‘The Parent Trap’, ‘The Princess Switch: Switched Again’, and ‘Elf’ make up a fantastical festive feast in this episode with Susie Youssef and Alexei Toliopoulos.
‘The Parent Trap’, ‘The Princess Switch: Switched Again’, and ‘Elf’ make up a fantastical festive feast of body-swaps, character kerfuffles, and holiday hullabaloos.
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Alexei Toliopoulos:
The Parent Trap stars Lindsay Lohan and, hang on a tick, Lindsay Lohan?
Susie Youssef:
It's a massive role for a new actor.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
But also like one of the best child performances of all time.
Susie Youssef:
Genuinely.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's probably the top two child performances of all the time.
Susie Youssef:
She gets both of them.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
She gets the top two.
Susie Youssef:
Hello, and welcome to The Big Film Buffet.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I'm the big film buff Alexei Toliopoulos, and I would consider myself a great film lover.
Susie Youssef:
And I'm Susie Youssef, and I would consider myself a great lover of films.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
But you don't need to be a big film buff ...
Susie Youssef:
Or a great lover.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
To savour the delights of this show.
Susie Youssef:
Each episode we'll be sharing with you a three-course feast of movies inspired by this week's Netflix premiere film.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Our feast today begins with a classic startup.
Susie Youssef:
And ends with a dessert of recommendations.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
But first we'll dive into the trailer for our main course, The Princess Switch: Switched Again.
Stacy:
I'm Stacy, and this is Duchess Margaret. We met two years ago and changed each other's lives forever. I married Prince Edward and Margaret dated my friend, Kevin. They tried to make it work, but soon learned long distance is harder than it looks, which brings me back to the old bakery to see how Kevin's doing.
Kevin:
I've moved on.
Stacy:
Really?
Kevin:
Yeah.
Stacy:
Margaret needs us to be there for her.
Margaret:
Stacy, I'm so happy you're here.
Stacy:
There's no way we'd miss your coronation. And I got you a little surprise.
Kevin:
I hope it's okay that we're here.
Stacy:
I know it in my heart. You and Kevin are meant to be.
Margaret:
There's the sugar.
Kevin:
I'll get it. [crosstalk 00:01:35]. [inaudible 00:01:35] you funny?
Speaker 6:
What in the world is going on here?
Margaret:
Antonio, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow morning.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
So, this is a film of two genres, really. Genre number one being a Christmas holiday seasonal film, which usually plays on [inaudible 00:01:50] of feel-good movie with some hi-jinks. And genre number two is a big old swap picture.
Susie Youssef:
The old switcheroo.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
We're talking switcheroos. We're talking about two doppelgangers or twins or strangers trading fricking places and walks of life in some way. Could be for a bet, a holiday, a dare, a magic spell, but at the centre, we've got a good old fashioned life swap.
Susie Youssef:
So, for our starter, we're beginning with a film that is dear to both of us. It is ... The Parent Trap.
Speaker 7:
Why the sudden curiosity about your dad, huh?
Speaker 8:
Mother, you can't avoid the subject forever. At least tell me what he was like.
Speaker 9:
I want to talk to you about my mother.
Speaker 10:
What about your mother?
Speaker 9:
Dad, I'm almost 12. How long do you expect me to buy that story that the store dropped me on your doorstep?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
The parent trap from 1998 stars Lindsay Lohan and hang on a tick, Lindsey Lohan as twins that never knew the other even existed, that meet by chance when their estranged parents send them to the same summer camp, Camp Walden. The reunited sisters concoct a plan to switch lives and eventually bring their parents back together in some kind of parent trap?
Susie Youssef:
Now, you adore this movie. When we started talking about it, you just whipped up that little synopsis yourself?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. I don't think I'd even seen this movie in maybe like 16 years. But I watched this so many times as a kid. It was one of our VHS tapes and probably my most worn out one. And the plot to this movie, every minute of it is just in my head. And I started rewatching it and then it just ... my mind started fast-forwarding. Like, yeah, I know the whole movie. I know the whole movie. This is like the directorial debut of Nancy Meyers, who was a very well-known writer of rom com, stuff like The Father of the Bride, which I think is a movie that you also love.
