November 12, 2025 • 22 mins
Things are looking spiritually turbulent in Christmas Above the Clouds! When workaholic CEO Ella Neezer (Erin Krakow) tries to outrun the holidays by jetting off to Australia, she ends up on the flight of her life instead. Haunted by visions of her past, present, and future, Ella is forced to confront the choices that brought her success—but also left her all alone. With the help of three delightfully quirky spirits and a chance encounter with her ex (Tyler Hynes), this modern Christmas Carol at 30,000 feet might just help her rediscover the love and magic she’s been missing.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is a bramble Jam podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark, a Hallmark review podcast. I'm
Megan and I'm a longtime Hallmark fan.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I'm Wendy. I'm a former Homemark hater.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Today we're discussing Christmas Above the Clouds, which originally aired
on the Hallmark Channel on Saturday, November eighth, twenty twenty five,
and you can currently stream it on Hallmark Plus. While
you're doing that, hop on over to Instagram or TikTok
or Threads or Blue Sky where Girls Gone Hallmark everywhere
follow us.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Hey, come visit our website, Girls Gone Hallmark dot Com.
I don't know, I just like zoned out there for
a second. Yes, Girls Gone Hallmark dot Com. I think
you will like what you find there. It's very detailed
show notes. Yes, so if you're looking for information about
the movies.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I mean, I AMDB it.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Does a good job too sometimes, but I think ours
are pretty thorough.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Agree.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
We also have some other fun stuff, So come poke
around over there on Girls Gone Hallmark dot Com.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Let's kick off this review with a synopsis of Christmas
Above the Clouds.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
I gotta tell you, I couldn't find like just a
one or two sentence synopsis for this. It was very lengthy,
like everywhere, so I had a shorten it. Shorten it.
Let's see how it sounds.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
When a high flying ceo tries to skip Christmas, three
spirits and an old flame remind her that success means
nothing without love and maybe a little holiday magic.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Not bad, all right.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Christmas Above the Clouds was directed by Peter Benson. As
we've mentioned many times, Peter has quite the holiday directing
resume this year, having directed a Royal Montana Christmas as
well as the upcoming The More the Merrier. Peter also
appears in this movie as Charlie, one of Ella's employees.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Christine Garver and Stephanie Jackson wrote this script for Christmas
Above the Clouds. Together, they wrote last year's Trivia at
Saint Nick's. Stephanie also wrote the Hallmark movies Christmas and
Tahoe and Sweet Pecan Summer. Hey is Sweet Pecon Summers
Ad Tyler Hines Lacy Shber.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Movie I don't honestly have any memory me neither, I
don't think so. Aaron Craig cow stars as Ella Neezer.
Aaron and Tyler are reuniting four years after their roles,
and it was always you a reunion the fans have
been hinding for ever since.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Sweet Pecon Summer is actually a Wes Brown Christine Coe movie.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
I don't know why I was thinking otherwise. Tyler Hines
plays Jake Phelps. Tyler will reprise his role as Taylor
in the upcoming Three Wisest Men later this month. He's
also filmed another movie for Hallmark, All the Familiar Places,
co starring Stacy Farber. No air date for that movie
has been announced. Mmm, thinking February.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Maybe probably.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
I love seeing Stacy Farber in another movie. That's exciting.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Matthew Clark voices the pilot and also plays the Ghost
of Christmas Present. Matthew was last seen on Hallmark in
an Unexpected Valentine and previously on Field Day. He has
also recently appeared in the TV series Family Law and
Paranormal Solutions, Inc.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Faith Wright plays the Ghost of Christmas Past. Her resume
reads like six Degrees of Separation, having appeared in Blind
Date Book Club with Aaron Craikou, The Three Wise Men
and a Baby Movie with Tyler Hines, and The Babysitters
Club with Peter Benson. Hold up. Peter Benson is in
the Babysitters Club.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
He plays Stacy McGill's dad, Peter McGill.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Don't think I realized that.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I've brought it up many times.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I like that show, rip, I know, gone too soon.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Garfield Wilson plays the air martial ghost of Christmas Yet
to Come. Among his eighty six acting credits include the
movie Final Destination, Bloodlines and the series Virgin River.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Does say have lines in either of those shows either?
