November 13, 2025 • 21 mins
Pack your passport and a little family patience because A Keller Christmas Vacation is setting sail! This new Hallmark Channel movie stars Jonathan Bennett, Brandon Routh, and Eloise Mumford as the grown Keller kids reluctantly joining their parents on a 10-day Christmas river cruise down the Danube. From Germany to Vienna, expect twinkling markets, scenic stops, and plenty of sibling squabbles as the Kellers rediscover what really matters. It’s a festive journey filled with laughter, love, and one family secret that just might bring everyone home for the holidays.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I couldn't believe how much I was crying watching the
final scene as the sons are helping their dad along
the ice. Oh my, oh my god. This is a
bramble Jam podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark or Hallmark Review podcast. I'm
Megan and I'm a longtime Hallmark fan.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I'm Wendy. I'm a former Hallmark hater.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Today we're discussing A Keller Christmas Vacation, which originally aired
on the Homework Channel on Sunday, November ninth, twenty five,
and you can currently stream it on the Hallmark Plus
streaming platform. You know, we're everywhere on social media. We're
Girls Gone Hamewark, on Instagram, on TikTok. Give us a follow, Hey,
come give our website a visit. We are Girls Gone
(01:01):
Hallmark dot com.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Tons of movie information over there, fun things to look at,
actor profiles, et cetera, et cetera. I think it's a
good time. I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Let's kick off our discussion of a Kellor Christmas Vacation
with a synopsis.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Three reluctant adult siblings join their parents on a Christmas
river cruise through Europe, each dealing with personal issues, only
to find Unexpected Joy, romance and family bonds along the journey.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
McLean Nelson directs A Kellor Christmas Vacation. He's behind many
Hallmark favorites including Haul at the Holly Lit Up, The
Magic Lemon Drops, and the Presence of Love.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
The script comes from Tracy Andreine, marking her thirty seventh
writing credit. She spenned numerous Hallmark hits like The Magic
of Lemon Drops, The Holiday Sitter, and Two Tickets to Paradise.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
This is Jonathan Bennett's eighty fifth acting credit. Hallmark fans
last saw him in the Cherry Lane movies, and of
course he's the host of Finding Mister Christmas.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Den Routh returns to Hallmark after his beloved role as
firefighter Zach in The Nine Lives of Christmas and its
sequel Beyond Talmark. He's known for DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Arrow and Scott Pilgrim takes off.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Eden Cher, best known as Sue Heck from the Middle,
makes her Hallmark debut with A Keller Christmas Vacation.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Laurel Leftcow with over one hundred acting credits, was lasting
on Hallmark and man Joao Noel still two years later
that title I don't speak French guys anyway. She also
appeared as Carol Langetti and what is maybe my favorite
non Hallmark show right now?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
The diplomatic WOA bold proclamation So good. Nigel Whitney plays
the Keller family patriarch. Hallmark viewers will recognize him as
Byron from the Way Home. He's also known for extensive
voice work across television and video games.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
When watching this, were you like, I know his pace?
Who I know?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Sees?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Yes? Where is he from? Where is he from? And
then it hit me, I was like, duh, it's a Byron.
German actor Frederick Brossier was last seen on Hallmark and
A Heidelberg Holiday in twenty twenty three, opposite Jenna Claire Mason,
a non a non Decide Barochia plays William and returns
to Hallmark following the Presence of Love. His past credits
(03:21):
include Bridgerton and The Outpost. Jill Winternetz as Felicity, makes
her Hallmark debut in a Keller Christmas Vacation. This marks
her thirty first acting credit. We are going to take
a quick break and we'll come right back with our
first impressions. Hey, Wendy, what was your first impression of
(03:46):
a Keller Christmas Vacation Miracles of Christmas Restored.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Oh, breakout the tissue, we need a kill Nex collab totally.
My first impression is one again. I say, when are
we taking a trip to the holiday market?
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Oh my god, Oh my god. We got to talk
about it.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Well, let's talk what we liked about this movie. Well, first,
for me, I thought the sibling trio was super believable.
