 01 And I'm like, sorry, but being a rum runner is hot. Like, you're doing a crime, but it's a hot crime that means we have to have parties at our house. So I'm like, you guys are all confused.
23:32 Speaker 00 Oh.
23:32 Speaker 01 You need to be more pro this man. You need to be more supportive.
23:36 Speaker 00 Listen, Kelsey, one of my all time favorite fan fictions takes place in prohibition and it's a supernatural fan fiction.
23:44 Speaker 01 God.
23:47 Speaker 00 And Jensen Ackles is obviously a rum runner.
23:51 Speaker 01 Obviously.
23:52 Speaker 00 And I'm like, oh, that's hot. Crimes for alcohol?
23:56 Speaker 01 It is hot. The thing is crimes for good are good.
23:59 Speaker 00 Robin Hood. It's giving Robin Hood.
24:01 Speaker 01 Bingo. It's also like, yeah, the whole thing with prohibition was that rich people were still drinking and no one else was. So it's like, actually doing like a little absinthe as a treat is good.
24:13 Speaker 00 Upcharging rich people for alcohol? Good.
24:16 Speaker 01 Congrats, babe.
24:17 Speaker 00 We love you. So Daniel, at this point, I'm like, even though you're a white man with a fast haircut, I'm on your side.
24:23 Speaker 01 Yeah.
24:23 Speaker 00 But also, like, do you, I'm like, do you want to be resolved? Do you want to keep coming back here year after year? Do you wish to go on to the beyond? It seems like he's kind of tired of this shit, which makes sense. It's been like 100 years.
24:36 Speaker 01 Yeah, there's like another flashback here where it shows us like, he's like talking to his fiancee in the past.
24:45 Speaker 00 Mm hmm.
24:46 Speaker 01 Her name is Lily. And they're like, first off, they're like alone in the inn kissing in presumably 1919, which I'm like, that doesn't seem real to me.
24:57 Speaker 00 Allowed.
24:58 Speaker 01 Not allowed. She also says something to him where she's like, the inn is perfect. It's part of why I fell in love with you. And I'm like, okay, so she wants your money, my dude. Like, there are a lot of problems here with this relationship. But the whole time they're in this flashback, it's like, okay, am I the viewer supposed to believe that he wants to be free so that he can be with Lily? Am I supposed to believe that he doesn't want to be free so that he can remember these memories? Like, what does this man want? And the answer is, it doesn't matter.
25:28 Speaker 00 It really doesn't because all we care about is what Kate wants, which is to sell the motherfucking inn.
25:34 Speaker 01 Yes.
25:35 Speaker 00 So our girl goes detective mode. She's researching, Googling, presumably going to the library, I think at some point, like, there's some real, I'm looking at microfiche.
25:50 Speaker 01 Yes, yes.
25:51 Speaker 00 Content.
25:52 Speaker 01 There's a scene where he makes a lot of cocktails.
25:56 Speaker 00 Yes.
25:57 Speaker 01 Because someone question mark challenges his honor and then he's like, I'm the best bartender that's ever lived.
26:03 Speaker 00 Okay, wait, yeah, let's rewind, let's rewind because there's like.
26:08 Speaker 00 There's a side plot where apparently no one has ever seen Daniel, the ghost, other than the innkeeper, who doesn't really hang out with him. So he's just left alone for 12 days.
26:21 Speaker 01 To eat apples.
26:22 Speaker 00 But then the water goes out in town or some shit and a local owner of a bar comes by and is like, you guys have a bar at the hotel.
26:34 Speaker 01 Let me have my party here.
26:36 Speaker 00 Exactly. And Daniel's like, no one's allowed here. Fuck you. And the bartender lady, who also seems to have a little bit of a flirtation ship with the innkeeper.
26:48 Speaker 01 Big time.
26:48 Speaker 00 Is just like, who is that? And Kate's like, he's like a cousin of the family or whatever. He's just like a little, he's a little extra.
26:58 Speaker 01 Yeah.
26:58 Speaker 00 And then he's, the bartender's lady is like, I make the best cocktail in town. And Daniel's like, I bet you fucking don't. And the thing is, Daniel clearly is using egg whites in his whiskey sour. Like he's, he's making some real drink. He's a run runner. He clearly knows his alcohol.
27:13 Speaker 01 Also, like every drink he makes in the scene where he's making drinks is like almost clear. And it's like, okay, I do believe that you're a good bartender, actually, because these are straight liquor.
27:24 Speaker 00 I'm scared to drink.
27:26 Speaker 01 He's like, I need Fernet. And it's like, okay, man, whatever.
27:31 Speaker 00 Sure. Whatever you fucking need, my guy. And so this turns into like a party at the inn. And I guess Daniel is reminded that being around people is good.
