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Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story (Encore) · Girls Gone Hallmark | Hallmark Movie Reviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey friends, welcome to an encore episode of Holiday Touchdown,
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: A Chief's Love Story, a movie that we reviewed when
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: it originally aired in 2024. We are re-uploading that episode
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: so that you can catch up. You can do a
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Holiday Touchdown marathon in advance of this weekend's Holiday Touchdown,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: A Bear's Love Story on Saturday, October 17th. Enjoy the review!
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark, a Hallmark Review podcast. I'm Megan,
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: and I'm a longtime Hallmark fan.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: I'm Wendy. I'm a former Hallmark hater. Hey, friends. Welcome
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: to an encore episode of Holiday Touchdown, A Chief's Love Story,
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: a movie that we reviewed when it originally aired in 2024.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: We are re-uploading that episode so that you can catch up.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: You can do a Holiday Touchdown marathon in advance of
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: this weekend's Holiday Touchdown, A Bear's Love Story, on Saturday,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: October 17th. Enjoy the review. In our website show notes.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: We would love to hear from you. GirlsGoneHallmark at gmail.com.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: If you have something to say, I believe you have
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: some Hallmark news.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: I do. It's not that exciting, but according to SleepyKittyPaw,
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: who is now on Blue Sky. Yeah.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: As are we.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: By the way. Girls Gone Hallmark. Three Wisermen and a
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Boy nabbed Hallmark's top ratings of the year with, wait
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: for it, 2.36 million live viewers on its premiere night. However,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: this is a decline from the original movie, which drew 3.63 million.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: That is a trend we are seeing across the board
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: on Hallmark's viewership numbers.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: That they're declining. Regardless, 2.36 million is a pretty huge
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: win for Hallmark. Yeah. I'm anxious to see what this
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: movie pulls in. Indeed. Yeah. Yeah.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: All right, let's hear a synopsis for Holiday Touchdown.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Chiefs superfan Alana tries to win Fan of the Year
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: Award as a Christmas gift for her family falling in
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: love with someone in the Chiefs' front office along the way.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Holiday Touchdown was directed by John Putsch. According to IMDb,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: John has 61 directing credits, including Hallmark favorites like A
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: Biltmore Christmas and A Holiday Spectacular. Outside of the network,
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: John has worked on Scrubs, Cougar Town, and American Housewife.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Funny fact.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: John was nominated for a 2013 Razzie for Worst Director
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: for a movie called Atlas Shrugged 2 The Strike.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: You know what a Razzie is, right?
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: It's like a bad award.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah. It's on his IMDb, which I think is real funny.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: But I also look to see, like, who else has
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: won a Razzie. Yeah. It's like a ton of, like,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: legit actors. Everyone has a miss. Everyone has a miss
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: right here. Julie Sherman-Wolfe is credited with the teleplay and
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: television story, whatever that means, for this movie. Julie is
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: a great screenwriter and has written some of Hallmark's big
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: movies like Holiday Hotline, A Holiday Spectacular, Wedding Every Weekend.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: She has one more movie this Countdown to Christmas season
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: called Hanukkah on the Rocks.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Tyler Hines stars as Derek. Tyler has starred or co-starred
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: in six Hallmark movies this year.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: What's your guess? When will we see the next Tyler
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Hines movie on Hallmark? I think it's going to be
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: a minute. Oh, do you? I think he needs a break.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Jonathan Bennett did say in our interview that he's hoping
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: for Groomsmen 4, 5, and 6.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: But I would actually kind of be surprised if we
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: don't get a Tyler Hines movie in the first six
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: months of 2025. You think? I don't think they're going
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: to let this man fall out of the spotlight.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Hmm. I'm like, when has he had time to film one?
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: Good point. We'll see.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: Hunter King plays Alana.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: We last saw Hunter on Hallmark in this summer's Two
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Scoops of Italy and last year's The Santa Summit. She
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: will star in the upcoming horror movie Don't Move alongside
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: Hallmark favorite Lindsay Fonseca. That film is directed by McLean Nelson.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Known for directing The Magic of Lemon Drops. This is
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: definitely not a Hallmark project.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: McLean Nelson also directed the Hall of the Hall movies.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Is that correct?
