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Bonus Episode: On Deaf Representation and Diane Keaton in 'The Family Stone' · Dished at Birth

0:00
Merry Christmas, guys. Merry Christmas. Or Happy
0:03
Hanukkah if you guys celebrate that. What are
0:05
the dates this year? I actually have no idea.
0:07
I'm taking Paolo somewhere for two to three days
0:10
after Christmas. Mysterious. Where is somewhere?
0:12
It's a surprise. Can you sign it to me? That's
0:16
vague. Oh, yeah. Okay, fun. Stop. That's awesome.
0:21
You guys wish this was a visual medium. You're
0:23
being so left out right now. Yeah. I'm really
0:26
excited. Where are you going for New Year's?
0:28
Oh, you're going to be gone. I'm going to be
0:30
in Ireland. In Ireland, yeah. A and I are going
0:32
to do, so we're going to be in Dublin for a bit.
0:35
And then A and I are going to do our own trip
0:38
to Cork. And then Killarney. And then we're going
0:40
to end in Galway. And we're going to meet our
0:43
friends there. And then head back to Dublin.
0:45
And then do New Year's in Dublin. Oh, my God.
0:48
New Year's in Dublin is going to rock. Also,
0:50
I am from Galway. Or that's where my family is
0:52
from. Fun. Galway girl. Yeah. With the Ed Sheeran
0:56
song. He wrote that for me, actually. That's
0:59
beautiful. We're speaking into the future. So
1:01
when this episode comes out, you will actually
1:02
be in Ireland. But today, let's talk about The
1:05
Family Stone. Let's talk about The Family Stone.
1:07
Special episode, you guys. Yeah. Welcome to a
1:10
holiday bonus episode. Merry Christmas. Merry
1:13
Christmas. Hope you like it. We watched The Family
1:26
Stone, which came out in 2005. We were wrong.
1:29
2005, okay. Not 2003. Really? And what year did
1:32
Sex and the City end? I think this was like the
1:35
last year of Sex and the City. Oh, wow. Check,
1:38
though. I think you're right. I mean, then there
1:40
were movies, but I think you're right that the...
1:42
Because I was reading something about how Sarah
1:44
Jessica Parker was really into doing this because
1:48
it's so the opposite of her Carrie Bradshaw character.
1:51
Sex and the City ended in 2004. Yeah, that makes
1:54
sense. So yeah, starring Sarah Jessica Parker
1:57
as a Republican? Republican coded. Yeah, very
2:02
Republican coded woman. Yeah, this is a star
2:05
-studded cast. We had Diane Keaton. We had Rachel
2:09
McAdams. Luke Wilson. Dermot Mulhoney? I think
2:13
Mulroney? I don't know, guys. The guy, he's Fancy
2:16
man in New Girl, and he's in that Sydney Sweeney
2:20
movie, and... He's the guy in My Best Friend's
2:23
Wedding, which is another unhinged romantic.
2:25
Dermot Mulroney. Dermot Mulroney. Mulroney. We're
2:29
just not naming guys Dermot anymore. You know,
2:31
he's a cellist also. Yes, he plays on like all
2:35
of these really prominent soundtracks. Yeah,
2:37
he did Inside Out and Incredibles and Jurassic
2:40
World. Yeah, he's multi talented. I also, he's
2:43
like so handsome, I think. He's shitty in this
2:45
movie. Yeah. But I don't think that's his fault.
2:48
Oh, and there's also Esme from Twilight. Yes.
2:51
What's her name? Elizabeth Risa. There we go.
2:54
Risa. And apparently she's also, according to
2:56
A, she's in Grey's Anatomy? According to A. I
2:59
haven't watched much Grey's Anatomy, but my wife
3:01
loves that show. So basically the premise of
3:04
The Family Stone. Yeah. 2005. Talk about a soap
3:08
opera. Yeah. Basically the eldest son, played
3:10
by Dermot Mulroney, brings his uptight girlfriend,
3:14
Sarah Jessica Parker home for Christmas with
3:17
the intention of proposing to her with the family
3:19
heirloom ring, the family stone. But also the
3:23
family's name is Stone. And the family hates
3:25
her. And she begs her sister to come for emotional
3:28
support. She's got a stick so far up her ass.
3:32
I know. And they are all like NPR liberals. Rachel
3:36
McAdams literally has an NPR tote bag and a Dinosaur
3:39
Jr. tshirt. And she's a public school teacher.
3:42
And she's getting her master's at UMass Amherst.
3:45
Yeah. Could not be gayer. The dad's name is Kelly.
3:49
Love a feminine male name. Yes, he's a professor?
3:52
I think so? Yeah. The wife Sybil was played
3:55
by Diane Keaton. Rest in peace. We love you so
3:57
much. And then they have five kids? Yes. They
4:01
have two girls and three boys because it's the
4:03
same breakdown as Paolo's family. Oh, that's
4:05
fun. Yeah. Anyways, yeah, the three boys are
4:07
Everett, Ben. Thad. Okay, so the reason we chose
4:12
this movie is because there is a deaf character
4:14
in the movie, played by Ty Giordano, who is deaf
4:18
in real life. But yeah, Thad is one of the Stone
4:21
family members, and he's there with his husband?
4:24
Patrick. And then, yeah, the family also has
4:27
two daughters, Susanna, played by Esme from Twilight,
4:30
and then Rachel McAdams, who plays Amy, and she's
4:33
the youngest. And it's so impressive to me that
4:36
you remembered all their names because I didn't.
4:38
And they say them so many times throughout the
4:40
movie. They say it to remind us. To remind us
4:44
because there's like 20 people. There's also
4:46
a moment where the littlest Elizabeth's coming
4:49
down the stairs and Kelly goes, hi, granddaughter.
4:52
Just to remind us of the relationship. I'm like,
4:55
oh, good. That's right. That's the granddaughter.
4:57
Honestly, I needed it. There's so many people
4:59
floating around. I had to ask you, like, what
5:01
is their relation? Everett was coming and I was
5:04
like, how does he know Thad? And you're like,
5:07
they're brothers. I was like, oh. But yeah, Thad
5:10
and his husband Patrick come in and we learn
5:14
that the family is very inclusive and cool because
5:16
they all know sign. Yeah. And it rocks. Honestly,
5:21
this movie has some of the best deaf representation
5:23
I've ever seen. Really? I'm glad you said that
5:26
because I, when I first watched it like two years
5:29
ago, wasn't really paying that much attention.