27:41 Speaker 01 Yeah.
27:41 Speaker 00 And Kate is also figuring out that Daniel is hot. There's this scene where she's wandering around the house and stumbles upon him taking his shirt off.
27:50 Speaker 01 Oh, yeah.
27:52 Speaker 00 He's jacked.
27:53 Speaker 01 Yeah, he's jacked.
27:54 Speaker 00 Reader, he's jacked.
27:55 Speaker 01 And then she just watches him iron his shirt. And I'm like, get out of his room. You're being rude.
28:01 Speaker 00 But I also was like, who? And at this moment, I was like, this is a porn. This is leading to a very clear resolution.
28:08 Speaker 01 It looks like it is, but it's not.
28:10 Speaker 00 It's not.
28:12 Speaker 01 This whole movie gives the vibe of like, okay, imagine your friend is dating a really hot giant man.
28:22 Speaker 00 I can imagine this.
28:23 Speaker 01 Who behaves like completely irrationally.
28:26 Speaker 00 Yes.
28:27 Speaker 01 And is always like, kind of has a hot temper. And everyone's like, what's up with this guy? It's like, if that reality existed and then this woman was like, what's a version of that reality that would explain his behavior that would allow me to keep dating him? Oh, it's that he's a ghost, actually, and his wife is dead, and that's why he's misbehaving.
28:47 Speaker 00 It's like, oh, this is a man from the 1920s. He's not used to women being able to drive. He's not used to women having rights. He's just really confused as to why this woman is allowed to be a barrister.
28:58 Speaker 01 Yeah.
28:58 Speaker 00 And it is like every single romance novel where you're like, why is this man so possessive and angry? And then you're like, oh, like, I don't know.
29:08 Speaker 01 It's his culture.
29:09 Speaker 00 He watched his brother get shot or some shit. Like, he has trauma. It's his culture.
29:14 Speaker 01 Yeah.
29:15 Speaker 00 Yeah. So we find out that it is, in fact, Daniel's culture to be a little bit domineering. But it's okay, because Kate, well, Kate kind of likes it.
29:23 Speaker 01 She likes it.
29:24 Speaker 00 She likes it. Which, I'm gonna be honest, if a tall, beefy man who was caked up like that.
29:30 Speaker 01 Picked you up over his shoulder and carried you outside.
29:34 Speaker 00 I'm also like, is he misogynist? Because he seems to really value Kate as a human being, which is more than some men in 2024.
29:43 Speaker 01 Listening and learning are important character traits in a man. And this man is, like, at some point in the movie, I don't remember when this is, at some point in the movie, he says, like, women being so forward is very off-putting to me, right? Like, them asking you out is very off-putting to me, but also I like it and wish I had it. And it's like, yes, okay, so this is like, this is the fantasy, right? Is that I can change him.
30:06 Speaker 00 Exactly. He just needs new information. And he'll be a different man.
30:11 Speaker 01 Yeah. But unfortunately, the new information he gets while he's being a bartender is that his wife died, which, like, obviously, she died, but that also she was pregnant.
30:21 Speaker 00 Pregnant.
30:23 Speaker 01 And that the baby died.
30:26 Speaker 00 Yes.
30:26 Speaker 01 And all of this is made more complicated by the fact that his wife married his brother after he died.
30:34 Speaker 00 And his brother, which we see through flashbacks, is very disapproving of his rum running.
30:41 Speaker 01 And not hot.
30:42 Speaker 00 Not hot at all.
30:44 Speaker 01 Like, they do not look like brothers.
30:46 Speaker 00 No. I mean, they do, but in that way where you're just like, oh, that's unfortunate.
30:51 Speaker 01 Yeah.
30:52 Speaker 00 So the brother's very clearly a villain. And importantly, the brother, we realize through these flashbacks, is the person that Daniel saw on the veranda with his fiancee right before he got hit over the head.
31:03 Speaker 01 Which is an alibi.
31:05 Speaker 00 So true. It is an alibi. So we are pretty sure that he is not killed by his brother to get with his fiancee.
31:13 Speaker 01 Yes, Lily. To be with Lily.
31:15 Speaker 00 Yes.
31:16 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm.
31:16 Speaker 00 Mm-hmm. So at this point in the movie, it's like, it's a lovely night and they're bartending. And the bartender from town is like, what if we had our annual town Christmas party here? And Kate's like, there's no way that'll happen. And Daniel's like, let's fucking go. He got a taste of partying and he's like, oh, yeah, I miss this.
31:42 Speaker 01 This is definitely one of those things that I actually did find believable in this movie, where I'm like, oh, you're telling me the rum runner wants to have a rager at his house? What a surprise. Like, that is well within character.