And finally, Emily Tenant plays Bobby. Emily was in The
Wish Swap earlier this year and in twenty twenty three's
Holiday Hotline.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Let's take a quick break and come right back to
talk first impressions. Hey, Wendy, what was your first impression
of Christmas above the Clouds?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Well? We you and I talked via text about this
movie and about this topic ghosts aside. The real threat
was coffee near that white outfit.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
I was stressed for her.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Listen, I that you're gonna wear something like leisurely like
that on a long haul travel, but not white.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I wondered how many they had on set, because she
filmed for days on end right the same thing, and.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Even just like sitting in like dirty seats.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
The boat would get all dirty.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I was very worried about it. What was your first impression?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Lightning does strike twice. Tyler Hines and Aaron Craikou are
a match made at thirty thousand feet.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Look at you. I have some thoughts.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Okay, well, why don't I kick off with this and
then you can tell me your counterpoints?
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Obviously I'm a big fan of Tyler and Aaron together. Again,
I think they have a lot of natural.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Chemistry, and I think that gives the movie.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
A strong foundation to begin with. I feel like you
can feel the history between them. Their banter works for them.
You know, It's like these are people who get Hallmark
and they get what it's like to be in a
Hallmark movie. They speak the Hallmark shorthand they know how
to deliver the heart and the humor.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
It doesn't feel forced.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I agree with all of that. Okay, I have a
feeling you think I'm going to I just thought maybe, No,
I really like this movie. But this is an Aaron
Kraikout movie, full stop.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Yeah, not a Tyler Heines movie.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Not a Tyler Heines movie. And the hei Nies are
gonna be pissed about it, just like they were pissed
about never being frissed. That was not a Tyler Heines
movie either.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
You make an excellent point.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
This was fully about Ellen Neezer, which can you imagine? Look,
I get the joke, but could you imagine if that
was your name?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
No, as a child? That would be rough stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Forget about it, right. I loved seeing them reunited together,
but this is absolutely her vehicle. I think she carries
it really well. There's a lot of humor, there's a
lot of heart. I liked it. I liked her, and
I think Tyler does what Tyler does best. He's calm,
he's confident, he's charming. When he tells Ella that he
(07:03):
loves her at the end, I almost melted. I thought
it was such a good scene.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
It was just right.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
It was just right, So I liked it.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Now, you were known to love a Christmas Carol riff.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Well that's funny you say that, because my very first
like is I love a classic retelling when it's done right.
And I thought this was a fun, modern take on
the story.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I thought this It struck a nice balance. It was clever,
it was cozy, it was familiar. I know that some
of the names were perhaps a little bit too on
the nose.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
I didn't mind it.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Ellen Neezer, Marlene Jacobson, Bobby Cratchett.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
The writers were having fun with it.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeah, No, I didn't hate any of that.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
I liked the dose.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Being part of the flight crew, pilot, flight attendant air
Marshall keeps it all thematic and modern, especially when you're
filming within a quote end quote airplane.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Yes, yeah, it made sense, made sense.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Let me tell you. I was so worried that Ella
was gonna stay unlikable, but they pulled it off. She
was real unlikable. I was like, is this redemption going
to happen? Yeah, obviously we're familiar with this story, like
we're gonna come around to this character. She was so unlikable,
(08:24):
So I was happy that they landed the plane. Again,
no pun intended here, but all those like it was.
The tipping point for me was the stuff with Tim
the little boy, when she's like watching over and he's
ill and all that realization.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
I was like, oh, that's a lot, yeah, because that's
fully outside of her right when she's seeing all this
stuff with Jake. That's something that she's personally involved in,
and I think I think she feels a little bit
torn about how all that played out, right, but when
she sees that Tim is caught up in it and
the way if her actions affect people completely outside of
(09:04):
her orbit.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, this poor sweet little boy.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah, yeah, I love that Emily Tennant was in it.
But hello, why are you in such a small supporting role?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Right?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Either if she's just in town or she's friends or like,
I don't know, I just thought it was so weird,
Like we've seen her in two big movies.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Sure, why are.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
You in this tiny roll? Well, there are no tiny rolls,
there are no small roles. Whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I loved seeing her in it. I thought the production
value on this movie was pretty high. And the transitions
from the ghosts as they're traveling through time, I actually
really liked it.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I like that all that stuff too. I didn't like
the ghost of the future.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
What is that? What it's called Christmas Yet to Come?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Yeah, Like the graveyard scenes and all that stuff I
thought were a little bit a little bit hokey mm
hmmm hmm. But sorry, home geez, I'm gross. But I
did like the transitions. I really loved the ghosts, the
first two ghosts. The third ghost didn't say anything and
(10:15):
never does, but the first two were enjoyable, really enjoyable.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Yeah. So this may be.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Aaron Craig House movie, but Tyler does make a splash
in several scenes. First of all, no one can throw
a line away like Tyler Hines. When she reappears in
the bathroom, opens the door. She's wearing the inflated life vest.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Stop it, stop it, yes, go ahead, and he.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Goes, you're good. Nobody can do that like Tyler Hines.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
But the best part about that scene is when they
opened the door and the person is standing there. The
implication is, what are these two?