5:32
And I remember thinking, like, I was surprised
5:34
there wasn't more. It's not very consistent.
5:37
They do a lot of, like, half simcom and then
5:39
they give up. Yes, I think they do a lot of simcom
5:42
while Thad is there. But this is different from
5:45
Switched at Birth simcom. I just want to clarify.
5:48
Switched at Birth simcom is egregious because
5:50
they are simcomming when they're only talking
5:52
to a deaf person. Yeah, one on one communication.
5:55
One on one, when it's not necessary. But the
5:58
family is simcomming because everyone else is
6:01
hearing. And maybe someone is on the other side
6:03
of the room and they also want to be involved
6:05
in the conversation. Yeah. But they're also simcomming
6:08
to make it accessible for Thad, which is fine
6:10
by me. Just want to clarify that simcom is okay.
6:13
Yes. I think that's great. I think it's more
6:16
so the, like, when Everett it gets really mad and
6:18
he stops. He's just stopped signing. Yeah. Well Everett's
6:21
the worst child out of the family. True. Yeah.
6:25
I read this article from the Seattle Times from
6:27
2005. And it looks like they interviewed the
6:31
director, Thomas Bezucha. Crazy last name. Love
6:34
it. It's B -E -Z -U -C -H -A. That sounds right
6:38
to me. Let's call him Bazooka. But basically,
6:41
he was a student at the Parsons School for Design.
6:45
And he saw a bunch of deaf students when he was
6:47
there. And then he was like, wait, sign is so
6:49
cool and fascinating. I love it. And then when
6:53
he was making this movie, he was like, I want
6:55
to make the family as inclusive as possible.
6:58
And also make Meredith look more small minded.
7:01
Yeah. And I was looking for some sort of secret
7:03
language that they could share that would shut
7:06
her out even further. And sign language was a
7:08
no brainer for me. Oh, that's genius. It really
7:11
does work that way. Because it was. Because she
7:14
comes to meet the family for the first time.
7:16
And she yell talks at Thad. And immediately makes
7:19
her look so stupid. Which Everett should have,
7:22
if he was a good boyfriend, he should have coached
7:25
her. But she knew. Yeah. Here's the deal. Here's what's
7:29
easiest to communicate. Maybe teach her a couple
7:32
signs. Maybe teach nice to meet you. Yeah he really
7:35
just throws her to the wolves. The super liberal
7:38
wolves. Yeah because no one else had met her except
7:41
Amy right. Yeah. Yeah bringing her home for the
7:44
first time over the holidays and yeah also Thad
7:49
is like a triple, a triple threat. He's deaf, gay,
7:53
married to a black man. I know. And they're looking
7:57
to adopt a child. So like, he's got a lot going
7:59
on. He's so cute and cool. He is Meredith's worst
8:03
nightmare. Worst nightmare. Yeah. She's like,
8:06
despite being like, I love the gays. She keeps
8:09
putting her foot in her mouth. I think what I
8:11
liked about the movie, not that Thad is a huge
8:13
part of the movie, but he's just like part of
8:15
the family, but he's not the main character.
8:17
No, but I think he has maybe like the biggest
8:20
emotional impact. Like he's in so many scenes
8:24
with the biggest emotional impact. I think Rachel
8:26
McAdams is the most emotionally impactful. Because
8:29
she reunites with that guy that popped her cherry?
8:31
It's mainly like the relationship with her mom.
8:33
And like, didn't she get the ring at the end?
8:36
Oh, I did not clock that. It's on her hand at
8:38
the end. Oh, because she married the guy that
8:41
popped her cherry. I didn't clock that. She gets
8:44
the ring. That's really nice. Yeah, but there's
8:47
the scene where Diane Keaton's like, I love you.
8:51
Like, you're perfect. Oh, to Thad. I know. That
8:54
made me tear up. He's also like the comic relief
8:56
in a lot of scenes. Thad is? Yeah. You gotta
9:00
have a sassy gay guy to bring the vibe up. He's
9:03
just like always ready with a little comment.
9:05
That's true. He's also so cute. I just really
9:08
liked. He's just a lovely guy. He's there. And
9:11
also, it's not upsetting to look at. With a lot of deaf
9:15
representation, I think it can be upsetting to
9:18
watch sometimes. But like this family clearly
9:21
loves him so much. Yeah. And they're very inclusive
9:24
and accepting. And then in that same Seattle
9:27
Times article, someone said like only 3 percent of
9:31
hearing families will learn to sign to communicate
9:33
with their deaf child. So yeah, Bezucha was like,
9:37
I need to basically show that like this family
9:40
really goes above and beyond to be inclusive.
9:43
I think it's just a really nice thing to add
9:45
to the movie. Yeah. Yeah, those are my overall thoughts
9:48
on Ty Giordano's presence. Should we, like,
9:51
do a little play by play? Yeah, I was gonna
9:53
say, let's get into it. Yeah. This is a really
9:56
fun movie. I did also pitch this to everyone
9:58
as, like, it's almost a romcom, and then Paolo
10:01
got very mad at me because, spoiler alert, like,
10:04
the mom is dying. Yeah. And it's pretty emotional.
10:07
But I think there's enough lightness in it. I
10:10
watched this with my parents a couple years ago
10:12
on Christmas, and we, like, actually had a blast.
10:15
I think it's just such tonal whiplash. It's like
10:19
a weird screwball comedy in some parts where
10:21
people are falling and Claire Danes falls out
10:24
of the bus. But then all of a sudden the mom
10:27
is dying of breast cancer and you're like, whoa,
10:29
it's a lot. And then things are awkward and painful.