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: I just was like, while you were talking, my brain
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: was working. And you know how they filmed a reality
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: series on the Hallmark Cruise, Sail 2?
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. Don't laugh.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: It just now occurred to me that that's probably for
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: Hallmark Plus.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: It probably is. Yeah, but.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: When it was announced, I don't think that was anybody's thought,
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: because I think it was announced before Hallmark Plus and
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: all of their reality programming was announced.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's like a one-hour documentary, don't you think so?
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: I'm very curious to see. Maybe that is the January
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: content we're waiting.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: For from Hallmark Plus. Oh, boy, maybe. Ed Begley Jr.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Plays Alana's grandpa. Ed has 347 acting credits with eight
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: upcoming projects. Ed has been in a lot since his
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: first gig in 1967. He's probably best known for his
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: role in the long-running drama Saint Elsewhere. Recently, you might
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: have seen him in Young Children or Better Call Saul.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Dietrich Bader plays Alana's dad, Hank. Dietrich has 245 acting
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: credits with notable roles in American Housewife.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: Megan Price plays Alana's mom, Leah Higman. I'm actually surprised
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: by this because her face is so familiar. Megan has
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: 28 acting credits. She did appear in 50 episodes of
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: The Ranch, a role my husband clocked immediately. She was
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: also in the TV series Rules of Engagement and another
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: series called Grounded for Life.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: Very familiar face. Richard Rio plays Alana's other grandfather. That's
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: not Ed Begley Jr., Richard is a seasoned actor with
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: 433 acting credits and 14 upcoming projects. Now, this may
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: be the most I've ever seen. I've never seen a
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: number that big. His face, very familiar. Scrolling through his resume,
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: he has appeared in American Housewife. Have you heard that
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: title more than once now? Yeah, I have. There's a
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: lot of crossover here. He's been in American Housewife, The Middle,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: and Fuller House. It looks like his last Hallmark role
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: was a movie called Love at First Glance from 2017.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: Christine Ebersole plays Alana's grandma Norma. Christine currently plays Dottie
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: on the CBS sitcom Bob Hart's Abishola. She was a
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: cast member and Weekend Update co-anchor on Saturday Night Live
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: from 1981 to 1982. A talented stage actress, she has
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: won two Tony Awards for her performances in 42nd Street
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: and Grey Gardens.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Jenna Bush Hager has a cameo in this movie. She
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: is known for being the Today Show co-host and daughter
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: of former President George W. Bush.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: Abraham Ben Ruby plays Santa Claus. Now, Abraham is probably
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: going to hate this, but every time I see Abraham
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: on screen, in spite of the fact that he has
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: 120 acting credits, my brain goes all the way back
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: to 1990 and a one-season wonder show called Parker Lewis
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Can't Lose, I could not tell you one thing about
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: that show, except Abraham played a bully named Kubiak, who
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: in my memory of the show never actually had any lines,
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: just kind of like grunted aggressively. He also played Jerry
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: on ER for a number of years, which might be
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: where people recognize him from.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: Was Jerry an orderly or something like that? I believe so.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: I remember the name Corin Nimick from Parker Lewis Can't Lose.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: I think that was the lead guy's name. I'm impressed. Yeah.
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: Look, I pulled up the Parker Lewis Can't Lose IMDb page.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: I'm like, these dudes do not look familiar to.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: Me at all, but I'd know Kubiak anywhere. That's hilarious.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Donna Kelsey stars as Donna. This is Donna's second Hallmark
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: appearance this year, having recently appeared in this season's Christmas
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: on Call.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: This movie was filmed on location in Kansas City, Missouri,
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: home of both the Chiefs and Hallmark's headquarters. Other filming
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: locations include Independence Square, a charming downtown in Independence, Missouri.
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: Let's take a quick break. And we'll be right back
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: with First Impressions. Hey, Wendy, what's your first impression of
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: Holiday Touchdown?
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: So my first impression comes with a little backstory, if
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: I may. Oh, please. Years ago, I played fantasy football.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Like years ago. Yes. And... Andy Reid took my player
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: out who could have won me the championship. Oh. And
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: my reaction in that moment and every other time I
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: see Andy Reid on TV is, Andy Reid. So when
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: Andy Reid showed up in my movie this week, I
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: was like, what do you think I said? Andy Reid.
