Pour The Wine, It's Rom-Com Time

Hallmark's Haul Out the Halloween

• Garry & Amy

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Join Garry and Amy as they head back to Evergreen Lane on this episode of Pour The Wine, It’s Rom-Com Time! The most Christmas obsessed cul-de-sac is trading tinsel for tombstones and decking out the block for a Halloween bash. Lacey Chabert and Wes Brown anchor the mayhem while Melissa Peterman steals scenes with her razor-sharp wit and Steven Tobolowsky nerd-charms his way into a sweet subplot. Between the cobwebs, competitive pumpkin painting, and heartwarming moments, this film finds a community that celebrates joy in every season. If you loved this episode, hit follow, rate/review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share it with a friend!

Send us an email to pourthewineitsromcomtime@gmail.com! We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/mood-of-summer

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Pour the Wine. It's rom cum time where we'll sip some wine and review all things rom cum on the Hallmark channel. I'm Amy.

SPEAKER_02:

And I'm Gary. And I'm pouring.

SPEAKER_01:

We are getting so close to countdown to Christmas premiere. We're only what four days away.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, and we are getting excited.

SPEAKER_01:

We are getting so excited. It's gonna be so fun.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Mistletoe Murders premieres this Friday.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_01:

You have to watch it if you have not watched it. They're dropping two episodes every Friday for season one. And I believe they're doing the same thing for season two. And we are excited. We've seen season one. Yes. And we are ready. And then, of course, the weekend will be all new Christmas movies. And we're heading into nonstop Christmas fun.

SPEAKER_02:

I know. It's gonna be a blur.

SPEAKER_01:

It's gonna be a blur. But first, we're gonna talk about Haul Out the Halloween.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, we are.

SPEAKER_01:

Which it which aired on the Hallmark channel on Saturday, October 11th, 2025. It is streaming right now on Hallmark Plus.

SPEAKER_02:

And we would love it if you would click that follow button on your favorite podcast platform so you don't miss an episode. If you listen on Apple or Spotify, you can also leave us a review. And hopefully it's a positive one.

SPEAKER_01:

Fingers crossed for that.

SPEAKER_02:

You can also find us on YouTube and all social media.

SPEAKER_01:

Or you can send us an email to Pourthewine isromcomtime at gmail.com and let us know your thoughts about the third installment of the Hall Out movies.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Haul Out the Halloween.

unknown:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Or maybe any of the movies, right? Or anything going on Hallmark related. Oh, we did see this weekend um Lacey Shabert's collection at our local Hallmark store. It's really cute. It's adorable. Very cute. Yes, yes. There were glasses and there was a tray at our homework store. I'm sure there are more things. Ornaments, ornaments, plates, appetizer plates. So it's really, really cute. Go check it out if you haven't already.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, please do. It was fun.

SPEAKER_01:

It was fun.

SPEAKER_02:

No, it was fun to see.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it was fun to see.

SPEAKER_02:

Because we have been waiting for it for a minute. I remember her talking about it early on in the year. Yeah. And now it's here. End of last year.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So tell us who is in this one.

SPEAKER_01:

Who is in this one? Other than we have we have the same uh we have returning, returning favorites, right? Lacey Shaber, who we just mentioned, yeah. Returns as Emily Melrose Farnsworth. Yeah. Because she does get married. Spoiler alert. Who doesn't love her, right? She's known as the Queen of Hallmark for a reason.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, she is.

SPEAKER_01:

Celebrations with Lacey Shaber just aired its second season on the Hallmark Channel. Season one aired last year on Hallmark Plus. In this, in that unscripted series, which we haven't watched yet, which we probably should. She honors individuals who have had a positive impact on their community. Yeah, I'm sure there are tears. I bet you probably, yeah. We last saw her in An Unexpected Valentine during Lebuary 2025. Just a few of her many, many, many Hallmark movies include The Christmas Quest, His and Hers, of course, the first two Haul Out movies: Haul The Holly, Haul Out, The Holly Lit Up, A Merry Scottish Christmas, The Wedding Veil movies, Groundswell, Crossword Mysteries, Love, Romance, and Chocolate. Chocolate. And the list goes on and on and on.

unknown:

Man.

SPEAKER_01:

She will be in the countdown to Christmas 2025 movie. She's making a list with Andrew Walker.

SPEAKER_02:

Awesome. That's probably cute.