10:31
It's just, it throws you in so many different
10:34
places at once. I think I like a movie like that
10:36
though. Okay. Yeah. I think I wasn't sure what
10:39
to label it as, but like I had a good time watching
10:42
it with you guys. I think that's why it wasn't
10:44
widely successful. Yes, I was reading and a lot
10:48
of people were comparing it, which I think was
10:50
unfair, to Junebug, which came out just a few
10:53
months before. Did you ever see Junebug? That
10:55
sounds so familiar. It was like Amy Adams' breakthrough
10:57
film. Oh. Fantastic movie. Okay. Is it a holiday
11:03
movie though? Not holiday, I don't think. Because
11:06
I think that's the other thing is there are so
11:07
few Christmas movies that really hold up as good
11:10
movies, I think. Yeah, I can't think of any other
11:13
like good family. Like I love, my favorite genre
11:16
of movie is like a dysfunctional family, especially
11:19
over the holidays. Anyways, yeah, we meet the
11:22
Stone family. Yes, we meet the Stones. Everett
11:24
comes in with Sarah Jessica Parker, aka Meredith.
11:28
And Amy has already briefed the family. She's
11:30
been like, I hate this woman. She talked the
11:33
whole dinner. She didn't ask me about myself
11:35
at all, blah, blah, blah. She does this weird
11:37
throat clearing thing. Yeah, she has a throat
11:41
clearing tic. She's just generally like. Not
11:44
their vibe. And she does come in and she's so
11:47
overwhelmed immediately. She's very rigid. Yeah.
11:53
Very wound tightly. She has like pristine, perfectly
11:57
ironed clothes. She's wearing like a suit. Her
12:00
hair is in a slick back bun. And Everett is also
12:03
like trying to match with her. He has a tie that
12:05
he will not take off the entire day. Yeah. Even
12:08
the family's like, what are you guys doing? Very
12:11
formal. Also, this is a beautiful New England
12:14
home. It is. Just like wallpaper up the wazoo.
12:17
It's so cozy. A colonial style house. Yeah, everyone's
12:20
in like cozy sweaters and they all look really
12:23
comfy. And she's in heels and I guess like a
12:27
black pantsuit, right? It's like a skirt suit.
12:30
Like a skirt and a blazer situation. Like, she
12:34
looks like she just came from a conference. And
12:36
immediately the family's not getting along with
12:38
her. She fucks it up first, too, by being like,
12:41
we can't sleep in the same bed. Why not? Usually
12:44
that's the opposite. I know. Like, you go, like,
12:48
a partner's family's house and they won't let
12:50
you sleep in the same bed. Right. Usually the
12:51
family's conservative. So this whole movie flips
12:54
it all on its head. So she's conservative. She's
12:56
scandalized at the idea of sleeping in her almost
13:00
fiance's childhood bedroom with him. It's very
13:04
strange and immediately Sybil the mother is like
13:08
what so you guys don't screw? Yeah lame. Losers.
13:11
Losers. And she's like I just don't feel comfortable
13:16
so then this their solution is she sleeps in
13:19
Amy's childhood bedroom so that Amy has to sleep
13:22
on the couch. Yeah kicks Amy out of her room yeah
13:25
and then Amy rightfully is like what's wrong
13:28
with Everett's room it's. A public school teacher.
13:32
She's forcing a public school teacher. Her only
13:35
break. So hard all year to sleep on the fucking
13:38
couch. You're right. She's exhausted. Yeah. And
13:42
she does. She keeps being like, no, no, it's
13:44
fine. I'll sleep on the couch like, Meredith does.
13:47
Yeah. But you don't really believe her. No, she
13:50
started this. Yeah. And then she kicks them all
13:53
out when her sister calls. Oh, my gosh. She makes
13:56
everyone leave the room of the house that is
13:59
not hers. Yeah. The room that she's just claimed.
14:02
So odd. It's really bad. And then they're all
14:04
kind of downstairs talking about her. And then
14:07
Luke Wilson's character shows up. Yes, Ben, who
14:10
is like a stoner. Yeah, he's like a mess. They
14:14
drop later that he is a documentary filmmaker
14:18
and he lives in San Francisco. He lives in Berkeley.
14:22
Berkeley. And he cares about the difference.
14:25
Yes, he does. He says Berkeley, not San Francisco.
14:28
So yeah, he's like that. That's his vibe. Yeah,
14:31
and that's the whole family. Everyone's there
14:33
now, right? I think so, yeah. Guys, to be honest,
14:36
we didn't take notes. We just like watched this
14:38
and had a good time. Then she ends up checking
14:40
in at an inn. Yes, she... They're just not getting
14:43
along. She... They go out to dinner the first
14:46
night. Yeah, the first night is when they go
14:49
out to dinner and they're all in the car because
14:51
I clocked that she's... Everett's driving and
14:54
she's in the front seat and the whole family's
14:55
in the back and someone asks her how they met
14:58
and she starts in on the story of how they met
15:00
and it is so long and detailed and. Short story
15:04
long. Pretentious too and like laden with business
15:08
terms. I know. And just like so boring. And she's
15:11
like, halfway through the story, she hasn't even
15:13
met Everett. It's like all about her work. You
15:16
can tell also she's someone who really cares
15:18
about the like, she works like a high powered
15:20
corporate job. She's really proud of it. She's
15:23
clearly very like smart and educated in that
15:25
way. And sort of a businessy way, not socially,
15:28
but. But she's like dumbing it down for like,
15:31
I don't know, this New England family. Yeah,
15:33
she's going into a lot of detail explaining.
15:36
the nuances of her work of how her work goes
15:39
with Everett's work and they do not care about.
15:42
No one gives a shit. They want like the cute romantic
15:44
short story yeah and the whole time she's going
15:47
on about this I don't know if you clocked that
15:49
Amy's in the back seat and she's like half heartedly
15:52
interpreting for Thad who's watching her and
15:55
then Amy just starts moving her hands like blah
15:57
blah blah blah blah and then stops. And Thad is
16:01
cracking up. Yeah Thad was like I actually don't
16:04
care. You don't need to interpret for me anymore.
16:06
Yeah. She tells this story. They cut from them
16:09
in the car on the way to the place, them at the
16:12
restaurant, her still telling the story. And
16:13
then like on the way home. On the way home, them
16:16
at home. And that's when they're like, Everett,
16:18
take off your tie. It's like nighttime now. It's
16:21
choking you. He's been wearing the tie all
16:23
day. And then I think she offers to help with
16:26
something, help clean up something at the house.