We have Cal, Dylan, and Emerie.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
They just all worked. Yeah, they bickered like family, they
tease like family, and still somehow they had each other's
backs like when it really mattered. I just thought this
dynamic felt real. It just it all worked together. And
incredible casting too. I thought, I totally agree. I loved
this trio.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
And Jonathan Bennett posted he was like, what do you
get when you put Aaron Samuel's Superman and Sue Heck
in a movie together and it's movie magic. Honestly, it's
great sibling casting.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, honestly, like him and Brandon Ralph looked very similar.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I read an article where Brandon had said, like they
look like siblings, and so they finally got to play siblings.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, they I don't know, it's just like the dark hair,
the futures they It's totally believable to me, totally, totally,
one thousand percent great casting. I also just real quick
about the siblings. I loved the moments when they had
like real talk, like the not the like bickering, but
the scene, especially when they're in that barn hotel and
(05:26):
they're all sharing that one room and the boy the
boys are on the ground and sisters on the bed
and they're talking and then they share like I love
yous I got I wish I had relationships like this
with my own siblings.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, that was a great one. And then the one
where they say, hey, we need to have a sibling
chat and they go to talk about what's going on
with Dylan and William because William has shown up and
they can tell that there's tension, and I like that
they have their own little sibling moment, and they all
kind of also talk about other ways in which their
life is falling apart a little bit. Yeah, quick, little
(06:03):
like like the opening sequence with the family photos. I
thought that was well done and on theme with the
movie Mitya. I loved it, Like some of the funnier
lines in this movie, you're so touchy when you don't
have your morning protein. Yes, and William's like me at
one of my brother's family football drafts. In terms of comedy,
there's a lot of physical comedy on the part of
Jonathan Bennett, which he does so well when he gets
(06:24):
stuck in his later hose in when he smacks his
head on the stealing of his bedroom. And the dock
running scene. If you're on TikTok and you haven't seen
videos of dock runners shot by fellow cruisers as their
shipmates try and make it back to the all aboard
call times.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Oh sprinting down the long docks.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I thought it was great.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I love that scene. I know it was a little
like it's a little hygiene see, but not so much
like you know, they're riding in on this like motorcycle
with a sidecar and they're like, right here, that was funny.
That's that's It feels like a nightmare to me, Like
that would be my biggest I would be like, we
have to get back to the about two hours early
(07:06):
before it leaves because I don't want to be left
behind one hundred yeah. No, speaking of funny lines, it's
in my digit see that's but I'll just since you
dropped yours here, I had a few that I thought
were really funny. Jonathan bennisys one time, I'm not an athlete,
but you should see me on a pilates reformer I
thought was really funny. Also Emory when they get to
(07:27):
that bar and she goes, why do I feel like
I'm in the future of a true crime podcasts? I
love that. And also when they were sleeping in that
room at that barn, Dylan makes reference to the creepy
elf that's above him and he goes, have you seen
the creepy elf? The trauma is real? And I was like,
if you know, you know? That was great, really good. Yeah.
(07:47):
I liked the slow burned storyline for cal I thought
his backstory was a lot. I'm going to talk about
that and my wishes, but I like that he meets
like this gal on a cruise and he's single. He's charming.
Felicity clearly agrees. I like their growing connection. I was
rooting for them. I liked that it wasn't like I
(08:10):
love you at the end or anything, you know. I
was like, Ah, they met each other and let's see
where this goes. I really enjoyed that you mentioned the
Leader Hosen. I loved it. I thought it was hilarious.
That's it. I just thought it was funny that somebody
took his clothes and then now he's in the Leader
Hosen yep, from top to bottom. I just I thought
that was hilarious. I loved the redemption for William. I
(08:34):
was so sad. I'm going to talk about it in
my wishes too, but I was so sad that the
parents brought him into what was going on there, you know,
the dad's like medical stuff, and that he had that
weight to bear, and I just thought that was so unfair.
So I loved that they apologized to him at the end.
(08:56):
I loved William in this movie. Ye.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
William has so much warmth to his character.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Oh so good.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I really loved him as well. I like the moment
when the parents have let the kids in on what's
going on with dad. And I watched this movie twice,
and when I watched it the second time, I was like, Oh,
it's so obvious, knowing what I know now, but when
they say we're not the only ones who know, and
I was like.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
William knows. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
And Jonathan Bennett as Dylan's face as he has that realization,
all the emotions that cross his face. That was a
really emotional scene for me. The kids reacting to the parents.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Oh my gosh, it was too much. And this is
why I think it is because of the age we are. Yes,
we have aging parents. Yes, like dealing with this stuff
feels very real. Yes, I truly truly thought the writing
of this script treated this storyline with such care. I
(09:56):
really appreciated it. I did too.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I also really appreciate the way they handled Emory's career
path we have. I think it's very realistic while also
honoring her passion. She's like, look, I gotta pay the bills,
so I'm going to take a real job, but I
am going to commit myself to trying to make my
passion into a full time reality. I think that's realistic, right,
(10:20):
Like she's not blowing it off, but she also knows,
as she says, the economy has not been kind to
her generation, right right. They handled it well.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
And that moment with her parents where she's talking to
them and they're like, why aren't you doing this more?