31:55 Speaker 00 100%.
31:56 Speaker 01 Oh, now that I've had three cocktails and remembered how much I love giving other people cocktails, I want to do more of that. It's like, yeah, that was your job.
32:04 Speaker 00 Now that I've had three of the strongest cocktails any of you have ever had in your entire life, because I'm mixing fucking prohibition era cocktails. Like, those are Great Depression cocktails.
32:16 Speaker 01 Yes.
32:17 Speaker 00 Like, times were hard.
32:19 Speaker 01 Yes. Great Depression cocktails were like, literally, they were drinking absinthe that made you hallucinate. Like, it was a different time. It was not like, oh, I'm doing my four, you know, adorable little cocktails that have six ingredients. It was like, we've poured gin into this cup.
32:36 Speaker 00 Here you go.
32:38 Speaker 01 Here you go, babe.
32:39 Speaker 00 People were literally drinking, like, shit that would kill them because it had minor amounts of alcohol in it because of prohibition, which I learned from the book Water for Elephants, which I read many times as a child.
32:56 Speaker 01 Rachel.
33:00 Speaker 00 Prohibition plays a really big part in that story as well.
33:03 Speaker 01 You know what I'm learning here is that you love prohibition. Like you, is this because you're from Chicago?
33:11 Speaker 00 Maybe. I mean, I love clear stakes and prohibition is really, the stakes are so clear.
33:18 Speaker 01 They are really clear.
33:19 Speaker 00 It's like here is an illicit substance that everyone wants that was previously legal. Like it's so rare to go backwards in such a strong way on a substance like that where it's like you have an entire. Exactly. Could you imagine if tomorrow the government was like, actually alcohol is banned? You create such a massive market, which of course people flood. It's a perfect time to honestly be gay, do crimes, like.
33:47 Speaker 01 Literally.
33:49 Speaker 01 It's also like, okay, alcohol is banned and also like 60% of the population has trauma from World War I, right?
33:57 Speaker 00 Also, everyone's a little bit of an alcoholic. Yeah, exactly. It's like you.
34:02 Speaker 01 This is a note that I have highlighted in my document, which is, shouldn't this man smoke?
34:08 Speaker 00 You're right. He should.
34:09 Speaker 01 Why doesn't he smoke? He smokes nothing, the whole movie. And I'm like, you're telling me a 19, 19 rum runner?
34:18 Speaker 00 Whose senses are heightened?
34:19 Speaker 01 Whose senses are heightened isn't just gonna be chain smoking cigarettes? Like he absolutely is, but there's no room for that here.
34:28 Speaker 00 There's not enough room. He doesn't have a little tobacco pipe.
34:32 Speaker 01 This was before vapes, so people had forgotten that tobacco was hot, is the thing.
34:35 Speaker 00 Imagine giving this ghost a vape.
34:41 Speaker 00 Like that would be a scene in 2024. This movie was made in 2024.
34:45 Speaker 01 They'd be like, you have to stop smoking these cigarettes inside there. Worse for you, have this.
34:49 Speaker 00 And he's like, what is that? What is that? Imagine, I mean, I'm sure they had weed back then, but it was weak as fuck. So.
34:59 Speaker 01 Yeah. Imagine giving him a 10 milligram gummy and being like, good luck, babe. Oh, you want to eat more?
35:06 Speaker 00 He'd be out there in the snow, doing snow angels.
35:10 Speaker 00 High off his ass.
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35:58 Speaker 01 One of these nights, well, they have a fight because that's important. And then she like gets scared of something.
36:05 Speaker 00 Yes.
36:06 Speaker 01 At some point in here.
36:07 Speaker 00 Something's in the house that's not Daniel.
36:09 Speaker 01 She's like, there are whispers. Do you hear the whispers? And I'm like, at this point, I'm like, okay, is this a horror movie? Right? Like, are we actually gonna turn? That could be fun. And then he decides that he's actually gonna sleep in her room with her. Except he doesn't sleep because he's a ghost.
36:22 Speaker 00 Yes.
36:23 Speaker 01 So he sits in her room and they do not kiss.
36:26 Speaker 00 No, it's an edging movie, which again.
36:28 Speaker 01 It's an edging movie.
36:29 Speaker 00 Porn. But yeah, he sleeps in her room, like facing away from her. And she's like, I feel so safe and protected.
36:39 Speaker 01 And I'm like, no. Kiss.
36:42 Speaker 00 Kiss.
36:45 Speaker 00 But they don't kiss.
36:46 Speaker 01 They don't.
36:46 Speaker 00 But there's this open mystery of like, what else is in the house? Because at first, she thinks that it's him. Like, something gets knocked off a wall or like she, a door gets closed really loud. Like, something scary happens and she thinks that Daniel's fucking with her because they had just had this big fight.