16:29
And Sybil's like, no, no, that's okay. And she's
16:32
like feeling rejected. She goes upstairs. She
16:35
goes to sleep. And then in the morning, she's
16:38
like, I'm checking into an inn because Amy said
16:40
something to her. I think Amy said something
16:42
because Amy is the one that has the most beef
16:44
with her. Yeah. I mean, I'd be mad about it as
16:47
well. Yeah. She decides to check into an inn
16:50
instead of staying at the house. And then she
16:52
calls her sister Julie for moral support. Yeah.
16:55
She's like, Julie, I need you. Her hotter, 23 year old
17:00
sister. I'm guessing she's 23. That's my guess.
17:03
She's older than that. Okay. 25? Yeah. I guess
17:07
I just always assume people are my age in movies.
17:10
Okay. So that's why I was like, yeah, 26? I don't
17:13
know. Anyways, yeah. She calls her younger, much
17:16
hotter sister, who I guess didn't have any plans
17:19
for Christmas? Yeah, kind of crazy. They never
17:22
explained that. She just, like, hops on a bus.
17:24
She gets off the bus. Yeah, Meredith checks into
17:27
the inn, and then she comes, but she... She checks
17:30
into the inn and then she comes back to the Stone
17:33
house and is like, I am going to cook Christmas
17:36
breakfast. Strata. Which is like a breakfast
17:39
casserole. Yeah, you were kind of trying to figure
17:41
out what was going on with that last night. I
17:43
did realize my mom makes a breakfast casserole
17:45
every Christmas. I just don't call it that. Interesting.
17:48
Yeah, with like the eggs and the pasta and all
17:50
that. It's very good. Oh, but then she's cutting
17:52
up mushrooms and then everyone reminds her that
17:55
Everett's allergic to mushrooms, which she didn't
17:57
know. Yeah. And she has a little hissy fit, which
17:59
is kind of funny. I think it's also like she
18:01
does not cook. No. But she does make this every
18:04
year because she's really good at cooking this.
18:07
But I think it's just like she doesn't cook for Everett.
18:09
So why would she? Why would she know he's allergic
18:11
to mushrooms? I don't know. That one feels like
18:14
one that wouldn't come up that much. Yeah, I
18:17
guess if he orders for himself or the two of
18:19
them, he just orders something that doesn't have
18:20
mushrooms. Yeah. Also, mushrooms aren't in everything.
18:24
They're not that ubiquitous. They're like pretty
18:26
easy to ignore. But she's cooking and then for
18:28
some reason she doesn't go pick up her sister,
18:31
but she sends her. She sends Luke Wilson and
18:34
Everett. Yeah, she sends a gorgeous young Claire
18:37
Danes who falls off the bus. Yeah. Basically
18:40
into Everett's arms. Yeah, basically. They bring
18:43
her back to the Stone house. Everyone is smitten.
18:48
Everyone's obsessed with her. I do feel for Meredith
18:50
in this moment. Like, that's so fucked. In love
18:53
with her. They're like, oh my god, you're young
18:55
and beautiful and you work in an art gallery.
18:58
Yeah, they're fussing over her. They're like,
19:00
ha, Amy's like, let me get you band aids. Like,
19:02
they love her. And Meredith turns even more uptight.
19:07
She's like, everyone get away from her. I'll
19:09
help her. But then when they're alone together,
19:12
it seems like they have no relationship. It's
19:16
so strange. I don't think the movie did a good
19:18
job establishing the sister's relationship beforehand.
19:21
Yeah, we needed like one scene of her. Like the
19:24
two of them talking. She kind of just shows up
19:26
out of nowhere. We don't know if they were close
19:28
or if they weren't. Yeah, it's just very odd.
19:31
Let's just pretend maybe they're sometimes close
19:34
and Meredith made the wrong call asking her to
19:36
come. They must have been close enough that Julie
19:39
would come from New York to New England. Yeah,
19:44
it's dinner time. It's time for a sit down dinner
19:46
at the Stone House. And they're chatting. Julie's
19:50
at the table, too. Everyone is there. They're
19:52
asking Julie tons of questions. They're infatuated
19:55
and in love with her. And then the topic shifts
19:57
to Thad and Patrick because, again, deaf gay
20:01
guy with a black husband who plans to adopt
20:04
a child. They're talking about adopting and Sarah
20:07
Jessica Parker is like. No Julie says. Oh Julie
20:11
says can deaf people adopt? Does she say that?
20:14
She kind of she says are you allowed to adopt
20:16
because you're deaf? I totally missed that oh
20:19
my god I she says forgive me if this is rude
20:22
for asking but do you guys have a preference
20:24
about the race of the child? But before that she
20:27
says that before that oh my god I totally missed
20:29
that. Yeah she said can deaf people have kids
20:31
actually? Yeah she does say that. That's crazy.
20:34
So I guess Meredith, the bluntness runs in the family.
20:38
I guess there is a way that Julie asks where
20:41
she's very like open hearted and not. It's like
20:45
a naivete. It's a naive question. Yeah. And then
20:48
when Meredith asks a question, it's like she digs
20:52
herself. There's judgment tied to it. There's
20:54
judgment tied to it. Yeah, that's a good. That's
20:56
a good point. Yeah. Because then she asks about
20:58
the race. Julie asks, do you have a preference
21:00
about the race of the child? And Meredith goes,
21:03
Julie, you can't ask that. And she's like, oh,
21:06
my God, I'm so sorry. I'm not trying to be rude.
21:07
I'm literally I'm just curious. Yeah. And Thad
21:10
just says, we're just so excited to have this
21:13
child. We couldn't care less. And she's like,
21:15
that's really nice. Like, I'm excited for you.