And she was like, what are you talking about? Like
I need to pay my bills. I thought it was
nice that they're recognizing that life is short and they
want her to be happy.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
To be happy, I'm telling you Miracles of Christmas. Yeah,
I feel like maybe we might have been. This is
like a gotcha movie. You think it's going to be
like and it's comedy. There's a lot of comedy in it,
but it really gets you right and like good. Yes. Oh.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
The one other comedic line that I had in my
notes was that's right, Captain glue Vine.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Oh yeah, that was hilarious, right. I love that he
got hammered on whatever that like German wine was or whatever.
Two more little things, no, three more things. I loved
the proposal between William and Dylan.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Proposal.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Yeah, I loved all of that. I thought the final
scene of this movie was like, I couldn't believe how
much I was crying watching the final scene as the
sons are helping their dad along the ice. Oh, oh
my god, Oh my god. And then it has this
song playing, which the song I don't know what it was,
but the line in the song was no matter where
(11:44):
you go, let Christmas bring you home. Oh my god.
I am a hot mess watching the end of this movie. Yeah,
a hot mess. One final thing you talked about it
the Christmas markets and your first impression. The Danube sells
itself here, like, take me to a snowy European market.
(12:05):
I'm ready to go. I know.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I want to go on a Christmas market cruise.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I think that is like a huge bucketless item. Now,
me too, I'm gonna mention it here. It's in my
did you see that? But the floating heart light in Vienna?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Oh my god, looked like me too. That exists me too.
I loved that floating heart light. I've been all in
on that.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Oh my god. I watched so many TikTok videos of
it last night.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I was like, that's funny. I loved it too.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I have to see it in person. I know. Yeah,
very cool.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Let's talk wishes.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I have just a few, yeah, same, very few. My
first one is about Col and his backstory. At the
very top of this movie, we get a ton of
information about Col's baggage a little too much. Look, they
could have just made him recently divorced guy and goes
on a family cruise like, I don't know why we
(13:06):
needed I'm divorced and I have this long crush on
a friend who, like our timing didn't work out. What what? Why?
Why why do we need all that, especially.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
In a movie with so many storylines.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, I thought it was bizarre. The divorce was enough. Yeah.
My other wish is me thinks that Sue heck as
Emery could have used a little bit of lip color. Oh,
but she would just bare lip the entire time. I
just was like, dress this girl up a little bit,
okay all And then my final wish, the Christmas tree
(13:42):
ring was really quite terrible. Uh huh, But I loved
the whole proposal, and I know it was like a
replacement for like the ring that was back at home
and whatever.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
But right I was like, oh good, you kind of
touched on my wish. But it's the Dylan and William conflict.
It's so drawn out in the movie, like they have
so many confrontations where ohays like, please tell me what's
going on and William can't say a word, and it's
it's frustrating as a viewer, And when you have all
(14:14):
the information, you understand why.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
But it's a hard it's hard to.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Watch, and I guess maybe that's real life, but I
just have to wonder, Like you said, it is so
unfair that his parents put him in that situation. It
just was potentially very damaging to their relationship.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Oh totally, so I thought.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I found that very frustrating. And again that sort of
decision making maybe real life, like we reached out to
the one person we knew, who we were close to,
but who might be able to help us out here,
and then that inadvertently had a.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Little bit of a butterfly effect. That was hard for me,
you know, because there's like hipA violations and stuff like that. Right,
Like Williams by law can't tell Dylan any of this stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I don't think that's a hip of violation because he's
not their patient. Like, oh, that's like your friend. I
don't think he's that.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
He They just came to him for advice or recommendations
or whatever. Right yeah, but still like, don't put this
man in the position when the parents are not ready
to tell their children about what's going on.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Like ah, and and Dylan says, like, they're right. I
would have told everybody if they had come to me
with this information, I wouldn't have been able to keep
it to myself. But it's complicated. One last tiny wish
real missed opportunity not to have Catherine dish Or make
a cameo on board.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I agree, I absolutely agree. But did you notice it
was a different Yes, it.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Did cruise line cruise line indeed.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Yeah. I was like, oh, that's so interesting, Like why
they why Hallmark couldn't have like not that Hallmark production
whoever couldn't have like struck another deal to highlight the
same cruise line as they used before.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah, who knows it?