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: You know, my first impression is a little bit of
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: a cynical one, but do not let that– influence what
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: you think my opinion of the movie is, my first
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: impression is, thank goodness, The Wicked of Hallmark Movies has
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: finally premiered.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: You are not wrong. I am so beyond over the
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: promotion of this movie. What did you like about Holiday Touchdown?
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: Like you said, there's a lot of opinions about this movie.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: Let me tell you what I liked. Okay. I liked
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: a lot the opening scenes where we get Alana's backstory,
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: the family backstory. I love that they set the movie
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: up like that. But what I liked best was like
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: the real life footage that they obviously got from the
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: chief's organization married with like, you know, the new footage
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: made to look old timey. I liked all of that.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: I thought visually like it was fun storytelling. That's the
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: first thing I liked.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: You know, speaking of visually, I think this movie makes
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: a real big visual impact. Like when you have the
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: fan cave in their chief's store. is really well done.
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's extreme in the right ways. They'd spared
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: no expense in my opinion. You know, the shots when
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: Tyler and Hunter are alone in the stadium and the
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: pan back was very cool. It's on my likes.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: We.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: spoke with costume designer Keith Nielsen, and that interview is
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: dropping separately also today. So give that a listen. It's
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: a really interesting look into like the process that he
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: goes through. But I watched this movie knowing that we
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: were going to be talking to him. So I, of course,
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: had an eye on the fashion. But I think it
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: lends to the overall picture. He does a really good
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: job of telling a story with the clothes that they
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: wear without putting Alana in a Chiefs t-shirt the entire time.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: I think the efforts to make this a real visually
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: attractive movie paid off.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so too. I agree with that. There
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: was at one point I noticed Alana was wearing kind
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: of like a, it read to me as like a
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: gold sweater and then she had a red coat over
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: the top of it. And I was like, oh, that's
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: nail on the head there. But it was interesting to
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: hear Keith's process where he talks about how he didn't
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: want to be too on the nose yeah I really
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: adored the black and white coat that her mom wore
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: I don't know if you remember it I didn't notice
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: it loved it yeah I mean if we're talking about
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: costuming I loved the dress Alana wears to the party
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: her sparkly real fun cute full skirt and then the
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: way that her jacket fits over it and flares out
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: over the dress was very cute loved it what do
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: you think about the fan superstitions part of this story It's.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: Not something I can relate to.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: Really? Personally, no. Oh, that's so funny. But I love
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: stuff like that.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: Like when they're joking around, he's like, I had a
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: wing in my hand for the last one.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Do I need to pick up the wing?
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: And they're like, yes, pick it up.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: I thought it was fun.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: There was too much hat for me. Like we get
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: two in the hat weeds and we'll talk about it.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: But I like the idea. Look, I love a shared
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: common goal. Kansas City is like a big small town.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: Like, small-town feel in a city. That's the vibe I get,
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: having never been there and knowing very little about it.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: And I like the shared goal, and I like the
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: microcosm of, like, their family's shared goals, like getting the
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: Chiefs the win and the superstitions that they buy in,
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: and then the fans at large buy into the family superstitions.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I enjoy the superstitions part of it. I think, well,
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: you know, like, we're a big sports family here, and
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: so we've... had our own like superstitions about like football
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: games and stuff like that. So I, I, I enjoyed
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: that part of it, especially that part where the wing
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: part was really funny. Well, we're going to talk more
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: about the hat, right? In the wishes.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: Okay. I really liked the evolution of Derek and Alana's relationship.
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: Like we get to see like, they're cute falling for
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: each other moments. Like when they like have a little
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: handholding moment outside her family's house, when they're around the fire.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: I'm not too jaded to find that cute.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: They have two kisses on their first real date. I
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: am not immune to the Tyler Hines charm. He's nicer
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: than Alana is throughout.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: A hundred percent. Like he's the good guy.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: I really was charmed by their relationship. During the Christmas Eve, Eve,
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: Eve party, she gets him. Oh, she gets him his
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: mug because his hands are always cold. And he's like,
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: I don't have that problem anymore. And like holds her
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: hand and it's so cheesy.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah. But it's like. Those are the early relationship stages. Sure.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: And those are fun, I think, and relatable for a
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: lot of people. Yeah.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: There's no fast forward. I mean, obviously he's sitting in
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: her family seats at the end. There's like some implied
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: seriousness there, but we're not ending on a wedding or
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: a proposal.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: Or even an I love you. Right. Right. I did
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: think like the handholding outside of the fire pit, like
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: kind of came out of nowhere for me. Oh. I
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: wasn't quite seeing them like.