Susie Youssef:
My favourite.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And she would then go on to have this huge directing career making movies with the most gorgeous kitchens one could ever imagine.
Susie Youssef:
Is that what you remember from Nancy Meyers movies?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, that they have these incredible kitchens. Like you watch them ... go back and watch It's Complicated where Meryl Streep's like living in this gorgeous kitchen.
Susie Youssef:
These are like magazine level kitchens, aren't they?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Can I tell you something? Nancy Meyers has a great Instagram. I follow it. I look at it every day. And she posted a photo of her kitchen once and I went ballistic because her kitchen is like even beyond the Nancy Meyers movie kitchen.
Susie Youssef:
Oh, real life Nancy Meyers' kitchen is better than movie Meyers' kitchen?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. I'm telling you it's the real deal. She has two islands in her kitchen.
Susie Youssef:
Oh my gosh.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
She has two islands that sit parallel to each other.
Susie Youssef:
I did not even know you could dream that big. I have a kitchen island now and I feel like I've graduated to adulthood.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Well, there's a next step. Midlife is when you get two.
Speaker 8:
I just got a little nervous.
Speaker 9:
You're nervous? An 11 year old is cutting my hair!
Speaker 8:
Hey, you sounded just like me.
Speaker 9:
Well, I'm supposed to aren't I? Go on, just do it.
Susie Youssef:
So, this whole switcheroo idea is not a new one. It's been done about a billion times. And the original is Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. This is a novel that he wrote in like the late 1800s. And then there's been a film adaptation every other year. This idea of the rich kids swaps with the poor kid and they have different lives and experiences different universes, Errol Flynn's done one of the movies. Haley Mills did the original Parent Trap. Then we've got Lindsay Lohan. I have to say, I love the 1961 Haley Mills version because Haley Mills and Haley Mills play Susan and Sharon. So, this was a time when people named their characters Susan and Sharon.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
You felt seen.
Susie Youssef:
I felt seen. It really was a wonderful experience for me. I watched it about a hundred thousand times. And then Disney comes out with The Prince and the Pauper, which is Mickey Mouse and the Prince swapping places. And that's another killer combination. They just keep nailing it every single time. But the thing that I love about the 1998 parent trap version with Lindsay Lohan, is this is her first movie. And she smashes it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's incredible, right? Like it's two very distinct characters. And even the technical aspect of the performance of the way they interact with each other, it's like, she's on another level.
Susie Youssef:
And during the camp part of the movie, it's mostly her. This is a massive role for a new actor.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It has to be one of the most astonishing debuts, I'm being honest here and serious, but also one of the best child performances of all time.
Susie Youssef:
Genuinely.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's probably the top two, the top two child performances of all time.
Susie Youssef:
She gets both of them?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
She gets the top two. I'll tell you how much I was truly obsessed with this movie. This is something I don't know if I was prepared to share today.
Susie Youssef:
Are you getting choked up?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I'm getting choked up. This is too much of a reveal, baby. But this actually was my favourite movie when I was seven or eight years old. And I wrote a fan fiction Parent Trap sequel.
Susie Youssef:
Wait, you're in it?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. I was the little younger brother. And it was exactly the same plot somehow. But then like, hang on a tick, we've got a brother now. I think it just reveals so much about my psyche of being both an only child and a parent of ... a child of divorce, that I just wrote this fan fiction. I was like, "Yeah, I've got siblings. And my parents got trapped back together."
Susie Youssef:
Well, this took a turn. I have to do a shout out to Maggie Wheeler who plays Marva Kulp Junior. She is the camp leader at the very beginning. It's not a huge role, but it's a great role. And she's played by Janice from Friends.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I love her. Like I was saying, there's so many films of this like body swap or life swap genre. There's something about this film, I do think it is that Lindsay Lohan performance. I think it really is the top tier.