SPEAKER_01:

It airs on Saturday, December 6th at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

SPEAKER_02:

Can't wait for it.

SPEAKER_01:

Looking forward to that one. Wes Brown plays Jared Farnsworth, the HOA president. He was in four Hallmark movies in 2024, including Holiday Touchdown, A Chief's Love Story, Deck the Walls, Autumn at Apple Hill, and the Love on the Danube movie love song. He shows up, of course, at the end of one of our Hallmark favorites, Biltmore Christmas.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, he does.

SPEAKER_01:

And he was in Haul Out the Holly and Haul Out the Holly lit up. Try to say that 10 times in a row.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

He will be in the Countdown to Christmas 2025 movie, A Newport Christmas, with Gina Claire Mason, who was just in hats off to love. Right. We loved her, adore her. That is set to air on Sunday, November 2nd at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. And the two of them are going to be dropping a song. It's not gonna it didn't make it in the movie.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

But they're going they recorded a song.

SPEAKER_02:

That's it. That's cool. Yeah, pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01:

I think it drops November 1st, I think is what I heard him say in an interview. So that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02:

Another thing to look forward to.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, and she, of course, was on Broadway as the Good Witch in Wicked. She played Linda the Good Witch. So that should be pretty cute. Steven Tobolowski plays Ned. He's one of the cul-de-sac neighbors. He's been around, of course, forever.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

And has nearly 300 acting credits. For Hallmark, he was in Haul Out the Holly and Haul Out the Holly Lit Up.

SPEAKER_02:

That was good.

SPEAKER_01:

And I know we focus mostly on Hallmark work, but I have to mention that he was in one of our favorite comedies, The Goldbergs. Yes. For 43 episodes. Yeah. And several classic 90s films, including I one I just had you watch.

SPEAKER_02:

You are correct. And it was really good.

SPEAKER_01:

My father the hero. So so cute. Go watch it.

SPEAKER_02:

He's hilarious.

SPEAKER_01:

He's really good in it. Yep. Yep. Yep. That was 1994.

unknown:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

30 years ago. It's been a minute, right? But it's so cute. Catherine Heigel's in it. Gerard Desperdeux is in it. It's a cute.

SPEAKER_02:

It is really cute. Go see it.

SPEAKER_01:

But Steven was also in Groundhog Day.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And Thelma and Louise. All right. Yeah. Melissa Peterman plays Pamela. She's another one of the neighbors. Her Hallmark work includes Hall of the Holly and Hall of the Holly Lit Up.

SPEAKER_02:

I lit it up.

SPEAKER_01:

A gingerbread romance. And she will return as a judge in season two of Finding Mr. Christmas, which premieres on Monday, October 27th at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

SPEAKER_02:

Looking forward to that one too.

SPEAKER_01:

Season one was actually on Hallmark Plus and is on Hallmark Plus right now. So you can go watch it. It's really cute. A really fun unscripted series.

SPEAKER_02:

Go watch it.

SPEAKER_01:

Go watch it. It's fun. And Jonathan Bennett is the host, the hostess with the most us. He's so great in that.

SPEAKER_02:

And I just love how each of the contestants they're pretty cool dudes. Yeah, yeah. It was really they back each other up.

SPEAKER_01:

It was really cool. It was good.

SPEAKER_02:

You don't see that too often in the competition.

SPEAKER_01:

No, no. They like the they tend to go more salacious. And yeah, but this is really so cute, so fun. And the guys were great last season. I'm sure they'll be great this season. They have a lot of fun competitions, and Jonathan Bennett is just, he's the perfect host for that.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

His personality and everything.

SPEAKER_02:

So and then you throw in Melissa.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah. And her and her as a judge. She's she's so funny naturally, anyway. So Ellen Travolta returns as Mary Louise. She's another one of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac. If her name sounds familiar, it's because she is, in fact, John Travolta's sister. She was in Haul Out the Holly and Hall Out the Holly lit up. Laura Wall Wardle plays Belinda. She that is Jared's mom. This is her eighth acting credit. And for Hallmark, she was in the first two Hall Out movies.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, pretty cool. Walter Platz plays Bob. He is Mary Louise's husband. Bob.

SPEAKER_02:

You get Bob.

SPEAKER_01:

For Hallmark, his work includes the Hall Out, both Haul Out movies. He was in Switch for Christmas, My Summer Prince, and I'm Not Ready for Christmas.