Speaker 1 (15:55):
To me? It looks like they actually shot a lot
of stuff on this boat.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Oh yeah, that's actually in my legs. Remember how you
always wanted more boat stuff, a lot of boat stuff. Yeah,
more boat stuff.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
I loved it. I really love the white elephant exchange too,
with the other passengers. It's so fun, so fun.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
The contrast of that, like the the fun joy of
the exchange and then the dramatic way in which it
ends really well done.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Oh gosh when he goes down, I went.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
No, no, it's it's a real gut punch because you
get so caught up in the like I love a
white elephant exchange and the stealing and it's so fun
and yeah and then oh.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
No, oh, no, you know, shout out to McLean Nelson.
He he can do drama. Really I wouldn't. I don't
want to see drama. He can do drama really well.
But the presence of love was very dramatic too. Yes,
is drama the right word I'm using? Yeah, I would
say these are that was a drama anyway. He's a
(16:56):
good a romantic drama rather than a romantic comedy. Yeah,
this is like a dramedy. Yeah, that's definitely what I
would call this one. Well, let's talk to you. You see
that I already talked about several things, but I have too.
We didn't talk about the gingerbread masterpieces when they well,
(17:18):
first of all, they're building their their gingerbread house and
I don't know what Dylan is putting on the top
of it that makes it like all crumble apart, like
I know, like so Cal wasn't holding it, but like
Dylan was trying to put like a roof on it
or something that whatever my digit see that is. I
(17:39):
thought it was hilarious that they had the ruins of POMPEII. Yes,
that's final thing. I thought that was hilarious. I thought
it was really good. My only other digit see that,
and I wondered if it was intentional. Now, the mom
and dad are in their room and he's like putting
his shoes on and they're getting ready to go. He's like,
I just gotta tie my shoes, and then he stops,
like mid shoe tie, and then just puts his foot
(18:00):
back down on the ground. And I was like, oh, well,
is that like a Parkinson's thing, where like, yeah, is
that a tell or did He just was like, Okay,
we're not actually going anywhere, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
what about you.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
I have a couple of little things. One at the
first Christmas Market. The Noah is speaking and he's like,
this market fills the whole park, but all we can
see are a few stands and it looks really tiny.
So I kind of was like pan back a little
bit because I know they were there during the actual
Christmas markets. Obviously, you know, we see the Hearts of Vienna.
(18:36):
I know, you remember when we interviewed Jonathan Bennett last year,
he was like, I'm leaving for a movie that has
to be shot during a specific time of year, yep,
And we were like the holiday markets, but he did
not come firm but yeah, so I wanted to see
more of that. My only true did you see that?
Is Dylan and William are walking and Dylan is telling
(18:58):
William about his frustration with his job, and William says
he'll figure it out. And they both have earpieces for
the tour in and Jonathan reaches for his and then
he puts his hand down. And then the next scene
they turn to face each other and then they both
reach for their earpieces to take them out, and I
felt like it was like just a slightly early cue
for Jonathan. Oh interesting, but the emotional moment was so
(19:20):
strong that they're like, let's leave that take because they
were connecting. Finally. Just a fun fact, I read a
little interview with Eden Chair about this movie and she
says she became very close friends with Anandaci Barchia, who
plays William in this movie. We were fast friends. We clicked,
We immediately ticked off one of the key requirements of
(19:40):
any lasting friendship. We were snarky on the side together.
Oh that's fun. And I would like to say that
Eden Chair is a delightful follow on TikTok, so give
her a follow.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
What is she doing now?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
I don't know what she just like talks about her
life at home with her twin daughters.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
A fine, yeah, fun.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
What did you rate a color Christmas vacation?
Speaker 1 (20:05):
This one's up there. This is a four and a
half star maybe for me, I.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Gave you four point two five star. Ah. Thank you
for listening to this episode of Girls Gone Homework, a
Bramble Jam podcast. We'll be back next time with more
Homewark reviews. Goodbye bye. All right friends, before we go,
(20:31):
just a quick heads up. You're about to hear some ads.