21:17
Like, you can just, they're giving her a lot of
21:19
benefit of the doubt because it feels like it's
21:21
coming from a good place. And then Meredith
21:25
feels inspired to ask if they believe in the
21:29
whole like nature versus nurture argument. In
21:32
terms of sexual orientation. Yeah. So she was like
21:36
they've isolated a gene that apparently makes
21:39
you gay, but we all know that for sure. Are you
21:42
worried that like your kid is going to be gay
21:44
basically. Crazy. And then every time someone's
21:48
like what are you talking about she says oh sorry
21:51
let me rephrase and then she digs herself an,
21:54
an even deeper hole. And I think the heart of
21:57
her question is, wouldn't you want your child
22:01
to have the easiest life possible? And at this
22:05
point in 2005, being gay was a challenge in their
22:09
life. So I think from her perspective, to try
22:12
to defend her so that we can continue to root
22:15
for her character at least a little bit, because
22:17
it gets hard too, is she's trying to be like,
22:20
This child will be an adopted child, which is
22:23
already, you know, a struggle. And then to also
22:26
be a CODA will be its own identity. And then
22:31
to also add a sexuality to it will obviously
22:35
make things complex. And with a biracial couple.
22:39
Right, exactly. Biracial gay couple. Yes. So
22:41
it's like, obviously, that is going to be a complex
22:44
situation that will be unique. I think she's
22:46
asking the wrong room. She's asking in this family
22:50
where everyone in this situation is like, yeah,
22:53
that's life. Like, what are you talking about?
22:55
And so she just keeps being like, well, wouldn't
22:58
you want your child to be normal? Girl, like
23:02
we're trying. And Everett is not. Never in my
23:05
life have I yelled at a girl like this. Literally.
23:08
Everett is not helping. He's like turning on
23:11
her because he now likes Julie. He's got eyes
23:14
for Julie a little bit. I thought he didn't say
23:16
anything. At one point, he says something. She,
23:19
like, turns to him and says, you know what I
23:20
mean. And Everett's like, no, I don't. And Everett's
23:23
like, what do you mean? Which is, you know, he
23:26
should, like, know her heart. Like, she's not
23:28
homophobic. She's just stupid. She can't fucking
23:30
put words together. Honestly, part of me is like,
23:34
maybe she is homophobic. I don't think it was
23:36
coming from an, like, evil, hateful place. I
23:40
think it was coming from an ignorant place. Yes,
23:43
absolutely. But at one point... The dad like
23:46
shuts the conversation down. Yeah. He tries.
23:49
She keeps talking. And then Sybil goes, oh, enough
23:53
of you. Yeah. She's like, shut up. She's like,
23:56
I want you to leave. Rightfully. Yeah. And she
23:59
leaves. And then that's when she has that moment.
24:02
Yeah. When she signs, she signs. I love you.
24:06
She signs to Thad. I love you. And you are more
24:08
normal than any other asshole sitting at this
24:11
table. Which, way to throw the other kids under
24:13
the bus. I get it. Thad's the favorite. And he
24:16
deserves to be the favorite. He's all downtrodden
24:18
after that interaction. Thad is? Because of Meredith's
24:22
outburst. So he's like looking down at his lap
24:24
and she throws a fork at him. Yeah, that's right.
24:27
Sybil throws a fork to get his attention. And
24:29
then she's like, I love you. You're perfect.
24:31
You're normal. And then she's like, I need a
24:33
fork. And that's beautiful. Yeah. That made me
24:36
very happy. I know. It made me miss Diane Keaton.
24:40
Yeah. And then Meredith tries to drive off in
24:42
Everett's car. And she crashes it into a tree.
24:45
She puts it in neutral, I guess. Yeah, she like,
24:48
it gets stuck in the ice and it spins out or
24:51
something. It's kind of unclear, but they're
24:53
all still sitting around the dining table. They
24:55
hear it. Yeah. And hear her crash multiple times.
25:00
No one comes up to help her except. Except for
25:02
Ben. Except for Ben. The stoner Ben. Who has
25:06
kind of had weird eyes for her since he met her.
25:09
He makes a comment towards the beginning of
25:11
the film that she reminds him of his second grade
25:13
teacher who he had a crush on. That's right.
25:15
And he's kind of touchy. Yeah, he's kind of touchy.
25:18
It's like a movie where if he, if it was not reciprocated,
25:23
it would be so creepy, obviously. But there's
25:26
kind of a little bit of a vibe between him and
25:28
Meredith, even though her vibe is like, ew, don't
25:31
touch me. But she's kind of like, ew, don't touch
25:33
me. Yeah. And earlier when she's going to check
25:35
in at the inn, he says, I had a dream about you.
25:38
Oh, right. And then he doesn't explain. Yeah.
25:40
And so he goes out to help her and he's like
25:43
trying to do a bit. He like walks up to the car.
25:46
He pretends like he's a cop and he's like, what's
25:47
the issue? And she just bursts into tears. Yeah.
25:50
I feel for her a little because like she's not
25:54
an evil person. She's just like so bad at social
25:58
situations, I think. I get it because sometimes
26:01
I lack tact. If A was here, they'd be like, yes.
26:06
And, like, every time I try to rephrase, I just
26:08
dig myself into a deeper and deeper hole. And
26:10
then I'm like, shit, that's not what I meant.
26:12
Right. And then it's so important in that moment
26:14
to have people who I'm like, I know, Kara, I
26:17
know your heart. But none of these people know
26:19
her. So it's not. And Everett's not. And Everett's
26:22
doing a terrible job of trying to be like, I
26:24
promise you, like. She's normal and nice. She's,
26:26
like, nice. And she means well. I think it's
26:30
earlier in the day. That she has this moment
26:32
with Thad where she's like, once again, yelling,
26:35
being like, I would sign, but I don't know the
26:38
language. And I think he doesn't even respond
26:41
to her. But again, that's like, Everett, it's
26:44
your job to, you know, like. To prepare her.
26:47
To prepare her. To be like, let's. Let's look
26:51
on YouTube together. Well, this is 2005. Did
26:53
we have YouTube? I don't know. Maybe just barely.
26:57
Barely. But like, he signs. Let's teach her some
27:00
signs. Yeah. You're in New York. They could go Sign
27:03
Language Center. So true. And to be fair, she
27:06
could have said like, I'm sorry I don't sign
27:08
yet. Yeah. I would love as I join your family
27:11
more to learn more and maybe take a class. I
27:15
can't wait to learn. Yeah. Everett's going to
27:16
teach me. That's clearly the moment she's trying
27:18
to have is to be like, I'm sorry. I feel bad
27:21
that I don't sign. But it's so awkward. She's
27:23
so emotionally stunted. She's crying. And Ben's
27:25
like, OK, let's go. And he takes her to the local
27:28
bar. He does. On Christmas Eve. And she's relaxed.