SPEAKER_02:

Who's not ready for Christmas?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, sometimes we're not. We love the holiday season, but it sneaks up on us.

SPEAKER_02:

It sneaks up on us. Yes, it does.

SPEAKER_01:

Even though we celebrate it practically all year long.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

Kimberly J. Brown plays the new neighbor, Luna. For Hallmark, she was in the Lacey Shaber and Brennan Elliott-led crossword mysteries proposing murder. She is largely known for her role as Marnie Piper in the three Disney Halloween Town movies. Oh, okay. So people were pretty excited about that. Yeah. Daniel Koons plays Luna's husband, Marvin. This is his Hallmark premiere. He was in Halloween Town 2 with Kimberly.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01:

So they come pretty cool. Some of his other work includes episodes of American Dreams, ER, and Jag.

SPEAKER_02:

Jag.

SPEAKER_01:

Peter Jacobson returns as Albert. That's Emily's dad. His other Hallmark work includes Haul Out the Holly and Hall Out the Holly Lit Up. And A Cozy Christmas Inn. He will be in the upcoming Countdown to Christmas 2025 movie Christmas on Duty with Janelle Parrish. It airs on Saturday, November 1st at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. And of course, fans of House, which we were, yes, we were. Know him for his portrayal of Dr. Christmas Tau Christmas. Dr. Christmas. Awesome. You can tell where my brain is, right? It's on Christmas. Dr. Chris Taub in 98 episodes of that series. Wow.

SPEAKER_02:

98 episodes.

SPEAKER_01:

Carrie Morgan plays Gail, Emily's mom. She was in the first two Haul Out the Holly movies, and she was in the homework movie Holly and Ivy. Eliza Hayes Ma Maher. Maher.

SPEAKER_02:

Maher.

SPEAKER_01:

I'll have to figure out how to say that. Returns as Jessica, Emily's best friend. Her homework work includes the two Haul Out movies. She was in Hidden Gems, Taking the Rains, and she will be in a grand old Oppie Christmas during Count On to Christmas this year in 2025. And that stars Nikki DeLoch and Christopher Palaha. Oh that airs on November 29th at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we got all our favorites coming out at these movies.

SPEAKER_01:

Which leads us, Christopher was not in this one.

SPEAKER_02:

No, he wasn't.

SPEAKER_01:

A little disappointing. I would like to have seen him again.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. He was mentioned.

SPEAKER_01:

Maybe next time. Maybe next one.

SPEAKER_02:

Neither was um maybe um Eric Mavia is. No. No, he wasn't in this one either.

SPEAKER_01:

Ashley Whelan plays Ashlyn, a former neighbor and childhood friend of Emily's. This is her Hallmark premiere. Most of her work so far include several shorts and music videos.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Lori Harra Purser plays Grandma Melrose for Hallmark. She was in Christmas Tree Lane and Love, Fall in Order.

unknown:

Man.

SPEAKER_02:

And is that it for the list? That's a wrap. All right. Haul Out the Halloween was directed by McLean Nelson. McLean has directed several Hallmark movies, including Haul Out the Holly, Haul Out the Holly Lit Up, Home Turf, The Magic of Lemon Drops, Branching Out, A Heidelberg Holiday, and Christmas in Vienna. He also co-wrote the teleplay of Haul Out the Halloween with Christopher Say.

SPEAKER_00:

Christopher Christopher What? That was like one long catch your breath, catch your breath. I know, right?

SPEAKER_02:

The teleplay was by McLean for Hallmark. He also has writing credits for Return to Office, A Heidelberg Holiday, and a Nashville Legacy.

SPEAKER_01:

So he helped write a lot of what he directed.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes. Right? Pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01:

That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Kind of gets confusing when you're reading this because you're like, did I just read that? No, right, right. No, he was the director for it. Right. Christmas writer. Woo! Who's on first? No, they're on third. Oh my gosh. Okay. Christopher, he also wrote Christmas on Call, Haul Out the Holly, lit up.

SPEAKER_01:

Lit up.

SPEAKER_02:

You're baking me crazy. And it's Christmas, Carol.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's Christmas, Carol. I know.

SPEAKER_02:

Love that one.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02:

Andy Sandberg gets a writer's credit here for creating the characters. His hallmark writing credits include Haul Out the Holly and Five More Minutes. He also has a writing credit for creating the story for the second five more minutes movie. Right. So I guess he wrote the first one.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_02:

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So that's it for those guys.