37:03 Speaker 01 Yeah. And he's like, no.
37:04 Speaker 00 He's like, I wouldn't do that to you.
37:06 Speaker 01 I would never do that to you.
37:07 Speaker 00 And she's like, wow, am I starting to have feelings for this ghost that's only around 12 days out of the year?
37:13 Speaker 01 She clearly is. You know, the thing is, this movie makes a whole thing about like, well, you couldn't possibly be in love with a ghost that's only there 12 days out of the year. And I'm like, for a girl boss?
37:24 Speaker 00 No, exactly.
37:25 Speaker 01 It actually could be a perfect relationship to just have a man that is from 1920 that you're in love with, that you only see for the 12 days leading up to Christmas.
37:34 Speaker 00 Yes.
37:34 Speaker 01 Like, that's your two weeks of vacation.
37:36 Speaker 00 No, exactly.
37:37 Speaker 01 You spend them with him, then you go back to work.
37:40 Speaker 00 I was literally just thinking about this because I am single and dating right now, but dating someone actually takes so much fucking time, especially in like a serious relationship.
37:51 Speaker 01 Hundred percent.
37:53 Speaker 00 You have to compromise so much. And despite the fact that I love romance novels and I love romance, as I get older and also busier, I'm just like, I actually don't know if I want or have the time for all of that right now.
38:09 Speaker 01 Yes.
38:09 Speaker 00 So a boo who just shows up once a year.
38:15 Speaker 00 That sounds perfect.
38:17 Speaker 01 And he can't like fuck around while he's not with you because he's in like ghost purgatory.
38:22 Speaker 00 He's not E and M. Like he
38:27 Speaker 00 is only for you. It's beautiful. So I could see Ms. Ms. Girl being like, honestly, maybe I'll start taking off Christmas because there's a plot line that she never takes off Christmas because she doesn't give a fuck about holidays or her family.
38:41 Speaker 01 Because she's miserable. That's like the whole thing about these women is that they're miserable because they have jobs. And having jobs makes people miserable.
38:49 Speaker 00 And you know what? Correct. Having jobs does make women miserable.
38:53 Speaker 01 Makes everyone miserable. Okay. So she goes back to Boston because a senator died? Question mark?
38:59 Speaker 00 Question mark, question mark, question mark.
39:01 Speaker 01 I don't know. Her boss says she has to, so she does.
39:04 Speaker 00 Yeah. And her boss is also mad because Kate is very clearly the closer of this company. And they're like, why haven't you sold this fucking in? Why haven't you figured this out? It's, oh, oh, she's there to get the in-appraise so they can sell it, but they can't get the appraiser in because Daniel keeps fucking shit up. And so she's there like, it's really funny. And they're like, why haven't you gotten the in-appraise? And Kate can't be like, well, there's a ghost that I'm thinking about fucking.
39:29 Speaker 01 Yeah. Yeah. That doesn't usually go over well with your boss.
39:32 Speaker 00 No, it doesn't. It might here, but nothing.
39:37 Speaker 01 Yeah.
39:37 Speaker 00 I think I could tell Justin that I was busy because I was thinking about fucking a ghost.
39:42 Speaker 01 You probably could and it would probably be okay. Yeah. He would be like, we'll talk about that later.
39:46 Speaker 00 No, he'd be like, well, um, I'm concerned for you, but as long as the ghost isn't evil, we'll talk later.
39:55 Speaker 01 But her boss, Katie's boss does not take this well.
39:57 Speaker 00 No.
39:58 Speaker 01 He's like, you need to be here forever or else you won't get a promotion. The promotion is like, it's unclear to me what it is or if she even really wants it.
40:06 Speaker 00 Yeah.
40:07 Speaker 01 Who cares? She is like clearly going back. There's never even really any question whether she's going back or not.
40:13 Speaker 00 Yeah. She goes back. And this is the moment where, like when she leaves, she promises to come back. And Daniel very clearly is like, I hope you do.
40:25 Speaker 01 Yes.
40:26 Speaker 00 And then when she comes back, I'm like, oh, something has changed here. They are moving into falling in love territory.
40:37 Speaker 01 Mm hmm. Yes.
40:38 Speaker 00 Yeah.
40:39 Speaker 01 They're crying, they're hugging.
40:41 Speaker 00 Yes. It's beautiful.
40:43 Speaker 01 And now we're like approaching.
40:44 Speaker 00 Christmas party.
40:45 Speaker 01 The first thing I would like to discuss is her hair, which is that first off, she's wearing an insane outfit. She's wearing a like T length, bright red dress.
40:56 Speaker 00 Yeah.
40:57 Speaker 01 Has a like sweetheart neckline, but also a strap and a shoulder cap.