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: But they were flirting from moment one. And when she
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: walks out and he's there, she's like, oh. Like, she's
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: very clearly happy he's there.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I know. It was by coincidence he's walking by
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: the house and says, can I warm up with you?
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Would you ever walk around in some random neighborhood and
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: if people are outside, like, their fire pit, would you
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: be like, can I join you? If I knew them.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: I feel like... I took the scene as he didn't
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: realize it was them until after he asked, but... I
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: could be wrong. Oh, I assumed he knew it was them.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: I thought the cameos in this movie were interesting. Of course,
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: we have Jenna Bush, who is probably a very recognizable
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: face for anybody. For Hallmark fans, we have Wes Brown.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: And then there's all these football guys who I have
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: no freaking idea who they are.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, the football cameos were completely lost on me.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Same.
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: And there's a couple moments like when they're walking through
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: like the holiday carnival situation.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: I was like, I don't know who these people are.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: Like I know Andy Reid. I only know Andy Reid
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: because of like the whole Taylor Swift, Travis Kelsey elevation
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: of the Kansas City Chiefs in the pop culture zeitgeist.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: So yes, those were lost on me.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think those were probably a bigger highlight for
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: a Chiefs fan. Sure. It fell flat for me.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's like us. It's like you going to
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: watch The greatest Christmas pageant ever. And you're like, it's
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: Stephanie Sy.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: You know? Yeah, exactly. I thought there were some very funny,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: memorable lines. One that stood out for me is Tyler
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: saying he could also fold a fitted sheet.
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: Oh, my gosh.
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: Sorry. No, no. I love it. Which was just really funny.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: I know it has nothing to do with it, but
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: if you were watching Finding Mr. Christmas, like this.
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: What's funny about that scene is he says it immediately
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: after wrapping a gift beautifully. So it's like the one-two
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: punch of finding Mr.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Christmas moments. Right. Exactly. But Ed Begley Jr. 's response
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: literally made me laugh out loud. He says, if he
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: can make restaurant grade ranch dressing, he's in. And I
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: thought I was alone in loving restaurant ranch dressing. It's
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: Superior to what you can get in a bottle. Of course. Anyway,
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: I thought it was very funny.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: Speaking of Ed Begley Jr., he's a highlight in this
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: movie for me. The wise, loving grandfather role will never
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: not get me.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: He's such a treasure. When Derek gives him the seats.
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: Loved it. And he just was clearly just so touched
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: by it.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: And, you know, thank you, Derek, and gives him that
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: little side hug.
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: And he's just, like, sitting there, like, having a moment
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: in his seat, too. Yeah, I thought that was really,
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: really sweet. And he gives this really heartfelt when Alana
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: loses the hat. And he tells her, like, the magic
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: isn't in the hat. It's what it represents and that
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: they have each other. I was like, that's so nice.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: It is so nice.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: I thought he was great. I thought he was great.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: To your point about the cameos, I didn't care much about, like,
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: the cameos. Like, I mean, it was fun to see
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: Wes and, like, it's smart that they include Donna Kelsey
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: and all of that. But I did think the casting
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: overall was top notch. The casting of Alana's family. I
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: got to tell you, I didn't really care so much about, like,
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: Tyler's work buddies.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: I was like, I don't need to see them ever again.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: We could have cut that out.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Can I? I have a confession here. Oh. One, I'm
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: not going to say who. But one of like his
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: work buddies, I thought, oh, this is somebody who works
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: for the Chiefs because they are a terrible actor. Oh, no.
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: And then as I'm doing my work for, you know,
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: the back end work here for IMDb, that person is
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: an actual actor. And I was like, ooh. Oh, no. Oh, no.