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Man and woman?
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Do you eat in the bathroom on an airplane in
the Mile High Club? Yes? And they're just like looking
at eye? Yeah great, I thought it was so good.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Also, while Jake's future as a lonely librarian might be tragic,
my gut, did he look hot?
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Totally and shout out. You know, they did these college
erascenes right where they're supposed to be a lot younger. Oh,
Megan's making a face. Yeah it's hard, how are you
going to make Okay? I don't know how old these
actors are. I'm gonna say they're in their early forties. Perhaps,
(11:27):
how do you look twenty?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
It's in my wishes.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Okay, we'll talk more about it. But the flashbacks worked
for me. I thought the college erascenes were good even
beyond that, obviously, because we got Jake and Ella beyond
college too, you know, in their early adult relationship. It
worked for me. I like that we saw it and
staid we were just told about it, so I didn't
(11:51):
hate it. I'm interested to hear your wishes about it. Also,
can I tell you something? Yes, for some reasons I
can't explain. It might just be this particular story, but
I was on the verge of tears watching this entire movie,
and I don't know why.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
You know me, I'm kind of a black heart Christmas hater.
It's something about this story always hits for me.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I really enjoyed watching this movie.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
So did I So did I.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Would you like to talk wishes?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Sure? Oh wait, one more, one more thing. Peter Benson.
I loved Peter Benson. I'm glad that he directed. I
also just love that he shows up as this employee,
and I loved all the like snarky comments about their
mean boss, the crampist comments and all that stuff. The
Christmas party that she wasn't at, and comments about the
(12:47):
office being cold.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Yeah, I just I loved all of it. Well, let's
talk wishes.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
It is hard to age someone backwards fifteen years, and
we have an easier time of it with women because
because you can change your look with your hair.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Uh huh.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
So I didn't fully buy Tyler Hines as a young
grad student.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I did. They did give him a little bit of
a different hair look, a little bit, a little bit
of a like a Caesar sure he I like the
brushing forward of Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
But you know, okay, what are you gonna do?
Speaker 1 (13:21):
What are you gonna do?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
My only other wish was your first impression. I understand
the choice of a sweatsuit for a twenty hour flight,
but I was so worried about it getting dirty and
wondered how many of them they had available.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Sin, she's wearing it through so many scenes. Yeah, what
are your wishes as a nervous flyer myself? You know
when she first falls asleep and like and then wakes
up and like has that whole like she watches that
video of her old boss or whatever. But it's like
red flashing lights and like kind of a panic inducene.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
And they have to jump out of the door. I
did not like.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Any of that.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
I hear you. I did not like that, I hear you.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
My other wish is I had talked about this in
our preview episode. I really wanted some sort of guest
cameos in the roles of the ghosts now, I said earlier.
I did like who they chose, I like, I like
those characters, but I do think a cameo would have
(14:25):
been fun here. I also would have loved to see
friend of the show Erica Tuvlay in one of these roles.
I think he would have been great.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
I was wishing for him as the flight attendant.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
He would have been great.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
I agree, it was like Bobo Erica Tuvlay. Mm hmm.
Let's talk to you to see that.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Okay, I have a I'm gonna nitpick here. When Ella
is visiting the present, yeah, the ghost she goes to
events that are happening as she's flying. So she goes
to her work Christmas party that she's not at because
she's traveling. She goes to her sister's Christmas Eve event,
which she's not at because she's flying. But then she
(15:04):
goes First of all, those are both nighttime events. Then
it's daytime and she's at Jake's work. Jake is on
the plane. Now it's present ish because it had just happened.
But she's like, I don't understand why this is happening.
They're like, this is happening right now. And then she
goes to Jake's and like, well, obviously this isn't happening
right now.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Right. It was a little a little odd, a little
fudge and the uh it's present dish, Yeah, yes, exactly, Okay,
all right. My only other one is the red scarf
reappears at the end. Yes, and he's like, huh, that's
our scarf.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
We could have been a little more surprised by the
reappearance of a scarf after all these years.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, but she had been using it. She took it
on the flights with her because she unwrapped it in
a gift. Yeah, it doesn't make any sense of like
where it came from, but she didn't take it on
the flights because Bobby couldn't find it. Correct.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
So just the idea that it appeared in a rapt gift.