41:02 Speaker 00 Yeah.
41:03 Speaker 01 So it's like just a deranged outfit.
41:04 Speaker 00 Mm hmm.
41:05 Speaker 01 But what's more deranged is the whole movie, this woman has been wearing a wig with luscious hair. Right? It looks great in every scene because it's a wig. In this scene, the wig has been twisted into a side ponytail. One, one side ponytail for a formal event.
41:25 Speaker 00 The side ponytail is like, it's, it's like.
41:30 Speaker 01 It's crazy.
41:31 Speaker 00 It's like a fuck ass ponytail.
41:34 Speaker 01 So bad. It like, looks like a ponytail you give your friend like to make her laugh. It's not real.
41:41 Speaker 00 It's the way kids' hair looks after school.
41:47 Speaker 00 When you can tell they've been running around at recess and it maybe redumb their ponytail that you gave them at the beginning of the day. Like, it looks so bad.
41:59 Speaker 01 She's a beautiful girl. This outfit does nothing for her. This hairstyle does even less.
42:06 Speaker 00 I would say it does, yeah, less than nothing. It's negative. It is a net negative hairstyle.
42:11 Speaker 01 And like, the problem is, is that this is the outfit she's supposed to be in for their first kiss.
42:17 Speaker 00 Yes.
42:17 Speaker 01 That like, they're gonna kiss in her room, only kiss.
42:21 Speaker 00 Yeah.
42:21 Speaker 01 And she's like, but the whole time I was just like, what is up with her hair?
42:25 Speaker 00 No, fix it, fix it, Jesus. You're correct. I, the way I forgot about this fuck ass ponytail.
42:34 Speaker 00 It's so bad. And it's like, this is the most romantic scene in the movie, because it's a Christmas party, Daniel and Kate are dancing, the innkeeper and the bartender are dancing, like, the innkeeper and Daniel are talking about Kate and he's like, I think I really like her. And you look at her and she's wearing this stupid ponytail and you're like, motherfucker.
42:58 Speaker 01 Oh, it's so bad. This is also one of those where it's like, you know what, I now believe that this character has no friends. Seeing this ponytail, I'm like, I a hundred percent believe it. You have no friends, because no friend of yours would allow you to wear your hair like that to fuck a ghost. That's not, it's wrong.
43:13 Speaker 00 No, no.
43:15 Speaker 01 Also, like, men of the 1920s cannot appreciate side ponytails. That was only fashionable from 19, like, 80 to 1984.
43:22 Speaker 00 I'm like, you probably look like a little girl to him. Like, stop this.
43:25 Speaker 01 Stop it.
43:26 Speaker 00 Yeah. So, that was terrible. But it is a cute scene. You can see that they're really starting to feel each other and thinking about the logistics of making this work, because they haven't figured out what exactly happened. Like, all Daniel knows is that his fiancee maybe betrayed him.
43:44 Speaker 01 Maybe.
43:45 Speaker 00 For reasons that...
43:48 Speaker 00 Don't really make sense.
43:49 Speaker 01 By now, he knows that she didn't because Kate finds a birth certificate for the baby. It's like
43:55 Speaker 00 Yes.
43:56 Speaker 01 Has his name on it.
43:57 Speaker 00 Yes.
43:58 Speaker 01 Is also insane for other reasons because it's like if you're pretending to be married to someone's brother in order to hide the fact that you were having sex before marriage, you would put your husband's name on the birth certificate of that baby, even if it was his brother's. Like, that's not.
44:15 Speaker 00 Clearly, no one was paying attention here. They were like, mm, well.
44:18 Speaker 01 Whatever.
44:19 Speaker 00 She needs to find out, so we're gonna make this easy for her.
44:21 Speaker 01 Yeah, of course.
44:22 Speaker 00 So Daniel's like, do I want to go into the great beyond to be with Lily, my fiance, or do I want to be with Kate? And this becomes the central tension where Kate is like, I want you to be happy, but also I want you to stay with me. And then spooky shit starts happening at the party.
44:41 Speaker 01 Spooky.
44:43 Speaker 00 This is the spookiest scene.
44:45 Speaker 01 It's so weird. This whole scene is so strange.
44:48 Speaker 00 Describe it. Tell me what happens.
44:50 Speaker 01 Okay, Kate is like dancing with someone.
44:53 Speaker 00 Yeah.
44:54 Speaker 01 Not our business. And he's like watching her dance. When he like sees Lily.
45:02 Speaker 00 Yes.