27:33
She's got a couple of beers in her. Yeah, he
27:34
gets her drunk. She's enjoying herself. Is this
27:37
when her hair is finally down? She pulls her
27:40
slick back down. Literally lets her hair down.
27:44
Yeah, her gorgeous hair. Sarah Jessica Parker's
27:46
hair is so beautiful. Yeah. And then these two
27:49
paramedics approach them in the bar. And one
27:52
of the paramedics is this guy who Meredith has
27:55
heard about. Because he quote popped Amy's cherry.
27:58
Yes Brad Stevenson. Yeah and he's like still obsessed
28:02
with her. And Meredith's like you must be the Brad
28:05
Stevenson that Sybil and Amy have talked about.
28:08
Would you like to come to Christmas tomorrow?
28:10
She's drunk but she's also being petty because
28:12
she knows Amy doesn't want that and Amy has had
28:15
the most like personal beef with her this trip.
28:17
So that was not her place that was really fucked
28:20
up. No that was not nice. And then she awakes the
28:23
next morning in Ben's bed. Yeah. At the Stone house
28:27
and without a top on but with a bra. Yeah of course.
28:31
I'm just saying because there's some room for
28:33
questioning. Yeah well we the audience assume
28:37
that she had sex with Ben and she also thinks
28:39
she had sex with Ben. And he's in the shower and
28:42
the dad Kelly comes in and he's a real one because
28:46
he says nothing. He shuts the door he says that's
28:49
none of my business right now. He goes back downstairs.
28:52
He has bigger problems because we've forgotten
28:54
to mention this. But throughout the movie, they
28:56
have been breadcrumbing that Diane Keaton's character,
28:59
Sybil, has had breast cancer in the past and
29:02
that it has returned. She is dying. She's very
29:04
sick. And I think all the siblings know except
29:08
Amy. Yeah. At this point, like everyone's kind
29:11
of caught on. It's sort of like, I mean, I'm
29:14
sure a million things have done this, but. In
29:16
The Summer I Turned Pretty season one, before
29:18
they revealed that the mom, her breast cancer's
29:20
back, they're doing a lot of mom's napping upstairs.
29:23
And there's, like, tension around the fact that
29:25
she's napping. That's true. Sybil napped. They
29:27
did a lot of that with Sybil of, like, she's
29:29
resting. And then everyone would be like, why
29:31
is she resting? Meanwhile, I'm like, I would
29:33
nap every day in that beautiful, cozy house.
29:36
Christmas is stressful. You have five children.
29:38
I nap most days. And nothing's wrong with me.
29:41
Yeah. But whatever. Yeah, it didn't even occur
29:44
to me. I know when you turned around like two
29:46
thirds of the way through the movie, you were
29:47
like, wait, it's because we're nappers. We love
29:50
napping. Can a woman nap without having cancer?
29:53
God, for once, let women rest. I know. Also,
29:57
I want to add that Everett wants to get the ring
29:59
from Sybil. It's like a family stone. The family
30:03
stone. Because he wants to propose to Meredith
30:06
with it. And Sybil was like, no. And it feels
30:09
like once he for sure has confirmed that he knows
30:13
his mom is sick again, she's like, I know that
30:15
you want to propose to her so that you can be
30:17
like married before I'm dead. And I don't want
30:20
you to rush into marrying someone before I'm
30:22
dead because I also hate her. But then she does
30:25
give him the ring. They have this little talk
30:27
that she's sick and she's like, I just want you
30:29
to be happy. Yeah, she acquiesces. She gives
30:32
him the ring. It's a pretty little diamond. Yeah,
30:34
she gives him the ring. Meanwhile, his girlfriend
30:37
is upstairs in Ben's bed still. He doesn't know
30:40
that. He doesn't know that he thinks she's at
30:41
the end but also he never found her last night
30:45
so she's like missing in his brain. He does not
30:47
know where she is. He did not check on her they
30:49
drove around looking for her but they didn't
30:51
check the bar? Very weird yeah and maybe Ben called
30:54
them was like she's fine she's back at the inn.
30:56
Maybe. I don't know why Everett didn't go out
30:59
and do any of this, but yeah, it doesn't help
31:02
with the plot. Because he's already in love with
31:03
Julie. Because when Meredith is missing is when
31:06
he and Julie go into town to look, quote, look
31:08
for her. And they're having their like romantic
31:10
chat and getting to know each other. And that's
31:13
sort of when he's like, wait, maybe I like you.
31:16
So then when his mom the next morning is finally
31:18
like, oh, here's the ring, whatever, like stop.
31:21
He takes it and Julie comes in and he's like,
31:25
Julie, can you try this on for me? And she's
31:28
like, my fingers are bigger than Meredith's anyway.
31:30
And he's like, no, no, no. Just like put it on
31:31
your finger. She says no many times. She says
31:33
no. He shoves that thing on her finger. Shoves
31:37
it. Yeah. Also, don't do that to anyone. I think
31:39
one, it's bad luck. That's what Sybil says. Sybil
31:42
immediately goes, why would you do that? That's
31:44
bad luck. And it's just weird. Yeah, very weird.
31:47
Yeah. It's very Bridgerton. Bridgerton season
31:49
two. Okay, sure. No, you don't know. No, I don't.
31:52
I'm just nodding. But they put the ring on her
31:55
finger and everyone goes silent. It's a perfect
31:57
fit. It's not a perfect fit size wise, but,
31:59
like, it looks great. No, but it looks nice on
32:00
her. She's like, oh, wow. It's beautiful. It's
32:03
beautiful. Too bad it's stuck, and I'm losing
32:05
all circulation in my finger. She's freaking
32:07
out. They're all, like, over the kitchen sink
32:08
with butter. And oil. Oil, trying to get it off.
32:12
And then Meredith finally walks in, and she's,
32:15
like, putting on her top still. It's so weird.
32:18
Also, upstairs, Ben gets out of the shower. She's
32:21
like, she doesn't say anything to him. He goes,
32:23
how'd you sleep? She smacks him across the face,
32:26
storms downstairs, walks in and then sees Everett
32:29
and goes, yeah, I just got here. As she's adjusting
32:31
her top and he doesn't want her to see the ring.