You're like, huh, look at that.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Yeah, no, I'm a little bit of Christmas magic. I
guess exactly what did you see? Tiny airplane detail. Ella's
seat reclines a little bit, but Jake's does not reclin
at all. Yeah, this is a first class flight that
they're in. You would be in a full flat sleeper seat. Yeah,
full flat sleeper sleep. They show Ella's like reclining just
(16:24):
a tiny bit, but at one point Jake goes to
sleep and he's like, you know, chin to chest sleeping.
You would never never. I mean I thought they did
okay with recreating what a interior of a first class Sure,
and you couldn't do a full pod situation.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
It wouldn't have made sense for filming.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, you couldn't. Yeah, you wouldn't be able to see
bodies and whatever. So I mean it was decent. There
was one line that made me laugh out loud is
when Ella wakes up and she goes, something must have
been wrong with that Champagne and her boss, the old
boss who had died. She goes, yeah it was proc Yeah, great,
(17:08):
I got I thought it was so funny. It was
one of the funniest lines of the entire movie.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Yes, I loved that, loved it.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Also one final did you see that it was a
missed opportunity? We have Jake talking I think it's too
Ella's sister, and they're talking about if he's met anyone.
He's talking about how he hasn't met anyone, he hasn't
had that same spark since he had with Ella. And
here they should have used the word zing, which they use,
(17:37):
and it was always you missed opportunity, opportunity.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
I haven't found that zing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Let's talk smoocer meter.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Oh, let's talk smucco meter.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I gotta tell you, I thought their kiss was top tier.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
I thought it was a nine out of ten for me.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
It Yeah, we have not yet exceeded the Royal Montana
Christmas yet.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Warren Christy is not going to be knocked off.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
He has set the bar incredibly high, and I'm not
sure that we'll get there. I think maybe if I
hadn't seen that kiss first, some of these nine out
of ten kisses might have been ten out of ten.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
But the bar is too.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
High, and there's still time lots. What did you rate Christmas?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Above the Clouds? I gave it four and a half stars.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
You know, I give it four and a half stars too,
And I'm thinking, why why wasn't it a five star movie. Yeah,
it's just that Jenna Sequa, just that little special.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Here's what I'll say.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Okay, sorry, you were gonna say this, no, no, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
I saw an interview with Jonathan Bennett the other day
where he was talking about finding Mister Christmas and about
what the show is about, and he was like, look,
we see the guys, we know what they look like,
but what we're looking for throughout the show is that
unnameable thing of I just like watching you. You can't
describe it, you can't teach it. It's just there's something
(19:05):
about you that I want to watch. And I think
perhaps for me sometimes a five star movie is not
a nameable thing. It just you know when you see it.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Well, let me let me present this to you. We
knew what we were gonna get with a reunification of
Aaron and Tyler, right we've seen them work together. We
knew where we're going to get something good. My only
five star movie right now is Ted Cooper. Same and
when I went in to watch Ted Cooper, it hit
me over the head because I was not expecting any
(19:35):
of that, and that's why that lands as a five
star movie for me.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Yes, you make an excellent point, so I'm happy with
my four and a half stars.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I'm dying to hear what the heinies have to say,
what they think about this.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
I am I going to be defending this movie for the
rest of the season. I get sometimes real upant arms
when people hate a movie that we liked, and I
feel like.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
They're wrong about the reasons they didn't like it. Well, okay,
we liked Never Been Christed, we liked Never Been Chris.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
That's what I'm thinking, because I think people missed the
point of that movie. Even Tyler himself said the whole
point of that movie was that it wasn't about him.
He was happy to make a movie where he was
not the focus. This movie was not about him either.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
I mean, I think he's.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Definitely a bigger role than Never Been Chris, and he's definitely.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
A co star.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
You know, there's no other additional person that you could
put alongside Aaron Craikow in this movie.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
He'd say, but you're right, this is the same. No, no, no, no, no, no,
that's not what I mean.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I mean there's no other person who's usurping that co
star role in this movie as it stands. Yeah, Daniel
Listen would have been great. I do love him way
in he needs Let us know Girls Gone Homemark at
gmail dot com.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
You know, Tyler's got another movie come in coming up.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yes, and it was weak or two.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
So there's plenty of Tyler this season to go around.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
This is enough, and he'll be on the cruise, and
he'll be in Kansas City, and he'll be at Christmas Con.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
It's a little bit of Tyler for everyone. If you
were on the cruise, I hope you were kind to
the man.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Keep your elbows to yourself.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
If you know you know.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Thank you for listening to this episode of Girls Gone Homework,
a Bramble Jam podcast. If you love this podcast, we
do love your five star ratings and reviews.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Drop them if you got them. We'll see you next time.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Goodbye, bye.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
All right friends, before we go, just a quick heads up,
you're about to hear some ads. These little gems help
us keep the show running and the hall Park love flowing.