SPEAKER_01:

That's it for those guys for now. For now. Until they write the next one. Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

So shall we drop the sun?

SPEAKER_01:

Sure. We can go there. New Halloween-obsessed neighbors inspire residents of Evergreen Lane to haul out their spookiest costumes and decor to become Ever Scream Lane. Dun dun dun.

SPEAKER_02:

That was a good name for it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

I really enjoy it. And as you know, we do drop. Spoilers. So if you haven't seen this movie yet, please pause our podcast. Go watch the movie. Come back and let us know what you think.

SPEAKER_01:

Or you can listen to our review and then go watch it. Yes. And then come back and rate our review.

SPEAKER_02:

That's right. That is correct.

SPEAKER_01:

Let us know.

SPEAKER_02:

Please do. Let's dive into this because I want to know what you thought.

SPEAKER_01:

You want to know. You want to know. You're dying to know. Right. So we don't talk about it. Oh boy. Okay. Take a sip of wine. Take a sip of wine. I thought it was great. I loved it. The cul de sac crew is my absolute favorite.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

I thought we got, I loved that they stayed true to the characters and the storyline. We got lots of shout-outs and nods to the other movies, which I thought was great. They followed through on some themes. And there were also a lot of shout-outs to just movies in general and characters in general, which I love.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So that says a lot about, I'm sure, the writer and his love of entertainment.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And things. So, you know, I I did think that things were a little toned down. It was a slightly less funny. It was still great. I mean, I loved it. And I'm probably, you know, I'm gonna rate it really high. I'm just a spoiler alert, but I just felt like it there was a slightly different tone to this one.

unknown:

I agree.

SPEAKER_02:

I felt like I agree with you 100%.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. And then, you know, Wes Brown just kills me. He's so good as Jared. He was his expressions, the things that he says. And then we see that he's, you know, uh he's over the top in his real life, not just with the HOA. Right. You know, there's some things that happen during the movie. So I thought that was so great. And the same is true for the rest of the group. You have Melissa Peterman, who's so great as Pam, her delivery of her one-liners throughout the whole thing, Steven Tobolowski, who we just talked about as Ned. You know, he's the nerdy scientific guy. And then Mary Louise, who's 80 years old but rapping. I mean, I just thought it it all works so, so good. Great casting. And I learned what yard yelping is. Yeah. I'd never heard that term before. Had you?

SPEAKER_02:

No, I never did. No. Never heard it in my life.

SPEAKER_01:

What is yard yelping?

SPEAKER_02:

Maybe we don't get out and drink.

SPEAKER_01:

We're not hip. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Back in back in the day, I never heard that. And I love to go to haunted houses and stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And walk through people's, you know, makeshift uh spooky houses in their garage. Or their yards.

SPEAKER_01:

They have something set up or someone jumps out.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm assuming it's when you get scared and you yelp.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it's the yeah. I thought that was really cool. Yeah. So what about you? What do you think?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, I loved that Hallmark made this Halloween.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, that it was a Halloween movie, too, that we got.

SPEAKER_02:

It's interesting because Halloween is becoming a lot like Christmas in that yard decorations. Oh, yeah. I mean, they are getting more and more extravagant every year. I mean, we've been to two of the local hardware stores.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

And my gosh, these things are getting 18 feet tall. I mean, they're long, they're spooky, they're scary. You know, love it.

SPEAKER_01:

I had a or I have a former coworker, uh friend of mine, her husband loves Halloween. Right. Like loves Halloween. And they have to start decorating like a month before. That's their Christmas. Yeah, yeah. So they because it takes them that long to set everything up. And they and I mean people from all around go by their house. It's pretty cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Actually, so I love seeing decorations. I love when the neighborhood gets together and they all decorate. Loved it, loved it, loved it. I love the ugly sweaters. The Halloween.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, the Halloween or just sweat. Yeah, I mean, yeah, they're somewhere.

SPEAKER_02:

But yeah, overall, I really loved it.

SPEAKER_01:

So what's your first favorite scene? What you got? Let's talk about favorite scenes.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay. It was actually a multiple of scenes. It was Ned and Belinda, and their terms of endearments toward each other.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Throughout the cute. I mean, the the boo, the deer.

SPEAKER_01:

He called her deer, right? At the beginning of the wedding.