32:34
So he's kind of ignoring her. But then Julie
32:36
runs into the bathroom and Meredith goes in and
32:38
she's like, what's going on? And Julie shows
32:41
Meredith the ring. And Meredith goes, it's really
32:44
small. And then she's like, let me see it again.
32:46
And they're still, they're in this bathroom.
32:48
And Julie's like, he's going to propose. And
32:51
Meredith's like, oh, no. And Julie's like, what?
32:54
And Meredith goes. And she, like, her eyes look
32:57
up towards the ceiling. And then she grabs fancy
33:00
soap on the counter and sniffs it. So odd. It's,
33:04
like, not seductive, but, like, kind of, like,
33:06
sneakily. Like, she's, like, doing a little bit.
33:09
Like, it's the first piece of personality we've
33:12
seen come out of her sober because the night
33:14
before we get to see kind of a lot. That's when
33:17
she's like, I love the gays. I can't believe
33:19
that they think I hate the gays. She lets her
33:21
hair down. She's dancing. She buys everyone a
33:23
round of drinks. So Ben has really loosened her
33:27
up. Yeah. The night prior. So now she's sniffing
33:30
the soap, doing a little bit. And Julie goes,
33:33
you slept with him. Ben? And Meredith goes, I'm
33:37
so ashamed. As she's grinning. Grinning. Oh,
33:41
my God. Like the cat that ate the canary. She's
33:44
so stoked. So thrilled. Do they show her getting
33:48
the ring off? It just like falls off her finger.
33:51
That's how the oil worked. They leave the bathroom,
33:53
whatever. And then they're doing presents, I
33:55
guess, which I love that their solution was just
33:57
like, well, this is awkward. Anyway, let's all
33:59
open gifts. And this is like one of the emotional
34:02
peaks of the movie is that she's like, here is
34:05
my gift to the family. And it is six beautiful,
34:09
individually wrapped, identically wrapped, like
34:11
stunning framed photos of Sybil pregnant. With
34:17
Amy. With Amy. And Diane Keaton delivers her
34:20
really iconic line. That's you in there. Where
34:22
everyone's looking. And I think that's also when
34:25
you realize that like Amy also knows. Like, you
34:27
don't know when she realized, but Amy knows.
34:30
Because they're all looking at this photo and,
34:31
like, sobbing. Yeah. Meredith does not know.
34:34
She just thinks it was a nice thing to do. Yeah,
34:36
and she's also like, oh, my God, I fucked up.
34:38
I thought that that was Everett. And she goes,
34:40
no, that's you and me, kid. And it's really sweet.
34:43
It's so sweet. Great gift, Meredith. Yeah, great
34:46
gift. And then Sybil says, she says, you did
34:48
good, Mer. That was a good one. And then she's
34:50
like, she feels very uncomfortable about how
34:52
emotional things have suddenly gotten because
34:54
she still doesn't realize. So she's like, I'm
34:56
going to go. Prepare breakfast. The strata. Yeah,
34:59
the strata. And she tries to leave. And Everett's
35:02
like, wait. And she turns around and she goes,
35:04
no, I'm not going to marry you. Oh, that's right.
35:07
And he's like. I wasn't planning on it. He said,
35:09
well, I didn't ask. So jot that down. And a hush
35:12
falls over the room. Yeah. And then there's this
35:15
like screwball comedy part where she. So she's
35:18
like, OK, whatever. Runs into the kitchen to
35:20
get the strata. And then she drops it. Mind you.
35:23
Yeah. So this is the strata is an egg based dish.
35:27
It's raw egg and cheese all like layered together.
35:30
And for some reason, it has to sit like that
35:33
in the fridge overnight. And they've left it.
35:36
Can you do that? Huge. I don't think so. Is that
35:39
food safe? It doesn't feel food safe. That's
35:41
why I was like, especially it's uncovered. That
35:44
was my biggest pet peeve. Yeah. Was it's uncovered,
35:47
just like open pans of egg and cheese and pasta.
35:52
So then she grabs both uncovered pans and is
35:56
holding them balanced precariously on top of
35:59
each other. So dumb. And this is like a house from
36:02
the 90s so it has a big swinging kitchen door
36:05
and she's standing in front of the kitchen door
36:08
and Amy and Sybil come rushing in after her because
36:11
they have hearts and she's just been broken up
36:14
with basically in front of the whole family. Yeah.
36:16
So they come in after her and hit her in the
36:19
back with the door and she goes flying with the
36:22
strata. And it is all over her prim and proper
36:25
little Christmas outfit. And she's on the floor
36:28
and they are cackling immediately, but also feel
36:31
very bad. Yeah. Diane Keaton is having the time
36:34
of her life. Yeah. And Meredith fully crashes
36:36
out. She's like, I'm just as good as any of you.
36:40
Why are you guys so mean to me? And Sybil's at
36:43
the sink like, you're right, you are. You're
36:45
better than us. Like, don't even worry about
36:47
it, sweetheart. It's all fine. You're covered
36:49
in egg, but it's fine. Yeah, you're covered
36:51
in egg. We're just gonna let you say whatever
36:53
you want right now. And then Rachel McAdams slips
36:56
on the egg. And then at some point in this, I'm
36:59
so sorry we missed it, but at some point after
37:01
Everett's like, I'm not gonna marry you. Meredith
37:03
is like, well, good, because I slept with your
37:05
brother. And then Luke Wilson's like, that's
37:08
not true. Yeah, and Luke's like, no we didn't.
37:10
And she's like, I woke up in your bed. And he's
37:12
like, yeah, I slept on the floor. Because I'm
37:14
a respectful young man. Yeah. But then Everett
37:17
is like, why does she think you guys slept together?
37:20
Like, that's really fucked up and gets mad at
37:22
him anyway and chases him around. So the whole
37:24
time the women are in the kitchen covered in
37:26
egg, the boys are flying around the house. Everett
37:30
is chasing Ben. Yeah, trying to fight each other.
37:33
But they're brothers and they love each other.