These little gems help us keep the show running and
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Bye
I couldn't believe how much I was crying watching the
final scene as the sons are helping their dad along
the ice. Oh my, oh my god. This is a
bramble Jam podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark or Hallmark Review podcast. I'm
Megan and I'm a longtime Hallmark fan.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I'm Wendy. I'm a former Hallmark hater.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Today we're discussing A Keller Christmas Vacation, which originally aired
on the Homework Channel on Sunday, November ninth, twenty five,
and you can currently stream it on the Hallmark Plus
streaming platform. You know, we're everywhere on social media. We're
Girls Gone Hamewark, on Instagram, on TikTok. Give us a follow, Hey,
come give our website a visit. We are Girls Gone
(01:01):
Hallmark dot com.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Tons of movie information over there, fun things to look at,
actor profiles, et cetera, et cetera. I think it's a
good time. I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Let's kick off our discussion of a Kellor Christmas Vacation
with a synopsis.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Three reluctant adult siblings join their parents on a Christmas
river cruise through Europe, each dealing with personal issues, only
to find Unexpected Joy, romance and family bonds along the journey.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
McLean Nelson directs A Kellor Christmas Vacation. He's behind many
Hallmark favorites including Haul at the Holly Lit Up, The
Magic Lemon Drops, and the Presence of Love.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
The script comes from Tracy Andreine, marking her thirty seventh
writing credit. She spenned numerous Hallmark hits like The Magic
of Lemon Drops, The Holiday Sitter, and Two Tickets to Paradise.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
This is Jonathan Bennett's eighty fifth acting credit. Hallmark fans
last saw him in the Cherry Lane movies, and of
course he's the host of Finding Mister Christmas.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Den Routh returns to Hallmark after his beloved role as
firefighter Zach in The Nine Lives of Christmas and its
sequel Beyond Talmark. He's known for DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Arrow and Scott Pilgrim takes off.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Eden Cher, best known as Sue Heck from the Middle,
makes her Hallmark debut with A Keller Christmas Vacation.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Laurel Leftcow with over one hundred acting credits, was lasting
on Hallmark and man Joao Noel still two years later
that title I don't speak French guys anyway. She also
appeared as Carol Langetti and what is maybe my favorite
non Hallmark show right now?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
The diplomatic WOA bold proclamation So good. Nigel Whitney plays
the Keller family patriarch. Hallmark viewers will recognize him as
Byron from the Way Home. He's also known for extensive
voice work across television and video games.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
When watching this, were you like, I know his pace?
Who I know?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Sees?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Yes? Where is he from? Where is he from? And
then it hit me, I was like, duh, it's a Byron.
German actor Frederick Brossier was last seen on Hallmark and
A Heidelberg Holiday in twenty twenty three, opposite Jenna Claire Mason,
a non a non Decide Barochia plays William and returns
to Hallmark following the Presence of Love. His past credits
(03:21):
include Bridgerton and The Outpost. Jill Winternetz as Felicity, makes
her Hallmark debut in a Keller Christmas Vacation. This marks
her thirty first acting credit. We are going to take
a quick break and we'll come right back with our
first impressions. Hey, Wendy, what was your first impression of
(03:46):
a Keller Christmas Vacation Miracles of Christmas Restored.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Oh, breakout the tissue, we need a kill Nex collab totally.
My first impression is one again. I say, when are
we taking a trip to the holiday market?
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Oh my god, Oh my god. We got to talk
about it.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Well, let's talk what we liked about this movie. Well, first,
for me, I thought the sibling trio was super believable.