So do with that info what you will, grab a snack,
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Speaker 3 (21:53):
Bye.
This is a bramble Jam podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark, a Hallmark review podcast. I'm
Megan and I'm a longtime Hallmark fan.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I'm Wendy. I'm a former Homemark hater.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Today we're discussing Christmas Above the Clouds, which originally aired
on the Hallmark Channel on Saturday, November eighth, twenty twenty five,
and you can currently stream it on Hallmark Plus. While
you're doing that, hop on over to Instagram or TikTok
or Threads or Blue Sky where Girls Gone Hallmark everywhere
follow us.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Hey, come visit our website, Girls Gone Hallmark dot Com.
I don't know, I just like zoned out there for
a second. Yes, Girls Gone Hallmark dot Com. I think
you will like what you find there. It's very detailed
show notes. Yes, so if you're looking for information about
the movies.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I mean, I AMDB it.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Does a good job too sometimes, but I think ours
are pretty thorough.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Agree.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
We also have some other fun stuff, So come poke
around over there on Girls Gone Hallmark dot Com.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Let's kick off this review with a synopsis of Christmas
Above the Clouds.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
I gotta tell you, I couldn't find like just a
one or two sentence synopsis for this. It was very lengthy,
like everywhere, so I had a shorten it. Shorten it.
Let's see how it sounds.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
When a high flying ceo tries to skip Christmas, three
spirits and an old flame remind her that success means
nothing without love and maybe a little holiday magic.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Not bad, all right.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Christmas Above the Clouds was directed by Peter Benson. As
we've mentioned many times, Peter has quite the holiday directing
resume this year, having directed a Royal Montana Christmas as
well as the upcoming The More the Merrier. Peter also
appears in this movie as Charlie, one of Ella's employees.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Christine Garver and Stephanie Jackson wrote this script for Christmas
Above the Clouds. Together, they wrote last year's Trivia at
Saint Nick's. Stephanie also wrote the Hallmark movies Christmas and
Tahoe and Sweet Pecan Summer. Hey is Sweet Pecon Summers
Ad Tyler Hines Lacy Shber.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Movie I don't honestly have any memory me neither, I
don't think so. Aaron Craig cow stars as Ella Neezer.
Aaron and Tyler are reuniting four years after their roles,
and it was always you a reunion the fans have
been hinding for ever since.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Sweet Pecon Summer is actually a Wes Brown Christine Coe movie.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
I don't know why I was thinking otherwise. Tyler Hines
plays Jake Phelps. Tyler will reprise his role as Taylor
in the upcoming Three Wisest Men later this month. He's
also filmed another movie for Hallmark, All the Familiar Places,
co starring Stacy Farber. No air date for that movie
has been announced. Mmm, thinking February.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Maybe probably.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
I love seeing Stacy Farber in another movie. That's exciting.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Matthew Clark voices the pilot and also plays the Ghost
of Christmas Present. Matthew was last seen on Hallmark in
an Unexpected Valentine and previously on Field Day. He has
also recently appeared in the TV series Family Law and
Paranormal Solutions, Inc.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Faith Wright plays the Ghost of Christmas Past. Her resume
reads like six Degrees of Separation, having appeared in Blind
Date Book Club with Aaron Craikou, The Three Wise Men
and a Baby Movie with Tyler Hines, and The Babysitters
Club with Peter Benson. Hold up. Peter Benson is in
the Babysitters Club.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
He plays Stacy McGill's dad, Peter McGill.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Don't think I realized that.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I've brought it up many times.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I like that show, rip, I know, gone too soon.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Garfield Wilson plays the air martial ghost of Christmas Yet
to Come. Among his eighty six acting credits include the
movie Final Destination, Bloodlines and the series Virgin River.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Does say have lines in either of those shows either?
And finally, Emily Tenant plays Bobby. Emily was in The
Wish Swap earlier this year and in twenty twenty three's
Holiday Hotline.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Let's take a quick break and come right back to
talk first impressions. Hey, Wendy, what was your first impression
of Christmas above the Clouds?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Well? We you and I talked via text about this
movie and about this topic ghosts aside. The real threat
was coffee near that white outfit.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
I was stressed for her.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Listen, I that you're gonna wear something like leisurely like
that on a long haul travel, but not white.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I wondered how many they had on set, because she
filmed for days on end right the same thing, and.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Even just like sitting in like dirty seats.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
The boat would get all dirty.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I was very worried about it. What was your first impression?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Lightning does strike twice. Tyler Hines and Aaron Craikou are
a match made at thirty thousand feet.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Look at you. I have some thoughts.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Okay, well, why don't I kick off with this and
then you can tell me your counterpoints?