Susie Youssef:
The best of the best?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I think this is the best of the best of the whole genre.
Susie Youssef:
I think it might have something to do with a very hunky Dennis Quaid as the dad.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh, big time.
Susie Youssef:
I'm just going to put that in there.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. I mean, who's going to disagree with you there? It's probably the best Dennis Quaid's ever been as well.
Susie Youssef:
So, this brings us to the premiere peak of the week. And I don't think you're going to be surprised when you hear that it is part of this swapping genre because the title is The Princess Switch: Switched Again.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
When Duchess Margaret unexpectedly inherits the throne to Montenaro and hits a rough patch with Kevin, it's up to her double Stacy to save the day before a new lookalike, party girl Fiona, foils their plans.
Susie Youssef:
Can I start by saying that I love the fake place names. I love fake place names. Like Montenaro is a smash.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's a smash. And what's the other one in this? Belgravia?
Susie Youssef:
Belgravia.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Absolutely perfect. I love them. The one that I've always loved is another princess movie. The Princess Diaries with Genovia.
Susie Youssef:
Oh, so good.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I reckoned Genovia was a real for maybe my entire childhood.
Susie Youssef:
Well, Geneva is a real place, so maybe it's just a pronunciation thing.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. And they have gorgeous pears there just like in Genovia.
Susie Youssef:
And Julie Andrews is their queen.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, of course. She's my queen too.
Susie Youssef:
My queen too. It is Vanessa Hudgens times three. She plays Stacey DeNovo, Lady Margaret, and cousin Fiona. And I think she's also a producer on this film. So, that is four hats. I also have to do a shout out to Nick Sagar who plays Kevin.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh, we need to talk about Kevin.
Susie Youssef:
We really need to talk about Kevin. He is a bit of a Christmas dish, let me tell you that. In the first film, we get to see him shirtless. I'm very grateful for that. He's a very fit man. But also when it comes to family films, he is nailing it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Absolutely. This guy could play Barack Obama in the movie, an adult movie. He's a very handsome man. I got to tell you, I'm going to be completely honest with you here today, I watch maybe 400 movies a year.
Susie Youssef:
I believe it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's hard not to believe. I'm obsessed with cinema. And this movie that we're reviewing today was maybe the first one that kind of ... I don't know how to say, but blew my mind, I guess, because it's so-
Susie Youssef:
You are lost for words.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I'm at a loss for words because it's so far removed from what I normally watch and I was just kind of trying to play catch up the entire time. I got lost in it.
Susie Youssef:
What was it that blew your mind?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Everything about it. Firstly was definitely Vanessa Hudgens playing three roles. I did not know that was going to happen. I was like, okay, it's a princess switch, we're going to get an English princess, we're going to get an American princess, they're going to switch and it's going to be much like a Parent Trap situation. Little did I know that there was going to be a three way switcheroo in this movie. And I could not believe that Vanessa Hudgens had not one, not two, but three different accents in this movie.
Susie Youssef:
Let's be honest. She had three voices.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I can have three voices.
Susie Youssef:
One of them is [inaudible 00:10:22] her own voice.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Okay. And also I [inaudible 00:10:26] would say that the two princesses also have very similar personality as well.
Susie Youssef:
Quite similar personalities, I would say.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
But when she comes in as Fiona, this cousin, I'd never seen Vanessa Hudgens like this before.
Susie Youssef:
No.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And she's playing this villainess, almost like a Cruella Deville like cousin. And I think it's such a fun change of pace for her. But honestly, because this is a three-way switch, this whole movie felt like a shell game to me where I had no idea, literally, who anyone was playing at a certain point.