We have Cal, Dylan, and Emerie.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
They just all worked. Yeah, they bickered like family, they
tease like family, and still somehow they had each other's
backs like when it really mattered. I just thought this
dynamic felt real. It just it all worked together. And
incredible casting too. I thought, I totally agree. I loved
this trio.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
And Jonathan Bennett posted he was like, what do you
get when you put Aaron Samuel's Superman and Sue Heck
in a movie together and it's movie magic. Honestly, it's
great sibling casting.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, honestly, like him and Brandon Ralph looked very similar.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I read an article where Brandon had said, like they
look like siblings, and so they finally got to play siblings.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, they I don't know, it's just like the dark hair,
the futures they It's totally believable to me, totally, totally,
one thousand percent great casting. I also just real quick
about the siblings. I loved the moments when they had
like real talk, like the not the like bickering, but
the scene, especially when they're in that barn hotel and
(05:26):
they're all sharing that one room and the boy the
boys are on the ground and sisters on the bed
and they're talking and then they share like I love
yous I got I wish I had relationships like this
with my own siblings.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, that was a great one. And then the one
where they say, hey, we need to have a sibling
chat and they go to talk about what's going on
with Dylan and William because William has shown up and
they can tell that there's tension, and I like that
they have their own little sibling moment, and they all
kind of also talk about other ways in which their
life is falling apart a little bit. Yeah, quick, little
(06:03):
like like the opening sequence with the family photos. I
thought that was well done and on theme with the
movie Mitya. I loved it, Like some of the funnier
lines in this movie, you're so touchy when you don't
have your morning protein. Yes, and William's like me at
one of my brother's family football drafts. In terms of comedy,
there's a lot of physical comedy on the part of
Jonathan Bennett, which he does so well when he gets
(06:24):
stuck in his later hose in when he smacks his
head on the stealing of his bedroom. And the dock
running scene. If you're on TikTok and you haven't seen
videos of dock runners shot by fellow cruisers as their
shipmates try and make it back to the all aboard
call times.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Oh sprinting down the long docks.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I thought it was great.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I love that scene. I know it was a little
like it's a little hygiene see, but not so much
like you know, they're riding in on this like motorcycle
with a sidecar and they're like, right here, that was funny.
That's that's It feels like a nightmare to me, Like
that would be my biggest I would be like, we
have to get back to the about two hours early
(07:06):
before it leaves because I don't want to be left
behind one hundred yeah. No, speaking of funny lines, it's
in my digit see that's but I'll just since you
dropped yours here, I had a few that I thought
were really funny. Jonathan bennisys one time, I'm not an athlete,
but you should see me on a pilates reformer I
thought was really funny. Also Emory when they get to
(07:27):
that bar and she goes, why do I feel like
I'm in the future of a true crime podcasts? I
love that. And also when they were sleeping in that
room at that barn, Dylan makes reference to the creepy
elf that's above him and he goes, have you seen
the creepy elf? The trauma is real? And I was like,
if you know, you know? That was great, really good. Yeah.
(07:47):
I liked the slow burned storyline for cal I thought
his backstory was a lot. I'm going to talk about
that and my wishes, but I like that he meets
like this gal on a cruise and he's single. He's charming.
Felicity clearly agrees. I like their growing connection. I was
rooting for them. I liked that it wasn't like I
(08:10):
love you at the end or anything, you know. I
was like, Ah, they met each other and let's see
where this goes. I really enjoyed that you mentioned the
Leader Hosen. I loved it. I thought it was hilarious.
That's it. I just thought it was funny that somebody
took his clothes and then now he's in the Leader
Hosen yep, from top to bottom. I just I thought
that was hilarious. I loved the redemption for William. I
(08:34):
was so sad. I'm going to talk about it in
my wishes too, but I was so sad that the
parents brought him into what was going on there, you know,
the dad's like medical stuff, and that he had that
weight to bear, and I just thought that was so unfair.
So I loved that they apologized to him at the end.
(08:56):
I loved William in this movie. Ye.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
William has so much warmth to his character.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Oh so good.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I really loved him as well. I like the moment
when the parents have let the kids in on what's
going on with dad. And I watched this movie twice,
and when I watched it the second time, I was like, Oh,
it's so obvious, knowing what I know now, but when
they say we're not the only ones who know, and
I was like.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
William knows. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
And Jonathan Bennett as Dylan's face as he has that realization,
all the emotions that cross his face. That was a
really emotional scene for me. The kids reacting to the parents.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Oh my gosh, it was too much. And this is
why I think it is because of the age we are. Yes,
we have aging parents. Yes, like dealing with this stuff
feels very real. Yes, I truly truly thought the writing
of this script treated this storyline with such care. I
(09:56):
really appreciated it. I did too.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I also really appreciate the way they handled Emory's career
path we have. I think it's very realistic while also
honoring her passion. She's like, look, I gotta pay the bills,
so I'm going to take a real job, but I
am going to commit myself to trying to make my
passion into a full time reality. I think that's realistic, right,
(10:20):
Like she's not blowing it off, but she also knows,
as she says, the economy has not been kind to
her generation, right right. They handled it well.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
And that moment with her parents where she's talking to
them and they're like, why aren't you doing this more?