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: We will not be naming names. I just think the
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: casting of her family, they've got these hugely recognizable faces.
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: And it makes a family that makes sense.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely. The one last thing I liked was at
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: the very end, the ending scene where Grandpa Ed Begley,
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: I don't know what his name even is in this.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: I apologize. But when he has the flashback to receiving
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: the hat from Santa originally, I thought this was a
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: standout moment. But it also reminded me very much of
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: Signed Seal Delivered for Christmas when Oliver, when they get
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: the reveal, when he realizes that Jordan Marley died. They've
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: met before. Yeah. Did you get that same kind of sense?
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: I knew it was reminiscent of something.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: I just like that they pull back on the Santa
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: in that moment.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I love a little Santa magic. Sure. Because at.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: One point, my husband was like, when they lose the hat,
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: he's like, oh, did Santa steal it?
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: Like, was Santa the villain? Is Santa the bad guy?
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: But he's just, it's Santa. Mm-hmm. Are you ready to
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: talk wishes? Sure. First of all... We meet Derek.
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: Derek then returns, having realized that this family is a
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: fan of the year finalist.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: Rewind.
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: When they realize that Derek doesn't believe in the magic
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: of the hat, they're so mean to him.
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: Uncalled for.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: Not just like, okay, whatever, you just don't get it. Like,
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: I feel like they're actually mean.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: Uh-huh.
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: And then when he returns, like, hey, you're finalist.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: Alana is... So mean. And I was like, girl, you
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: want to win.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: Your whole goal is how you want to take this
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: store to the next level. Put your feelings aside and smile.
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: I have a lot of problems with Alana. Oh. I
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: thought she was very unlikable at times. When she's annoyed
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: with derrick after learning about that he has a job
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: with the chiefs this is all in this like moment
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: when he shows up there to like tell them first
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: of all like First of all, I think he should
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: have been like, oh, I know this family. Let's give me.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: The lighthouse or whatever, you know? It feels like a
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: major conflict of interest that he's even involved.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: Totally. I totally agree. But I thought she was nasty
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: to him. Yeah, me too. I didn't really love that.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: I also thought her extreme reaction to losing the hat
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: felt like too dramatic like oh my god we're gonna
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: like lose this the store nobody's gonna come shop at
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: our store anymore because of the hat and people are
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: gonna hate us and like it was girl, there are
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: a lot of things going on in this world right now.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, like the hat was a metaphor for her family
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: and she took it way more literally than anybody else did.
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: And everyone else was like, no, this hat is just
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: a visual representation of the things that are important to us.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: Right. So let's talk about the hat because I think
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: you have some thoughts on the hat.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Well, I just thought the hat drama was too drawn out.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: I thought it was an interesting thing because we don't
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: get a late conflict between Derek and Alana. The conflict
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: is The perceived conflict between Alana and the fans, like
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: they're going to turn on us when they realize that
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: we've lost the hat. I think that's a really interesting
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: plot device because sometimes I am kind of tired of
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: these like, oh, no, are they going to get together moments?
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: And of course she does start pushing him away a
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: little bit because of like, she's like, I've ruined everything.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: But I just felt like we spent a lot of
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: time on a hat and maybe we could have gotten
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: to Grandpa Ed Begley calming her down a little bit sooner.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: I did like everybody look under your seats and pull
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: out a hat.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: That's sweet.
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, especially after they've made this big deal about the hat.
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: Now everyone has this meaningful Christmas Day game hat. That
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: doesn't look anything like their original hat, but it doesn't matter. No,
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: of course not.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: But it's like a current branded Chiefs hat. Yeah, no, no.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: That's cool. I mean, that's cool as a fan to like...
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Have you ever gone to like a Lakers game and
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: they have like... Or an Angels game and there's like
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: rally towels or like something like that's there for you
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: for the fans when you get there, like as a gift? Sure.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: Usually they're giving them away as you walk in. Yeah,
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: but no, you've never been to like a basketball game
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: and there's... something on the seat for you uh not
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: on the seat.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: I think because people are genuinely terrible and they'll just
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: take everybody's.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah donna kelsey's jersey in this movie really bummed me
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: out that she's wearing a kelsey jersey she's wearing a
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: kelsey jersey it takes me out of the moment here
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: she's just And I'm air quoting Donna. Like, she's just
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Donna who works at this restaurant, right? And she's wearing
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: a Kelsey jersey.