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Obviously I'm a big fan of Tyler and Aaron together. Again,
I think they have a lot of natural.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Chemistry, and I think that gives the movie.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
A strong foundation to begin with. I feel like you
can feel the history between them. Their banter works for them.
You know, It's like these are people who get Hallmark
and they get what it's like to be in a
Hallmark movie. They speak the Hallmark shorthand they know how
to deliver the heart and the humor.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
It doesn't feel forced.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I agree with all of that. Okay, I have a
feeling you think I'm going to I just thought maybe, No,
I really like this movie. But this is an Aaron
Kraikout movie, full stop.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Yeah, not a Tyler Heines movie.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Not a Tyler Heines movie. And the hei Nies are
gonna be pissed about it, just like they were pissed
about never being frissed. That was not a Tyler Heines
movie either.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
You make an excellent point.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
This was fully about Ellen Neezer, which can you imagine? Look,
I get the joke, but could you imagine if that
was your name?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
No, as a child? That would be rough stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Forget about it, right. I loved seeing them reunited together,
but this is absolutely her vehicle. I think she carries
it really well. There's a lot of humor, there's a
lot of heart. I liked it. I liked her, and
I think Tyler does what Tyler does best. He's calm,
he's confident, he's charming. When he tells Ella that he
(07:03):
loves her at the end, I almost melted. I thought
it was such a good scene.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
It was just right.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
It was just right, So I liked it.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Now, you were known to love a Christmas Carol riff.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Well that's funny you say that, because my very first
like is I love a classic retelling when it's done right.
And I thought this was a fun, modern take on
the story.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I thought this It struck a nice balance. It was clever,
it was cozy, it was familiar. I know that some
of the names were perhaps a little bit too on
the nose.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
I didn't mind it.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Ellen Neezer, Marlene Jacobson, Bobby Cratchett.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
The writers were having fun with it.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeah, No, I didn't hate any of that.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
I liked the dose.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Being part of the flight crew, pilot, flight attendant air
Marshall keeps it all thematic and modern, especially when you're
filming within a quote end quote airplane.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Yes, yeah, it made sense, made sense.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Let me tell you. I was so worried that Ella
was gonna stay unlikable, but they pulled it off. She
was real unlikable. I was like, is this redemption going
to happen? Yeah, obviously we're familiar with this story, like
we're gonna come around to this character. She was so unlikable,
(08:24):
So I was happy that they landed the plane. Again,
no pun intended here, but all those like it was.
The tipping point for me was the stuff with Tim
the little boy, when she's like watching over and he's
ill and all that realization.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
I was like, oh, that's a lot, yeah, because that's
fully outside of her right when she's seeing all this
stuff with Jake. That's something that she's personally involved in,
and I think I think she feels a little bit
torn about how all that played out, right, but when
she sees that Tim is caught up in it and
the way if her actions affect people completely outside of
(09:04):
her orbit.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah, this poor sweet little boy.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah, yeah, I love that Emily Tennant was in it.
But hello, why are you in such a small supporting role?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Right?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Either if she's just in town or she's friends or like,
I don't know, I just thought it was so weird,
Like we've seen her in two big movies.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Sure, why are.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
You in this tiny roll? Well, there are no tiny rolls,
there are no small roles. Whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I loved seeing her in it. I thought the production
value on this movie was pretty high. And the transitions
from the ghosts as they're traveling through time, I actually
really liked it.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I like that all that stuff too. I didn't like
the ghost of the future.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
What is that? What it's called Christmas Yet to Come?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Yeah, Like the graveyard scenes and all that stuff I
thought were a little bit a little bit hokey mm
hmmm hmm. But sorry, home geez, I'm gross. But I
did like the transitions. I really loved the ghosts, the
first two ghosts. The third ghost didn't say anything and
(10:15):
never does, but the first two were enjoyable, really enjoyable.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Yeah. So this may be.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Aaron Craig House movie, but Tyler does make a splash
in several scenes. First of all, no one can throw
a line away like Tyler Hines. When she reappears in
the bathroom, opens the door. She's wearing the inflated life vest.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Stop it, stop it, yes, go ahead, and he.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Goes, you're good. Nobody can do that like Tyler Hines.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
But the best part about that scene is when they
opened the door and the person is standing there. The
implication is, what are these two?