37:35
So they're not trying very hard. Everyone ends
37:38
up tackling him and then does little slaps. On
37:41
his face, love. I also just want to point out
37:44
that I love that kitchen. It was so big. Yeah,
37:47
stunning kitchen. It had a really big desk in
37:49
there with the iMac, the red iMac. Love the decor
37:54
in that house. Yeah, I would love to live in
37:55
that house. That's all going down. Julie goes
37:58
to the phone and she's like, I would like to
38:00
book a bus ticket back to Bedford, please. And
38:02
that's when the ring falls off her finger. And
38:05
she's like. OK, that feels like a sign. She takes
38:07
the ring. She leaves it with the littlest kid,
38:10
Elizabeth. And she books it to the bus station
38:14
in secret and basically says to Elizabeth to
38:16
tell Everett bye. And then Everett's like, oh,
38:19
my God, I love Julie. And he romcom chases
38:23
after her to the bus station, finds her at the
38:27
bus station. And she's like, no, Everett, I can't.
38:30
And then gets on the bus. It starts to drive
38:34
away. But then the bus stops. He blocks the bus
38:37
driver. He's like running after the bus. But
38:39
the bus stops on its own. And then he like throws
38:41
himself in front of it to stop it. But it's already
38:43
stopped. Yeah. Because she's already getting
38:46
off. And she gets back off. And you kind of think
38:48
she's like going to kiss him. But instead she
38:50
just goes, do you have any plans for New Year's?
38:53
And then I guess they decide that they're going
38:55
to meet back up at New Year's. And that's the
38:58
last we see of Julie for a minute. It is. And
39:01
then back at the house, it's nighttime now. Meredith
39:05
is still covered in egg. Didn't take a shower.
39:07
No. Which is very unlike her, which I think is
39:10
trying to show that she has relaxed further.
39:12
She's okay being covered in slimy egg. Yeah.
39:15
Well, it's probably dried. I think that's worse.
39:17
The smell. Oh my God. And Ben is laying in his
39:21
bed and she comes up to his room and just like
39:23
gets into bed with him. Egg and all. That's right.
39:27
He just like cuddles her, like he doesn't care
39:30
because he's so laid back. And then you realize
39:32
like they're kind of the perfect match. They
39:35
really balance each other out. And he's already
39:37
told her about his dream. But I'll, I'll reiterate
39:40
it now that she's like, tell me about the dream
39:43
you had about me thinking that it's like sexual.
39:46
And he says, you were a little girl and you were
39:49
shoveling snow and I was the snow. And like that's.
39:51
And you were a big red shovel. Yeah, it is kind
39:54
of like he's like a lot. And he's kind of all
39:57
over the place. And she's a lot, but she's one
39:59
thing. She scoops him up. Yeah, she's scooping
40:02
him up. I think they make a lot of sense. And
40:04
that's the calmest you see her. They're just
40:06
like laying in bed together. Yin and yang.
40:08
Yeah. And then we cut to the following year.
40:12
One year later, it's Christmas again. Thad and
40:15
Patrick come in with their newly adopted baby,
40:18
who is cute. So cute. Susanna slash Esme comes
40:22
in with also her new baby that she gave birth
40:24
to. Yeah. The babies are like around the same
40:27
age. Amy comes in with Brad, the paramedic. They're
40:31
together. And she's rocking the ring. And she's
40:33
rocking the ring. She gets the ring, which I
40:36
think was well needed. Good choice. Ben comes
40:40
in with Meredith. They're together. And yeah,
40:43
and Everett is with Julie. And yeah, there's
40:45
no hard feelings because Everett's with Julie.
40:47
And Meredith's signing now. She signs to Thad.
40:51
What does she sign? Do you know? I think she
40:53
signs Merry Christmas. And then I think she says
40:56
something about the baby being beautiful. Everyone
40:58
seems happy to see her. And she's a part of the
41:02
family. And also Julie is there. And Julie's
41:05
a part of the family. The idea of you leaving
41:08
your boyfriend for his brother it's. Yeah look
41:12
I spent all summer watching The Summer I Turned
41:14
Pretty so. Okay i've never seen it but. I'm immune
41:17
at this point. Okay I just think it's so odd to
41:21
have your sibling be with your ex's sibling but
41:25
I guess it's fine if you're both happy in your
41:27
respective situations. I think it just like worked
41:30
out. It just worked out. I think it's like we could
41:32
make it weird or we could just like all be happy.
41:35
You're right. They're all happy. Except Sybil.
41:38
Sybil's dead. Is no longer with us. Yeah. It's
41:40
really sad. Yeah. It's their first Christmas
41:42
without her. Yeah. It's their first Christmas
41:44
without her because they're trying to decorate
41:45
the tree and they can't find everything. I know.
41:48
They're like, where are the ornaments? I'm like,
41:49
oh, Sybil would have known. Yeah. It was really
41:52
sad. Yeah. It's that they can't find the stockings.
41:54
They keep looking for the stockings. No. They
41:56
don't know where they are. That's it. That's
41:59
the end of the movie. Do you see what I mean
42:00
by tonal whiplash? At least we got some holiday
42:03
deaf representation, guys. Yeah, I really enjoyed
42:07
the deaf representation. Truly made my night
42:09
when we watched that. It made me very happy.
42:11
I've been watching a lot of media with deaf people
42:15
in it, so that was nice to see. I rewatched
42:17
Coda, and I watched that infuriating YouTube
42:20
video I told you about. Dude, I don't know why
42:22
you do that to yourself. Big trigger warning
42:25
for language deprivation, but it's called For
42:27
My Deaf Son. And it's about this hearing family
42:30
who has a deaf son. And the kid is struggling.
42:33
And they will not learn sign for him. They will
42:36
not, for the love of God. And it's about his
42:39
journey through speech therapy and things like
42:40
that. Yeah, it's very much a documentary of what
42:43
not to do with your son. And you can tell the
42:46
kid is miserable and the family is miserable
42:48
and they can't understand him. So it was nice
42:50
to watch something that didn't have that, you
42:52
know? And I think it made me especially sad because
42:55
Diane Keaton just died a few weeks ago. First
42:57
Christmas without Diane Keaton. Thanks for listening.
43:00
Thanks for listening. Have a Merry Christmas.
43:03
Hope you have a happy holiday and a wonderful
43:06
new year. And we'll see you in 2026. Bye.