SPEAKER_02:

The just the yeah, he called a deer, watch my six. You know, um, she says cruelers instead of crawlers. And because that's what he and Pamela kind of what did you say? She said crawlers. So you get these hands that they're kind of liking each other, but you're not sure. And he's like, You boo me right out of my socks, or something like that. So that was my one of my favorite scenes.

SPEAKER_01:

That's cute. Yeah, they were cute.

SPEAKER_02:

What about you?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I liked the scene where Jared and Emily return home from their honeymoon. Uh-huh. And P.S. By the way, I like that they did the wedding at the beginning. Right. And they got it out of the way, and the whole movie wasn't about building up to the wedding. Right. I thought that that was a really great way to handle that. Because, I mean, everybody wants to see it, but it's about the about the cul-de-sac crew. And I mean, it's about them, but it's also about the group. And I just thought they handled that really, really well, smartly. And I did at first question why they were doing it in the fall, but it was beautiful.

SPEAKER_02:

It was very, very beautiful. Just with the mountain in the background.

SPEAKER_01:

But then, yeah, but then it was answered quickly why they didn't do it on Christmas. So I thought that that was cool. Because I'm like, they have to answer that because their whole thing is Christmas, right? So um, so I I just love that. But it's they get home from their honeymoon and he's gonna carry her over the threshold and he drops her. And it the funny part to me is she's like, Jared, Jared, and you can't see her, but you hear her calling to him. I just thought that was so funny because he has seen the neighbor's yard and it's all decked out in Halloween, and their their neighborhood really doesn't do that for reasons that they get into later on in the movie in the movie. But and then, and that kind of leads into the part where they go that they walk over to the neighbor's house, right? And he pulls out his clipboard and she's like, You brought the clipboard on our honeymoon, you know, because they haven't even gone inside yet, you know. So he pulls it out and it says Evergreen Lane H-O-A or whatever, which I thought was funny. So they go up to the door and then the new neighbors answer and they invite them in. And I I love how Emily is like, Yeah, I'd love to come in. No, I I'm not. Because Jared's like, No, we're not going in. She goes, No, I don't want to come in. You know, it's just so funny. It was the way they played that was really, really great. So I love that. That would be one for me.

SPEAKER_02:

Awesome. Do you have another one? Yeah, another one was when Pamela and Helen yard yoked Jarrett.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. With the kids. So Pamela's daughter, right?

SPEAKER_02:

And then she and Helen was so funny because when Jarrett falls on the ground, she comes up to me and says, You got yard-youp hard. She gives her a hand to help go out. And then she says she was sorry to Jarrett. And Pamela's like, You don't say sorry for a good thing. She said, You never apologize for a good prank or something like that.

SPEAKER_01:

That was funny.

SPEAKER_02:

That was another good one.

SPEAKER_01:

It was so good, yes. And then so good.

SPEAKER_02:

But that leads into when Helen goes, Oh, um uh what did she say? Hey, it looks like Belinda and Ned are trying to prank you too. Oh, that's where Helen finally sees what's going on or what has been going on with him and uh Ned and his mom Belinda, and he says, I see Ned people.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep, yep. That was one of the shout-outs to another movie, right? They kind of the the sixth sense, right?

SPEAKER_00:

I see dead people. That was great.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that was a great that's what I'm talking about. They kind of the way they wove those lines in and stuff, but that was a funny That was really right because he has a flashback of all their moments together and he realizes he's missed that they're actually, you know, maybe together, yes.

SPEAKER_02:

It's really missed. He just didn't put two and two and two together.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, what about you?

SPEAKER_01:

Um I liked when uh Jared and Emily appear after a smoke bomb, they're having the the H O or they're having the meeting, yeah, right, of the board or H O or whatever, and and they kind of appear after a smoke bomb and it ends up kind of bombing literally and they end up all coughing and then they but they look so good, they look so good, and even he's like, I'm not sure why I'm here except looking fly in this suit. I thought that was so funny.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it was funny.

SPEAKER_01:

He just killed me, and then they they present their ideas of what they're gonna do in the cul-de-sac, right? They're gonna have like the cookie contest, and you know, Pamela gets all excited, they're gonna do a costume contest, like this pumpkin painting, and then um Ned wants to carve real pumpkins, not just I I just thought it all just really, really worked. And then Jared, you know, he's most excited to talk about what the the competition was it for the costume competition, right? The costume so he has like a mic and it's like ladies and gentlemen, you know, and his voice gets ticked. Yeah, I thought it was so fun scary person, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

I thought it was so funny, and then he just talks normal and it's it's sound even like it still sounds even funnier, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so so good. So that was another one. What about you?