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: Great.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: But on the back, it says, love you, mommy. And
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: it's signed Travis Kelsey. Oh, I didn't. And I read, like,
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: she wanted to wear something personal. And this was, like,
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: he signed that jersey, like, after he got signed into
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: the NFL. But you're not Donna Kelsey in this moment.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: You're just Donna, the diner worker. Well, yeah. Yeah.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: There was a comment that I read that she was
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: wearing Jason's jersey in the Eagles movie as well.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: Is it signed on the back? I don't know.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: And then in the final scene, she's wearing the split
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: jersey that she wore to the Super Bowl.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: Oh. You know what I'm talking about. Yeah, I do.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Like the Chiefs Eagles jersey. House divided kind of. Yeah.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: And so some people commented like, is she now not
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: Donna from the diner?
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: Is she now Donna Kelsey? Yeah. Yeah.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: But I could imagine her being like, I'm not wearing
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: anybody else's jersey. I'm going to wear this one that's meaningful.
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: And they're like, whatever, Donna, we'll do whatever you want.
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's fine. How did you feel about her being
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: part of this movie and then as well as Christmas
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: on Call? I mean, I'm fine with it.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: The whole Taylor Travis of it all, I think that's
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: the closest we're going to... It doesn't make or break
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: the movie for me.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: Listener Jackie sent me a text after this movie. And
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: she said... She was like, do you think she was
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: asking my opinion? Do you think like the Travis Taylor hype,
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: like we're too far from it now at this point? Like,
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: cause that was real big last year. Yeah. I mean,
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: I know like she still goes to the games this
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: year and they're still together as a couple, whatever. But
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: like that was big news last year. So at the
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: conception of this idea, do you think we're too far
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: removed from it?
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: Honestly, I'm kind of glad there was no Travis cameo.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: Costume designer Keith mentioned like it's a little one of
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: the dresses is like a little bit of a nod
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: to Taylor, but there's no Taylor Swift jokes.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: I'm glad. Yeah. Yeah. Did you did you see that?
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: I'm going to drop right here. It's not on my
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: actual list. But did you realize that Derek's last name
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: was Taylor? Oh, I wonder if that is a wink
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: and a nod.
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: Okay, well, I have something on my DigiSee that's about that. Okay,
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: we'll get to it.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: Did you notice the excessive use of jingle bell sounds
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: at the beginning of this movie? Did not. I mean, like,
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: every scene there was jingle bell sounds. It's a pet
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: peeve of mine, not just specific jingle bells, but, like,
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: when the music being used in the movie is to
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: alert somebody, like, the viewer, like, something's happening.
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: It's like, I'm not a dummy. I'm watching the movie. Like,
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: you don't need to like clue me in on it.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: It grates on me. Oh, I did not even notice.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: I have one more weird thing that I thought needs
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: to be pointed out was, was that digital snow around
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: the fire pit? Oh, yeah. And it was bad. It
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: was really bad. They spent all their budget. I know.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: I was wondering about the budget. This movie had to
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: have had a bigger budget than typical Hallmark movie, right? Maybe.
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: I was looking at IMDb because sometimes IMDb tells you
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: the budget for the movie.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Oh. Not often. That's news to me.
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: It's pretty rare. But no, not on this one.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: I have one final thought. And this is a thought.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: And I thought I would put it under my wishes.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: I feel like this movie was definitely made for Chiefs fans.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: And while I enjoy a football, this whole, like, fandom
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: aspect of this movie, like, doesn't do anything. anything for me.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: No, it feels like bringing, trying to bring in a
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: new audience.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: Sure. Yeah, I guess.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: Here's what I think this movie, this year's countdown to
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: Christmas movies have actually lacked a lot of Christmas. Like
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: in the past, I feel like we've been beaten over
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: the head with Christmas activities and it's been, there's been
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: very little Christmas. I mean, I know we have Christmas
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: Eve Eve that the event takes place on Christmas day.
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: That's a holiday party, but I'm starting to get to
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: the point where I'm like, I need a little more Christmas.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I hear you. I need some more Christmas too.