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Man and woman?
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Do you eat in the bathroom on an airplane in
the Mile High Club? Yes? And they're just like looking
at eye? Yeah great, I thought it was so good.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Also, while Jake's future as a lonely librarian might be tragic,
my gut, did he look hot?
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Totally and shout out. You know, they did these college
erascenes right where they're supposed to be a lot younger. Oh,
Megan's making a face. Yeah it's hard, how are you
going to make Okay? I don't know how old these
actors are. I'm gonna say they're in their early forties. Perhaps,
(11:27):
how do you look twenty?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
It's in my wishes.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Okay, we'll talk more about it. But the flashbacks worked
for me. I thought the college erascenes were good even
beyond that, obviously, because we got Jake and Ella beyond
college too, you know, in their early adult relationship. It
worked for me. I like that we saw it and
staid we were just told about it, so I didn't
(11:51):
hate it. I'm interested to hear your wishes about it. Also,
can I tell you something? Yes, for some reasons I
can't explain. It might just be this particular story, but
I was on the verge of tears watching this entire movie,
and I don't know why.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
You know me, I'm kind of a black heart Christmas hater.
It's something about this story always hits for me.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I really enjoyed watching this movie.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
So did I So did I.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Would you like to talk wishes?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Sure? Oh wait, one more, one more thing. Peter Benson.
I loved Peter Benson. I'm glad that he directed. I
also just love that he shows up as this employee,
and I loved all the like snarky comments about their
mean boss, the crampist comments and all that stuff. The
Christmas party that she wasn't at, and comments about the
(12:47):
office being cold.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Yeah, I just I loved all of it. Well, let's
talk wishes.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
It is hard to age someone backwards fifteen years, and
we have an easier time of it with women because
because you can change your look with your hair.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Uh huh.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
So I didn't fully buy Tyler Hines as a young
grad student.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I did. They did give him a little bit of
a different hair look, a little bit, a little bit
of a like a Caesar sure he I like the
brushing forward of Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
But you know, okay, what are you gonna do?
Speaker 1 (13:21):
What are you gonna do?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
My only other wish was your first impression. I understand
the choice of a sweatsuit for a twenty hour flight,
but I was so worried about it getting dirty and
wondered how many of them they had available.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Sin, she's wearing it through so many scenes. Yeah, what
are your wishes as a nervous flyer myself? You know
when she first falls asleep and like and then wakes
up and like has that whole like she watches that
video of her old boss or whatever. But it's like
red flashing lights and like kind of a panic inducene.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
And they have to jump out of the door. I
did not like.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Any of that.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
I hear you. I did not like that, I hear you.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
My other wish is I had talked about this in
our preview episode. I really wanted some sort of guest
cameos in the roles of the ghosts now, I said earlier.
I did like who they chose, I like, I like
those characters, but I do think a cameo would have
(14:25):
been fun here. I also would have loved to see
friend of the show Erica Tuvlay in one of these roles.
I think he would have been great.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
I was wishing for him as the flight attendant.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
He would have been great.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
I agree, it was like Bobo Erica Tuvlay. Mm hmm.
Let's talk to you to see that.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Okay, I have a I'm gonna nitpick here. When Ella
is visiting the present, yeah, the ghost she goes to
events that are happening as she's flying. So she goes
to her work Christmas party that she's not at because
she's traveling. She goes to her sister's Christmas Eve event,
which she's not at because she's flying. But then she
(15:04):
goes First of all, those are both nighttime events. Then
it's daytime and she's at Jake's work. Jake is on
the plane. Now it's present ish because it had just happened.
But she's like, I don't understand why this is happening.
They're like, this is happening right now. And then she
goes to Jake's and like, well, obviously this isn't happening
right now.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Right. It was a little a little odd, a little
fudge and the uh it's present dish, Yeah, yes, exactly, Okay,
all right. My only other one is the red scarf
reappears at the end. Yes, and he's like, huh, that's
our scarf.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
We could have been a little more surprised by the
reappearance of a scarf after all these years.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, but she had been using it. She took it
on the flights with her because she unwrapped it in
a gift. Yeah, it doesn't make any sense of like
where it came from, but she didn't take it on
the flights because Bobby couldn't find it. Correct.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
So just the idea that it appeared in a rapt gift.
You're like, huh, look at that.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Yeah, no, I'm a little bit of Christmas magic. I
guess exactly what did you see? Tiny airplane detail. Ella's
seat reclines a little bit, but Jake's does not reclin
at all. Yeah, this is a first class flight that
they're in. You would be in a full flat sleeper seat. Yeah,
full flat sleeper sleep. They show Ella's like reclining just
(16:24):
a tiny bit, but at one point Jake goes to
sleep and he's like, you know, chin to chest sleeping.