SPEAKER_02:

Um anymore? I loved when when um so Ned finds out and he goes and he has a uh a talk with his mom at a local tea store, and I loved how as they're talking, and they kind of he kind of you know, he's okay with her dating Ned. He lifts up the uh his tea glass with his pinky out, and as he's doing that, the scene switches to Ned with a beer, and he's putting it down, and and um Jared Jared is talking to him like he talked to the thing.

SPEAKER_01:

The way they moved transitioned from the one season to tell me my one from one scene to the other.

SPEAKER_02:

I thought it was it was done really well, and it was funny because Ned is like, I'll try, but I'm not gonna promise, you know, because I think he called her. What did he say about his mom?

SPEAKER_01:

She was um um, I can't believe it.

SPEAKER_02:

I I forget what he said. But he's like, I'll try.

SPEAKER_01:

Like he says, never use nymph and my mom. That's what it was.

SPEAKER_02:

That's what it was. He's like, I'll try it, but I'm not gonna promise.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, before that, I had that as one of my favorite scenes too, when Jared and his mom are talking, and and he's like, So are you guys an item? Like he can't even say it. He can't even say item, right? Like he's so that's what I said. He's so good in that character. Yes, because he's like, I don't even want to say it. And then she calls Ned like a Rizzler. A Rizzler, yeah. A Rizzler, and he's like, Don't don't ever call Ned a Rizzler again. Like he can't, he can handle some of it. So that that just worked. The scene between him and his mom. And then he comes around, which is great, you know, because he's like, you know, I didn't like the guy at first, but I love the guy, you know, and he's yeah, and he was like, Yeah, because he said, You want to play some pool?

SPEAKER_02:

And Ned goes, I'll play billiards. He goes, You can call it whatever you want. I'm still gonna beat Jared.

SPEAKER_01:

Right, right. That was yeah. So both of those.

SPEAKER_02:

So that was a cute little scene.

SPEAKER_01:

I had that, I had those also kind of I had his mom in the Ned scenes with Jared, so that that really worked. And then uh my final one would be well, I have a couple, but the the cookie contest.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. So Emily, again, spoiler alert, yes. Emily wins the cookie contest, and Pam just passes right out, right? She falls face first. But the best part of that is when she wakes up, right, in her bed and all the neighbors are there, right? And she's like, I had a dream, and you were there, and you were there, and you were there, and you instantly think of Wizard of Oz, right? So there's another that's a huge, I mean, that whole scene was a shout out to Wizard of Oz, which I just I love the writing like that. Because we're big, you know, I'm a big entertainer. You're a very big entertainer buff and just things, you know. So I that whole scene, and then you have Ned in the window, which is just like the Wizard of Oz with somebody leaning in the wind, and I just it was so so good, you know. And that's when Pam apologizes to the group, and you know, and then she's like, There's no place like home, you know, and I'm like, okay, now that's definitely the Wizard of Oz. You know, if you didn't know before that, you definitely know right now that that's what they're doing.

SPEAKER_02:

So Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas City.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean just yeah, the shout-out to the movies, and yeah, I just I loved I loved that scene.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that was my whole wizard of that. That was my last favorite scene. But I I do want to give a shout out to um uh uh Mary Louise and her rap.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, she owned it. And Bob, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Dude, they talked about it in Lit Up. Haul Out the Holly's Lit Up. Yes, because she thought they were talking about rapping, right? And they finally threw it in this one, and her and Bob did an excellent job.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, didn't she she rapped a little bit in Haul Out the Holly Lit Up, right?

SPEAKER_02:

She just did that one little bit.

SPEAKER_01:

That one little right, right, right.

SPEAKER_02:

But there was no music. This one had music and they were all different.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, yeah, it was a whole performance and the whole, you know, the costumes of it all. And uh, you know, I was talking about Wes Brown earlier, and he was saying that um their costume designer made all those costumes. There were no store-bought like they were made for each of them. Yeah. I mean, look at uh Pam and her daughter Helen were like the shining twins, another movie shout-out. You know, they did so, so good. Yes, they did. It was so good.

SPEAKER_02:

I was waiting for them to go right around the back.