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: So I hear you. I have one question for you.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Last year's never been Christmas. Remember people were pissed about
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: that movie not being a Tyler Hines movie? Yeah. Did
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: you think this movie was a Tyler Hines movie? He's
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: the love interest and he's the one who makes the
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: magic happen. I just wondered, did they put Tyler Hines
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: in this movie because As a vehicle for eyeballs.
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: Well, they were always going to put one of the
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: biggest names.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah.
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: And I don't think it's a mistake for it to
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: be Tyler.
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: Do you have any other wishes? Nope. All right. Let's talk.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Did you see that? Yes. Go first.
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: Well, first of all, it's so confusing to me. They
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: give them season tickets for Christmas. The season is over.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: The season is over. And I don't think you can
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: buy tickets for the next season at that time of year.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: I doubt it.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: I'm like, you got season tickets to go to the
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: last game of the year to lock yourself in?
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Well, my first one is Justice for Costume Designer Keith Nielsen.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: They spelled his name wrong. In the opening credits. In
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: the opening credits. And the only reason I would have
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: ever noticed this is that he and I have coincidentally
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: the same last name spelled exactly the same. Yes. And
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: my name is always spelled wrong. I feel bad for
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: him because obviously he was a big part of this movie,
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: the production side of this movie. And we have been
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: talking about it all season that Hallmark has let a
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: lot of things like slip through the cracks. You can't
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: be misspelling the names of the people who work on
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: your movies.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: I think it's a terrible injustice. Agree.
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: All of my other did you see that's come from
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: outside sources.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: Oh, tell me more.
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: Well, first, listener Mackie sent us something that was pointed
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: out on social media. User CatJoin9 on social media posted
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: a photo of the marquee behind.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: Derek and Alana. Yep. They're walking down the street in Independence.
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: And the three titles are A Holiday Spectacular, An Unexpected Christmas,
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: and The Santa Summit on the marquee.
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: I enjoyed that, of course. A Holiday Spectacular, written by
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: Julia Sherman-Woof. An Unexpected Christmas, a Tyler Hines movie, and
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: The Santa Summit. Yes. The Hunter King movie. Yeah, I
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: saw that. I loved it. I loved it. I loved it.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: I'm here from listener Mike, who says... I don't know.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: If it was inspired at all by the TV show
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: Get Smart, but one of the jokes Tyler cracks is
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: that's the second largest collection of beef related ornaments I've
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: ever seen is right out of Get Smart. It was
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: a recurring joke on that show that whenever Max saw
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: something particularly oversized, he'd say that's the second biggest blank.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: I've ever seen. Maybe Julie Sherman Wolf is a Get
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: Smart fan. Let us know, Julie. Mike also wonders, I
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: wonder if Diedrich Bader's character Hank was intentionally named after
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: Hank Stram, the Chiefs' first coach and coach of that
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: first Super Bowl winning team in Super Bowl IV. Hmm.
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: Come to think of it, I'm going to assume that
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: Tyler's character's name, Derek Taylor, is an intentional combination of
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: the players Derek Thomas and Otis Taylor, both Chiefs Hall
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: of Famers.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: Oh, I thought you were going to say Taylor Swift,
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: what I just said a few minutes ago.
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: So, I don't know if the origin of those names
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: has anything to do with that, but this is why
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: you need a sports fan who knows all these, an
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: encyclopedia of knowledge about the team and about sports.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: All right, well, what did you rate A Holiday Touchdown?
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: I gave it 3.25 stars. I gave it 3.75. We're
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: not that far off. No, I liked it. I enjoyed it,
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: but I also think it was not for me. Does
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: that make sense? Yes.
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: I really enjoyed watching it. Is it my number one
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: movie of the year?
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: No.
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: Was it a fun watch?
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to Girls Gone Hallmark. If you
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: love this podcast, we love your five-star ratings and reviews.
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: It is the easiest 30-second gift you can give to us.
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: Tap the five stars and let everybody know why you
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: love this podcast. And we will see you next time. Goodbye.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: Bye.
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: All right, friends, before we go, just a quick heads up.
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: You're about to hear some ads.
• 31:35
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• 31:37
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• 31:42
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  Speaker 1: Bye.