You would never never. I mean I thought they did
okay with recreating what a interior of a first class Sure,
and you couldn't do a full pod situation.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
It wouldn't have made sense for filming.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, you couldn't. Yeah, you wouldn't be able to see
bodies and whatever. So I mean it was decent. There
was one line that made me laugh out loud is
when Ella wakes up and she goes, something must have
been wrong with that Champagne and her boss, the old
boss who had died. She goes, yeah it was proc Yeah, great,
(17:08):
I got I thought it was so funny. It was
one of the funniest lines of the entire movie.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Yes, I loved that, loved it.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Also one final did you see that it was a
missed opportunity? We have Jake talking I think it's too
Ella's sister, and they're talking about if he's met anyone.
He's talking about how he hasn't met anyone, he hasn't
had that same spark since he had with Ella. And
here they should have used the word zing, which they use,
(17:37):
and it was always you missed opportunity, opportunity.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
I haven't found that zing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Let's talk smoocer meter.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Oh, let's talk smucco meter.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I gotta tell you, I thought their kiss was top tier.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
I thought it was a nine out of ten for me.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
It Yeah, we have not yet exceeded the Royal Montana
Christmas yet.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Warren Christy is not going to be knocked off.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
He has set the bar incredibly high, and I'm not
sure that we'll get there. I think maybe if I
hadn't seen that kiss first, some of these nine out
of ten kisses might have been ten out of ten.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
But the bar is too.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
High, and there's still time lots. What did you rate Christmas?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Above the Clouds? I gave it four and a half stars.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
You know, I give it four and a half stars too,
And I'm thinking, why why wasn't it a five star movie. Yeah,
it's just that Jenna Sequa, just that little special.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Here's what I'll say.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Okay, sorry, you were gonna say this, no, no, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
I saw an interview with Jonathan Bennett the other day
where he was talking about finding Mister Christmas and about
what the show is about, and he was like, look,
we see the guys, we know what they look like,
but what we're looking for throughout the show is that
unnameable thing of I just like watching you. You can't
describe it, you can't teach it. It's just there's something
(19:05):
about you that I want to watch. And I think
perhaps for me sometimes a five star movie is not
a nameable thing. It just you know when you see it.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Well, let me let me present this to you. We
knew what we were gonna get with a reunification of
Aaron and Tyler, right we've seen them work together. We
knew where we're going to get something good. My only
five star movie right now is Ted Cooper. Same and
when I went in to watch Ted Cooper, it hit
me over the head because I was not expecting any
(19:35):
of that, and that's why that lands as a five
star movie for me.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Yes, you make an excellent point, so I'm happy with
my four and a half stars.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I'm dying to hear what the heinies have to say,
what they think about this.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
I am I going to be defending this movie for the
rest of the season. I get sometimes real upant arms
when people hate a movie that we liked, and I
feel like.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
They're wrong about the reasons they didn't like it. Well, okay,
we liked Never Been Christed, we liked Never Been Chris.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
That's what I'm thinking, because I think people missed the
point of that movie. Even Tyler himself said the whole
point of that movie was that it wasn't about him.
He was happy to make a movie where he was
not the focus. This movie was not about him either.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
I mean, I think he's.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Definitely a bigger role than Never Been Chris, and he's definitely.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
A co star.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
You know, there's no other additional person that you could
put alongside Aaron Craikow in this movie.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
He'd say, but you're right, this is the same. No, no, no, no, no, no,
that's not what I mean.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I mean there's no other person who's usurping that co
star role in this movie as it stands. Yeah, Daniel
Listen would have been great. I do love him way
in he needs Let us know Girls Gone Homemark at
gmail dot com.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
You know, Tyler's got another movie come in coming up.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yes, and it was weak or two.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
So there's plenty of Tyler this season to go around.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
This is enough, and he'll be on the cruise, and
he'll be in Kansas City, and he'll be at Christmas Con.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
It's a little bit of Tyler for everyone. If you
were on the cruise, I hope you were kind to
the man.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Keep your elbows to yourself.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
If you know you know.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Thank you for listening to this episode of Girls Gone Homework,
a Bramble Jam podcast. If you love this podcast, we
do love your five star ratings and reviews.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Drop them if you got them. We'll see you next time.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Goodbye, bye.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
All right friends, before we go, just a quick heads up,
you're about to hear some ads. These little gems help
us keep the show running and the hall Park 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.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Bye.
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