SPEAKER_01:

There were so many, you know, and I guess now, well, there was a you're killing me smalls shout-out, too, and that's from the sandlot. That's not super scary, but I think the kids get scared right from the neighbors yard.

SPEAKER_02:

But yes, it was it very, very well done. Yes, very well done. Yes. So do you have any cheers?

SPEAKER_01:

I have all kinds of cheers. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_02:

Let's hear them.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh just I talked about it earlier, the cul-de-sac crew. I just think all it's it's such great casting and what they have, uh the way each character is is so good. And the way they all come together, I just love. I I just love, love, love. I love Emily and Jared together because he's, you know, usually it's it's it's the female who's over the top, like he's the guy who's just over the top emotionally and about everything, and she's more of the calm, usually the relaxed one. I love that. I talked about Melissa Peterman earlier and Steven. I mean, they're all just so the casting is so good and so fun.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

They have to have so much fun when they film these.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they do. I mean, I'd love to see some some some of those clips.

SPEAKER_01:

What about you? Cheer?

SPEAKER_02:

Big cheer? Yes, I just love the whole Halloween just just everything. Yes, the sweaters, the costumes, the decorations, and the fact that Jared gets his Santa gets accepted to Santa's.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, at the end. Shout out.

SPEAKER_02:

So they had to throw that in there at the end, and I thought that was really cute.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, no, and that's that's a shout out to the last movie, right? To lit up because the Jones or the Johnsons, the Jolly Johnsons, which I was sad they weren't in this one. I know, I know.

SPEAKER_02:

But I think talk talking about what you said at the beginning of the podcast, where it didn't feel as uh as um, I don't know, hyped up, but the Jolly Johnsons, they they were like in it, it seemed like the whole movie, right? Yeah. Where I felt kind of bad with Marvin and Luna. I didn't feel like they were in it as much as the Jolly Johnson.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I I kind of liked that they weren't competitive with the rest of the neighborhood, and I liked that they had them come in and kind of shine a light on something else the cul de sac could be doing, and there were like I said, there was a reason they stopped, right? Celebrating so well, there was a reason why the neighbor stopped because Lacey Shaber got so scared and that or something that was one of my other chairs, too. So I I thought that having them come in and not being like instant enemies with the cul-de-sac was great. Yes, you know, and they kind of embraced them and they were welcomed right, right. There was no, you know, and be probably because it wasn't Christmas, there was no big competition, but it so it really worked.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it did. It did for me. So any more chair?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, yeah, just I talked about it, the acknowledgments of things from the previous films, like, you know, Jared brings up the Polaroid picture again, and we see that the grandma's the one who took it. Right. I thought that was a cool thing. You know, you hear we hear right away that the Jolly Johnsons don't live there. Right. They throw the nickel back in there. You mentioned the Curlers versus crawlers. Crulers versus crawlers. I can't even say that. I thought that was good, that that's an ongoing, continuing kind of joke and banter between Pam and uh Ned. Yep. Um, you brought up the Santa Academy because that was in the last one. Pam talks about her doctorate in arts and crafts, which she talked about.

SPEAKER_02:

That's so funny. She is really good in that.

SPEAKER_01:

So and then when Jared asked Ned when he started to like his mom, and Ned said it was two Christmases ago, the night you first took the throne in Santa's village. And that's a shout-out. Remember when he so I just I loved it. I I thought it was I thought it was so good. I loved um Pam Skeleton Hands, the berets. The berets. Yes, her berets, her berets, her berets.

SPEAKER_02:

These were cute.

SPEAKER_01:

I thought those were really cute. I love that they put the name of the movie on the moving truck when the new neighbors moved.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, it was just like lit up.

SPEAKER_01:

Haul out the way lit up because they came with the but did they have it on the truck with the name of the movie? Okay, yeah, yeah. I hadn't remembered that. So I thought that was really cool.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

It just all really, really, really worked and fun for a fall, a hot a true like Halloween movie.

SPEAKER_02:

And you noticed something that one of the sweaters Pam was wearing, it had ribbons on it. Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_01:

And you were like, Yeah, I wonder if that's um Lacey Shaber's right, because uh her design is ribbon what we noticed on what we saw at Hallmark.

SPEAKER_02:

It was and uh I can't remember the name of the flower, but ribbons and poinsetta maybe.