45:02 Speaker 01 Like he can like see his former wife in the room and like we're getting shots that show us that like other people can't see her, right? Like only he can see her. She is actually kind of wearing an appropriate gown. Like she's where she looks different than everyone else. And he can like basically see the replay of like, it's like watching a replay back in a sports game. It's like he could see the replay of what was happening inside the party the night that he was killed. And he like follows her outside. His brother is also there. They're like talking about how his brother's being like, I hate my brother because he like is a lawbreaker. Like, I love cops. I don't know what this guy's problem is. He sucks.
45:41 Speaker 00 Yeah.
45:42 Speaker 01 And Lily keeps being like, no, I love him and I can change him. Like literally, she's basically like, I can change him and he'll stop doing crimes eventually. Um, and then.
45:53 Speaker 01 He's like, only at this point does he realize that then his brother couldn't have killed him.
45:57 Speaker 00 Exactly.
45:57 Speaker 01 See him on the porch the whole time.
45:59 Speaker 00 Mm hmm.
46:00 Speaker 01 And then at the party appears his cousin.
46:04 Speaker 00 Yes.
46:04 Speaker 01 Dun dun duh, holding a bloody rock.
46:07 Speaker 00 Ah.
46:08 Speaker 01 Wah.
46:10 Speaker 00 Exactly. And there's a confrontation.
46:13 Speaker 01 Yeah.
46:14 Speaker 00 Between the ghost of Lily, the ghost of the cousin, and Daniel, who is also ghost, and also Kate, who's not ghost.
46:24 Speaker 01 Yeah, it becomes kind of clear that both cousin and Lily were ghosts in this house the whole time.
46:34 Speaker 00 And Daniel somehow didn't notice them for 100 years, which I had questions. Are there different planes for ghosts?
46:42 Speaker 01 Yes.
46:42 Speaker 00 How did they not interact with each other?
46:44 Speaker 01 And then also they're like trying to do this thing where they're like, it's a gift that Lily gave him. And I'm like, but what's the gift here, babes? Like, what, what?
46:54 Speaker 00 Yeah. I think the gift is that she is protecting him from his cousin, who we find out killed him because the guy that Daniel was running rum for in Canada is just like evil.
47:10 Speaker 01 He gets killed because he tries to get out of the game.
47:12 Speaker 00 You're right.
47:13 Speaker 01 Like, I'm not doing rum running anymore. I'm gonna be a good upstanding citizen. And the thing is, people in charge of massive illegal operations do not like that. And so his cousin has to kill him. So in a way, his wife and his brother's obsession with the law killed him.
47:31 Speaker 00 Correct.
47:32 Speaker 01 If you think about it.
47:33 Speaker 00 If you think about it, it's ACAB all the way down.
47:36 Speaker 01 It sure is.
47:37 Speaker 00 I'm not entirely sure what Lily's gift is. It, I think like him being stuck in this purgatory is somehow her gift to him. Like she saved him somehow.
47:47 Speaker 01 I don't get it.
47:47 Speaker 00 I don't really get it either. All I know is that like, Daniel and his cousin have a conversation and his cousin is like, thank you for forgiving me.
47:58 Speaker 01 Yeah, and then he disappears.
47:59 Speaker 00 And so he's released from the purgatory and then Lily is like, okay, deuces. And Daniel has to make a choice as to whether or not he is released from purgatory. And him and Kate spend like a night together. Do you think they fucked?
48:14 Speaker 01 They don't fuck. They like.
48:16 Speaker 00 But like.
48:17 Speaker 01 I don't even think it's implied.
48:18 Speaker 00 I know, according to the movie. I know, but also like, ah, what did they do all night?
48:24 Speaker 01 Well, I think this is the thing that makes me crazy about this scene is it's like at midnight, he's like gonna turn back into a ghost or whatever. And so they kiss a little and then she goes to sleep on the couch. And I'm like, that's crazy.
48:39 Speaker 00 I don't believe it.
48:40 Speaker 01 If you're in love with someone.
48:42 Speaker 00 And they're gonna disappear in two hours.
48:44 Speaker 01 You should, one, stay awake, and two, fuck.
48:48 Speaker 00 Yes.
48:49 Speaker 01 What are you doing?
48:50 Speaker 00 You don't have an opportunity for another year. You also don't know if he's gonna come back next year because his storyline has been resolved. So Kate wakes up the next morning and funnily enough, Daniel's not there, but also she receives a call from her boss who's like, you know what? I have been underappreciating you. You do deserve vacation.
49:14 Speaker 01 It's insane.
49:15 Speaker 00 I'm so sorry that I yelled at you about closing the inn and.
49:19 Speaker 01 This has never happened.
49:21 Speaker 00 It's never happened, but I also was like, you know what? I'm glad that they know your worth now because you stopped working for what, three days? Like.
49:29 Speaker 01 The real moral of this story is to take your vacation days so that your work will appreciate you.