Susie Youssef:
Well, it blew my mind as well, but for different reasons, I won't go into all of the reasons. But this is a very specific type of film. And it's got a huge audience, this kind of Christmas movie vibe.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's kind of surprising, right? Vanessa Hudgens I mainly know from High School Musical and Spring Breakers. I never anticipated that she was going to become this brand new queen of Christmas on Netflix. Especially after coming with The Night Before Christmas, now The Princess Switch, now The Princess Switched Again.
Margaret:
Fiona, I'm so elated you can make it.
Fiona:
Oh, you certainly have learned how to throw a party. So, proud of you.
Margaret:
Proceeds from tonight's event go to one of the royal charities. There's an orphanage in particular [inaudible 00:11:30], St. Michaels. We're running a toy drive.
Fiona:
Of course you are, you cute little Mother Teresa.
Susie Youssef:
Which ... I have just discovered this. I have watched both The Princess Switch and Princess Switched Again, you have not seen the original.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I didn't watch the original.
Susie Youssef:
You didn't watch the first one. What do you think the first movie was about?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, I did go in completely blind, but I was able piece together and I think I can kind of retrofit what I think the first movie was.
Susie Youssef:
Okay, tell me.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
So, this is my theory. This is the OG that I'm talking about now. Vanessa Hudgens number one plays a humble American baker. She bakes cakes and she loves to bake
Susie Youssef:
Yes. Specifically, do you know which city?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I think it's Chicago. And I'm guessing ... this is a guess. She's probably newly single or something. So, she's looking for something else out there in the world to fill her heart.
Susie Youssef:
Okay. I don't know if she's newly single, but she's definitely ... there's been a break up.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
There's been a break up?
Susie Youssef:
Yes, yes, yes, yes. That's a tick.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh my God. That's a two tick for me, Susie, please. Give me the two ticks.
Susie Youssef:
All right, yes, I'll give you two ticks.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
So, she's out there looking for something new. This comes across in her life. There's a whole entire baking competition in the country of Belgravia.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah, 100%.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
So, she enters it. And lo and behold, when she arrives at this competition, she sees the princess of Belgravia and she's like, "Hang on a tick. Is this a mirror I'm staring at? Or is this chick look exactly like me?"
Susie Youssef:
Yes.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And then we got a swap into a Princess and the Pauper style life swap.
Susie Youssef:
It's Princess and Pauper-esque but, yes.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Okay. And then from there I'm guessing that the second half of the movie is about the proletariat of Belgravia rising up and then the ensuing revolution that follow the public discovering a foreign US agent had infiltrated their aristocracy posing as a figurehead monarch. Surely the proud people Belgravia would never stand for their leader allowing such treason as a princess switch?
Susie Youssef:
So, you have seen it?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, I think I'm dead on.
Stacy:
If you ask me, this place is in need of some serious Christmas cheer.
Margaret:
You really wouldn't mind lending hand?
Stacy:
Let's deck these halls.
Susie Youssef:
This is a kind of like a mega genre. It's the family fun, seasonal, feel good, romantics hi-jinks, [crosstalk 00:13:43] movie type genre. So, it ticks all of the boxes. It has the sassy kid who knows better than her adult friends. It has transatlantic genetic similarities.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, this is very much like The Parent Trap.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. The sparkle of Christmas and/or another major holiday. It could be Halloween, it could be Easter, it could be Valentine's Day. It also has a romance that's meant to be but can't, but will, but will it? It has a secret handshake or a dance sequence or a cooking competition or a scene that involves a piano that probably has a moment of romance. There's a scene in an airport, a villain or three, there is a royal or a super rich love interest. It has a guardian angel character. It has the discussion of helping orphans or an actual visit to an orphanage. And there's always some big ass dresses. So, this film ticks all them boxes.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
You kind of described like 50 movies that I love watching around Christmas, including stuff like Love Actually. They have that thing and it's like that kind of soft comfortness that you do seek when you've got the stress of the holiday season around, something to unwind with.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. And it makes you feel something immediately.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. You know exactly what's going on. You know the stakes. It raises the stakes a little bit more. You give yourself an idea of what the music is going to be throughout the whole thing. So, I find the idea of Christmas movies fascinating. And this one struck me because I got a bone to pick with this one. The Christmas decorations are so garish in here. And yes, they're the royal family. Of course they've got their money and everything to do it to like the 10th degree and everything to look amazing. But they did something that really disturbs me. They put Christmas decorations in the kitchen, the heart of the home. Now-
Susie Youssef:
This is the bone you have to pick with this film?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
This is it. This is the bone I'm picking because 11 months out of the year, the Christmas decorations are sitting up in the royal attic. They're collecting dust, they're collecting cobwebs, they're collecting rat piss and poop everywhere on them. Rats and stuff is scurrying around. You can't tell me the fricking monarchic country of Belgravia doesn't have a rodent problem. I believe that. There's no way you could tell me that they don't have a rodent problem there.