SPEAKER_01:

I I don't remember for sure, but yeah, and you noticed that yeah, there were ribbons on Pam's Halloween sweater, right? So we wondered if that was sort of a nod. I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Or maybe we will maybe more chairs? Uh nope, that was it.

SPEAKER_02:

That was it. Yeah, that'll do. What about jeers? Did you have any jeers?

SPEAKER_01:

The only jeer would be the whipped cream.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So there's a scene where Jared and Emily and Emily's parents are talking and they all have hot chocolate or whatever. The whipped cream never moves. No, never moves, never moves. And you noticed something else, didn't you?

SPEAKER_02:

In that there was something else that you um it looked like uh his dad or her dad's uh whipped cream went down and then came back up. I know his move from one side to the other side. Did it really? Okay, yeah. So I you know, but that's okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, no, that's okay. That would be my only jeer.

SPEAKER_02:

My only jeer would have been that I I wish Marvin and Luna were a little bit more in it.

SPEAKER_01:

In it, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, because I I loved how they made them, they were agreeable, they gave suggestions, they weren't over the top.

SPEAKER_01:

It's like yeah, like you said, the charity, they brought up the charity work that they did.

SPEAKER_02:

I thought they did a really good job though. Yeah, and I and I loved the alley where they each did a scene, the haunted alley. That because Ned and Belinda did.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yes, yes, yes. They did the that's right. Yes, and then um Yeah, because they hey he had the coffin and the right the Dracula. They were and then Yeah, and then it was really cute at the end with Jared and Emily with the sailor and then that was really cute.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, New York moment almost.

SPEAKER_01:

And he came out as Kruger, Chatty Kruger, Chatty Kruger like nickelback or something. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02:

It was it was really cute.

SPEAKER_01:

It was cute.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, so what was your tinsel top moment?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, we don't have I know it's not a tinsel top moment.

SPEAKER_02:

What's your spooky moment? No, listen.

SPEAKER_01:

I I don't know that I could well, we couldn't call it a spooky moment because it's not really scary, but um See, I'm I'm some thinking. I know, you're thinking Christmas tinsel top.

SPEAKER_02:

They screw my brain.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I don't know. I just loved it all. I I if I had to pick a favorite moment, it would be uh the cookie contest and when she wait when Pam wakes up and they're all on around her bedside and it's like the Wizard of Oz. I thought that was like Chef's kiss to Wizard of Oz. And uh very good. Yeah, I thought that was what about you?

SPEAKER_02:

Um I think I d just when uh Lacey, you know, gets with um her friend Emily. Or um you mean when Emily gets with her Yeah, and they talk she talks about you know she's she was sorry or have how the the neighborhood treated her and her.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, her old neighbor, right? The um the news reporter. Right, right, right, Ashlyn.

SPEAKER_02:

And then she actually wrote a book with the characters in it. Oh, that's right. Yeah, we didn't mention that. And I thought that was very, very good. Very well done, and I appreciate the fact that because it was funny because everybody else was apologizing and and doing their thing, and she was the last one to to have to do it, and she ended up doing it, and she got a book out.

SPEAKER_01:

What do you mean everyone was apologizing?

SPEAKER_02:

Like Jared apologized because he smashed the pumpkin.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, that's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_02:

He had to apologize to the three yeah, the tribunal whatever they call it.

SPEAKER_00:

I had it, yeah, tributive or something.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I can't and then he had to apologize to his mom and j and Ned, and uh and I just thought it was really good. So that was it for me.

SPEAKER_01:

Triumvirate or something. Something like that. Triumvirate, yeah, triumvirate of truth.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, the three, and it was very funny, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So out of pump out of five pumpkins, how many pumpkins would you get?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm gonna give this one a four and a half.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, a four and a half, really.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

I I would go a solid four. I thought it was really cute, really fun. I really enjoyed these movies. I hope we get more.

SPEAKER_02:

I do too.

SPEAKER_01:

I I hope, I really hope we do.

SPEAKER_02:

Maybe the next one's gonna be in Santa Academy.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, maybe that would be cool in Norway, right? Is that where he's headed? Yeah, that would be pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02:

Man, it will be. So is that a wrap?

SPEAKER_01:

That's a wrap.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, if you really, really like the show, we would really, really appreciate your positive review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And if you didn't really, really like the show, we still appreciate your positive review.

SPEAKER_01:

Pretty pleased follow us wherever you get your podcasts and on social media so you don't miss a thing. Until next time. Cheers.