49:33 Speaker 00 Actually, yes, it is. Take your vacation days so your work realizes how much work you're doing. So she takes her vacation days and she's like, okay, great. I'm gonna get promoted to, again, what, partner? I don't fucking know.
49:45 Speaker 01 I don't, I don't fucking know.
49:46 Speaker 00 To. But she's also like, she walks outside. It's a beautiful snowy day and she's like, Daniel's gone. I miss him. I guess I'll come back next year to see if he comes back. Cause again, we don't know.
50:00 Speaker 01 We don't know. We have no idea.
50:03 Speaker 00 But then, and something we haven't mentioned yet is that a lot of this movie relies on the concept of property lines for some reason. Like Daniel can't leave the property. Every single time he tries to leave, he like.
50:16 Speaker 01 Disappears and gets poured it back in. Yeah. This is a crazy thing about ghosts that I often think about is how like obsessed we are with property and as a connection to ghosts where it's like a ghost haunts this house, a ghost haunts this space. And it's like, what, why?
50:32 Speaker 00 Why does the ghost respect property lines? Also, what happens if the house gets rezoned?
50:37 Speaker 01 None of this makes any sense to me. What are the laws of ghosts?
50:40 Speaker 00 None of it makes any sense. But we do know that the laws are broken and that Daniel is free because as Kate walks out into this beautiful snowy morning, who comes walking from the forest past the property line where he previously could not go, but Daniel made like fully human in 2015?
51:02 Speaker 01 He's also wearing a hat.
51:04 Speaker 00 He's also wearing a stupid hat.
51:06 Speaker 01 It looks so bad.
51:09 Speaker 00 This is like, he looks the worst in the scene and I don't know why they did this to him.
51:13 Speaker 01 It makes no sense.
51:13 Speaker 00 He has been caked up and hot the entire time and now suddenly he's wearing a stupid hat. I guess he saw her fuck ass funny tale and was like, you know what?
51:21 Speaker 01 Vibes matched. This is a safe space.
51:23 Speaker 00 He's like, I found someone to match my freak.
51:27 Speaker 01 Jay says his senses are dampened.
51:30 Speaker 00 His ears are cold. Yeah, he's finally, I guess, feeling the cold. I don't know. So he's wearing this stupid hat and they run together and they get together. And from here, I have a lot of questions and I think that's why I love this movie so much.
51:42 Speaker 01 I have so many questions.
51:44 Speaker 00 It just, it ends and you're like, okay, so does he have a social security number now? How do you turn somebody who has been dead since like the early 1900s into a fully legal resident of the United States? Like, she's a lawyer, so I'm sure she has some method.
52:02 Speaker 01 Will he age?
52:04 Speaker 00 Is he just this age forever?
52:06 Speaker 01 Does he have any skills?
52:08 Speaker 00 Clearly, he can go across property lines.
52:10 Speaker 01 I guess he could be a bartender.
52:12 Speaker 00 I guess they're just gonna run the inn. Also, how are you gonna explain where this man came from to the people in your life?
52:19 Speaker 01 You're, yeah, you're not. He's huge.
52:22 Speaker 00 He's huge.
52:23 Speaker 01 He says the wrong thing all the time because he is from 1920.
52:29 Speaker 00 He's never seen a woman vote before. Has he even seen a car?
52:34 Speaker 01 He doesn't know what football is. Like, he at one point calls a cellphone your special device.
52:40 Speaker 00 Yes.
52:42 Speaker 00 Yes. And so this is the point in the movie where I'm like, I would watch a sequel. I would watch at least a 30 minute epilogue of what happens of introducing Daniel to the real world of 2015 because I am just like, I want to see him go to the DMV. I want to see him learn how to drive. I want to see him try a Cheeto. I want to see him try sriracha. Like, I want to see him take a 10 milligram edible. I have so many questions. Does he know what Skinny Girl liquor is? Like, I have so many questions.
53:16 Speaker 01 I want to show him The Real Housewives of New York.
53:19 Speaker 00 I want to show him The Real Housewives of New York. Like, I want to show him the Titanic film.
53:26 Speaker 01 Yeah, there's so much that he doesn't know. And like, this is what I mean about this being like, the whole movie feels like a delusion of a girl who just like wants an excuse to date a hot guy. It's like, there's no world in which this relationship works. Like, just truly no world. They have bad communication skills. They are like, they have not spoken to each other at all. He knows nothing about her. She's too busy to have friends. And I'm supposed to believe that she's just going to be able to educate a man from the 1920s into like, not getting arrested for doing like hate speech? Like, there's no way, right?
54:06 Speaker 00 No, literally. I'm like, what happens when this man sees a black person?
54:10 Speaker 01 Yeah, bad.