Susie Youssef:
So, sorry, what's your issue? That they have all these decorations.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
They're sitting there for 11 months of the year.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. And then?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
They're putting them up. They put them in the kitchen. That's very unhygienic, unsanitary to me.
Susie Youssef:
Alexei, it's a royal family. They've probably got some sort of cleaning situation that happens. They probably wiped down all the leaves of holly before they hang them.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Okay. The country of Belgravia has a Rodent problem. I'm sure of it. If they detect that grease in the mistletoe as they put it back up in the attic, you got rodents taking over the kitchen baby and the entire royal castle.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
So, comes down to this, who would and should watch this movie? I'd really say anyone who loves Christmas. It's a great movie just to have on during the holidays, really feel good and light.
Susie Youssef:
There is a very specific type of human who will absolutely adore this movie. Let's just call them Catherine, okay? So, Catherine-
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Be in quotation marks of a Catherine.
Susie Youssef:
She lives for the family fun, the seasonal feel good, romantic hi-jinks, maybe a switcheroo movie, loves these things. Any combination of those genres, Catherine loves them. Catherine is also the name of one of my best friends who I grew up with. She basically is one of those people who has a movie club dedicated to a family feel good theme.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh wow.
Susie Youssef:
She loves it. She's got watching parties. She pretends it's a guilty pleasure, but it's not. There's no guilt.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
She loves it.
Susie Youssef:
She just loves it. It's just straight out of pleasure for her and she would love it. And so, if you are one of those people, if you are a Catherine, you are going to adore this film.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And we celebrate Catherines on this podcast.
Susie Youssef:
We do. No judgement of Catherines. Am I going to the movie club? I'll come after for a drink. But enjoy the movie, Catherine. I'm sure you'll love it.
Susie Youssef:
If you love Christmas, if you love films, if you love movies, if you love motion pictures, whatever it is that you love, you may also love the Big Film Buffet. And if you do, you should follow us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Tell a friend, tell a Catherine, send us your love, because we love you back.
Susie Youssef:
It's that time again. It's our favourite time, when Producer Michael enters the studio to issue us with a challenge. And that challenge is film or movie?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
This is the game we play each week where we are given a motion picture title, and we must discuss and debate whether that is a film, which is?
Susie Youssef:
A piece of cinema, cinematic joy, a revolution, a ... you always do the explanation. Why am I doing it?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I wanted to put it onto you this time. And a movie ...
Susie Youssef:
Which is popcorn, enjoyable, fluff, heaven.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Exactly. What are we placed with today?
Michael Sun:
This is a title to end all switcheroo titles. It is Freaky Friday.
Susie Youssef:
Oh, I love Freaky Friday.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Me two. And I think I got to say, this is a freaky film because it's all about a young woman feeling the experience, the nature and the body as it changes as she takes on the body and form of her mother. She's discovering what her world will eventually become. It is also about a mother who is able to escape back into the body of her youth and remember what it was like to be young. That is some existentialist as heck stuff, if you ask me.