And she was like, what are you talking about? Like
I need to pay my bills. I thought it was
nice that they're recognizing that life is short and they
want her to be happy.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
To be happy, I'm telling you Miracles of Christmas. Yeah,
I feel like maybe we might have been. This is
like a gotcha movie. You think it's going to be
like and it's comedy. There's a lot of comedy in it,
but it really gets you right and like good. Yes. Oh.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
The one other comedic line that I had in my
notes was that's right, Captain glue Vine.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Oh yeah, that was hilarious, right. I love that he
got hammered on whatever that like German wine was or whatever.
Two more little things, no, three more things. I loved
the proposal between William and Dylan.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Proposal.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Yeah, I loved all of that. I thought the final
scene of this movie was like, I couldn't believe how
much I was crying watching the final scene as the
sons are helping their dad along the ice. Oh, oh
my god, Oh my god. And then it has this
song playing, which the song I don't know what it was,
but the line in the song was no matter where
(11:44):
you go, let Christmas bring you home. Oh my god.
I am a hot mess watching the end of this movie. Yeah,
a hot mess. One final thing you talked about it
the Christmas markets and your first impression. The Danube sells
itself here, like, take me to a snowy European market.
(12:05):
I'm ready to go. I know.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I want to go on a Christmas market cruise.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I think that is like a huge bucketless item. Now,
me too, I'm gonna mention it here. It's in my
did you see that? But the floating heart light in Vienna?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Oh my god, looked like me too. That exists me too.
I loved that floating heart light. I've been all in
on that.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Oh my god. I watched so many TikTok videos of
it last night.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I was like, that's funny. I loved it too.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I have to see it in person. I know. Yeah,
very cool.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Let's talk wishes.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I have just a few, yeah, same, very few. My
first one is about Col and his backstory. At the
very top of this movie, we get a ton of
information about Col's baggage a little too much. Look, they
could have just made him recently divorced guy and goes
on a family cruise like, I don't know why we
(13:06):
needed I'm divorced and I have this long crush on
a friend who, like our timing didn't work out. What what? Why?
Why why do we need all that, especially.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
In a movie with so many storylines.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, I thought it was bizarre. The divorce was enough. Yeah.
My other wish is me thinks that Sue heck as
Emery could have used a little bit of lip color. Oh,
but she would just bare lip the entire time. I
just was like, dress this girl up a little bit,
okay all And then my final wish, the Christmas tree
(13:42):
ring was really quite terrible. Uh huh, But I loved
the whole proposal, and I know it was like a
replacement for like the ring that was back at home
and whatever.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
But right I was like, oh good, you kind of
touched on my wish. But it's the Dylan and William conflict.
It's so drawn out in the movie, like they have
so many confrontations where ohays like, please tell me what's
going on and William can't say a word, and it's
it's frustrating as a viewer, And when you have all
(14:14):
the information, you understand why.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
But it's a hard it's hard to.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Watch, and I guess maybe that's real life, but I
just have to wonder, Like you said, it is so
unfair that his parents put him in that situation. It
just was potentially very damaging to their relationship.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Oh totally, so I thought.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
I found that very frustrating. And again that sort of
decision making maybe real life, like we reached out to
the one person we knew, who we were close to,
but who might be able to help us out here,
and then that inadvertently had a.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Little bit of a butterfly effect. That was hard for me,
you know, because there's like hipA violations and stuff like that. Right,
Like Williams by law can't tell Dylan any of this stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I don't think that's a hip of violation because he's
not their patient. Like, oh, that's like your friend. I
don't think he's that.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
He They just came to him for advice or recommendations
or whatever. Right yeah, but still like, don't put this
man in the position when the parents are not ready
to tell their children about what's going on.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Like ah, and and Dylan says, like, they're right. I
would have told everybody if they had come to me
with this information, I wouldn't have been able to keep
it to myself. But it's complicated. One last tiny wish
real missed opportunity not to have Catherine dish Or make
a cameo on board.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I agree, I absolutely agree. But did you notice it
was a different Yes, it.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Did cruise line cruise line indeed.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Yeah. I was like, oh, that's so interesting, Like why
they why Hallmark couldn't have like not that Hallmark production
whoever couldn't have like struck another deal to highlight the
same cruise line as they used before.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah, who knows it?