54:13 Speaker 00 Like, can you imagine being like, okay, so this is a man named Martin Luther King. Um, he had a dream. This is important for you to know.
54:22 Speaker 01 Yeah, so you know how during your lifetime, there were people who wanted black people to vote? Now, a black person was president.
54:30 Speaker 00 Now, there's a black president. And the thing is, this movie came out in 2015. So presumably, it's like 2014.
54:37 Speaker 00 Like the president is black. And it's like, and then you immediately go into Trump after this? Like, I'm just like, what? Tell me about their life afterwards.
54:47 Speaker 01 Yeah. I'm also like, can you have a baby with someone?
54:51 Speaker 00 No, literally.
54:52 Speaker 01 Who's that old?
54:53 Speaker 00 Does he have?
54:53 Speaker 01 Fertile?
54:54 Speaker 00 I don't know. I'm like, does this work on Twilight rules where like some random shit happens? And suddenly you're allowed to have a baby? Like, does she even want children?
55:04 Speaker 01 That's a good point. Maybe she doesn't want children.
55:06 Speaker 00 Maybe she doesn't. Maybe the N is their child.
55:09 Speaker 01 Also, they never fuck. Not even once.
55:12 Speaker 00 I know. I know. It's so funny because I described this movie as a movie where a woman fucks a ghost, but she actually doesn't fuck him once. But spiritually, she does.
55:20 Speaker 01 Barely kisses him. She kisses him two times.
55:23 Speaker 00 It's really, it's a really chase movie, but somehow the vibe of it being the prelude to a porn movie really makes it feel far more. It, yeah, I'm like, nothing happens, but like, the subtext is real.
55:39 Speaker 01 I think that's the thing that is the most implausible to me about the ending of the movie is this like moment where it's like the clock is ticking down and they're just like having this nice like hug. I'm like, you're telling me his senses are heightened. He's about to go back to what he described as a waking nightmare for the rest of the year. And this man is not fucking?
56:01 Speaker 00 I'm like, I'm gonna be honest, that man has not felt the touch of a woman in a hundred years. And you're telling me he's not bricked the fuck up right now? Like,
56:10 Speaker 01 Also, I do think this guy is kind of a good actor, to be honest. Like, I think,
56:14 Speaker 00 Yes, I agree.
56:14 Speaker 01 His facial expressions are very good. And there's like a scene early on where she touches him to like prove that he's real. Like she touches his arm and you can see like the actor's body like sees a little. And it's like, yeah, this man is like, not gonna survive making out without having sex. Like, he's dying. He's dead.
56:34 Speaker 00 Maybe the issue is that they made out and he, uh,
56:39 Speaker 01 Little premature.
56:40 Speaker 00 Got a little too excited. Yeah. And they were like, okay, she's gonna take a nap and then we'll come back to this at a later date.
56:46 Speaker 01 Yeah. Oh.
56:49 Speaker 01 Tragic.
56:50 Speaker 00 Tragic.
56:51 Speaker 01 Um, thank you for supporting Normal Gossip. Thank you for joining us on this journey, uh, through the spirit of Christmas. Rachel, thank you, uh, for coming out and bringing us this horrific and beautiful film.
57:02 Speaker 00 I am so happy that I have gotten to take my personal mission of making as many people as possible watch this movie and somehow broaden that mission even further.
57:12 Speaker 01 It's beautiful, and I'm glad that you're achieving your dreams.
57:15 Speaker 00 Thanks so much. I'm gonna fuck a ghost.
57:18 Speaker 01 Hell, yeah. Okay, bye.
57:21 Speaker 00 Bye.
57:28 Speaker 00 Thank you so much for listening to this extra special bonus episode of Normal Gossip. If you do want to subscribe, you can do that at supportnormalgossip.com. If you are already a subscriber, please keep your eyes open. We are sending you an email to get feedback on what you might like to see in this feed in the future. More insanity, more caked up ghosts? Tell us.
57:56 Speaker 00 This podcast was hosted by me, Rachel Hampton. It was produced by Ciara Spragley-Ricks and Jay Tol Viera. The co-creators and Dowager queens of Normal Gossip are Alex SuJong Loflin and Kelsey McKinney. Justin Ellis is Defector's project editor. Jasper Wang and Sean Kuhn are Defector's business guys. Alex SuJong Loflin is Defector's supervising producer. Tom Lei is our editor in chief. Abigail Segel is our intern. Dan McLeod runs our merch store, which you can find at normalgossip.store. Tara Jacoby designed our show art. And thank you to the rest of the Defector staff. Defector Media is a collectively owned subscriber-based media company, and Normal Gossip is a proud member of Radiotopia. I'm Rachel Hampton,
58:40 Speaker 00 and remember, you did not hear this from me.
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