Speaker 1 (15:55):
To me? It looks like they actually shot a lot
of stuff on this boat.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Oh yeah, that's actually in my legs. Remember how you
always wanted more boat stuff, a lot of boat stuff. Yeah,
more boat stuff.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
I loved it. I really love the white elephant exchange too,
with the other passengers. It's so fun, so fun.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
The contrast of that, like the the fun joy of
the exchange and then the dramatic way in which it
ends really well done.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Oh gosh when he goes down, I went.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
No, no, it's it's a real gut punch because you
get so caught up in the like I love a
white elephant exchange and the stealing and it's so fun
and yeah and then oh.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
No, oh, no, you know, shout out to McLean Nelson.
He he can do drama. Really I wouldn't. I don't
want to see drama. He can do drama really well.
But the presence of love was very dramatic too. Yes,
is drama the right word I'm using? Yeah, I would
say these are that was a drama anyway. He's a
(16:56):
good a romantic drama rather than a romantic comedy. Yeah,
this is like a dramedy. Yeah, that's definitely what I
would call this one. Well, let's talk to you. You see
that I already talked about several things, but I have too.
We didn't talk about the gingerbread masterpieces when they well,
(17:18):
first of all, they're building their their gingerbread house and
I don't know what Dylan is putting on the top
of it that makes it like all crumble apart, like
I know, like so Cal wasn't holding it, but like
Dylan was trying to put like a roof on it
or something that whatever my digit see that is. I
(17:39):
thought it was hilarious that they had the ruins of POMPEII. Yes,
that's final thing. I thought that was hilarious. I thought
it was really good. My only other digit see that,
and I wondered if it was intentional. Now, the mom
and dad are in their room and he's like putting
his shoes on and they're getting ready to go. He's like,
I just gotta tie my shoes, and then he stops,
like mid shoe tie, and then just puts his foot
(18:00):
back down on the ground. And I was like, oh, well,
is that like a Parkinson's thing, where like, yeah, is
that a tell or did He just was like, Okay,
we're not actually going anywhere, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
what about you.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
I have a couple of little things. One at the
first Christmas Market. The Noah is speaking and he's like,
this market fills the whole park, but all we can
see are a few stands and it looks really tiny.
So I kind of was like pan back a little
bit because I know they were there during the actual
Christmas markets. Obviously, you know, we see the Hearts of Vienna.
(18:36):
I know, you remember when we interviewed Jonathan Bennett last year,
he was like, I'm leaving for a movie that has
to be shot during a specific time of year, yep,
And we were like the holiday markets, but he did
not come firm but yeah, so I wanted to see
more of that. My only true did you see that?
Is Dylan and William are walking and Dylan is telling
(18:58):
William about his frustration with his job, and William says
he'll figure it out. And they both have earpieces for
the tour in and Jonathan reaches for his and then
he puts his hand down. And then the next scene
they turn to face each other and then they both
reach for their earpieces to take them out, and I
felt like it was like just a slightly early cue
for Jonathan. Oh interesting, but the emotional moment was so
(19:20):
strong that they're like, let's leave that take because they
were connecting. Finally. Just a fun fact, I read a
little interview with Eden Chair about this movie and she
says she became very close friends with Anandaci Barchia, who
plays William in this movie. We were fast friends. We clicked,
We immediately ticked off one of the key requirements of
(19:40):
any lasting friendship. We were snarky on the side together.
Oh that's fun. And I would like to say that
Eden Chair is a delightful follow on TikTok, so give
her a follow.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
What is she doing now?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
I don't know what she just like talks about her
life at home with her twin daughters.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
A fine, yeah, fun.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
What did you rate a color Christmas vacation?
Speaker 1 (20:05):
This one's up there. This is a four and a
half star maybe for me, I.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Gave you four point two five star. Ah. Thank you
for listening to this episode of Girls Gone Homework, a
Bramble Jam podcast. We'll be back next time with more
Homewark reviews. Goodbye bye. All right friends, before we go,
(20:31):
just a quick heads up. You're about to hear some ads.
These little gems help us keep the show running and
the Hallmark love flowing. So do with that info what
you will, Grab a snack, hit the skip button, or
maybe just maybe listen in and discover your new favorite product.
Bye
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