Susie Youssef:
It sounds beautiful. The way you've described it is accurate, and at the same time highly inaccurate as a film. This is totally a movie. First of all, this stars Chad Michael Murray.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh my lord.
Susie Youssef:
I would say a movie star.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I would say TV star.
Susie Youssef:
Okay. Well, that's also fair enough. Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, they are playing a mother and daughter. They're playing Tess and Anna who don't get along. And then there's a freak accident, I think with ... I'm going to say it's at a Chinese restaurant. I'm almost sure that all magic in Hollywood happens at most Chinese restaurants. And they switch bodies. Yes, you are right. Your synopsis is correct Alexei. But this is like ... this is candy coloured fluoro green poster type, mum's going to play guitar on stage at the climax of the film. This is movie. This is ... not that movies are bad, but this is movie, movie, movie.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I'm thinking about more their heads, where their heads are at. And their heads are trying to grapple with the situation that they're in. This idea, it feels very Bergman-esque, of seeing where your life is going and where your life once was, getting stuck in those moments and really getting down to the nitty gritty and seeing where you went wrong, seeing the life flash before your very eyes.
Susie Youssef:
And with that tone of voice, I can be convinced at times. But this is not one of those times, Alexei. This is a $26 million budget film.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And let me tell you, that is not that much money. That is ... Jon Favreau is not going with that kind of stuff. A Pirates of the Caribbean movie's not costing you that much money. This is around the same ballpark that I'm guessing a Scorsese's working with.
Susie Youssef:
Well, would you like to know the box office? Because I don't think you'll be able guess it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I don't want to hear it. It's a film. I don't want to hear it.
Susie Youssef:
Well, I'm going to say it anyway.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I said I don't want to hear it!
Susie Youssef:
It's $160 million.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Okay.
Susie Youssef:
Do you think that that's impressive?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
No, not that. Really. I feel like I'm getting some points made up for me here.
Susie Youssef:
All right, fine. I'm standing by it. The soundtrack is killer in this, the performances are great, but this is a movie, movie, movie, movie.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Movie Michael, what do we say?
Michael Sun:
It's a movie, but I will say that the last three minutes of the movie when it's just Lindsay Lohan performing ultimate onstage and it's like a music video, that is a film.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
That's it. It's broken up into two.
Susie Youssef:
It's a movie whose tail end is a short film.
Michael Sun:
Exactly.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Wow.
Michael Sun:
I mean it makes sense, Chad Michael Murray is not in those last few moments.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Since we're looking at a modern Yuletide classic, for dessert we thought it would be best to serve up some Christmas pud.
Susie Youssef:
Or rather Christmas spaghetti served with candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup made famous in Jon Favreau's Elf.
Speaker 13:
Okay, people. Tomorrow morning, 10:00 AM, Santa's coming to town.
Buddy:
Santa! Oh my God! Santa here? I know him.
Susie Youssef:
Buddy the elf doesn't fit in with other North pole elves, so he travels to New York City to find his real father and spread some Christmas cheer.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Elf is like the film equivalent of Mariah Carey's All I Want of Christmas is You, in that it is the first new entry in the Christmas cannon in generations.
Susie Youssef:
I could not agree with you more. I bloody loved Elf when it came out and I continue to love it to this day.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's like a real tradition now to put on Elf in the lead up to Christmas. I love Will Ferrell as Buddy. It's such a great use of his weirdness, in a childlike, fish out of water fashion. And James Caan from The Godfather. They got the guy from The Godfather to play his grumpy estranged father. Brilliant casting. And he's so funny in this.
Susie Youssef:
So true. And we have to talk about Zooey Deschanel who is the ... I would say she's one of the original pixie dream girls, but she's not a manic pixie dream girl. She's more like a sedate pixie dream girl, which is my favourite type of pixie dream girl.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
She's great in this movie. She's a great love interest. You can believe the weird relationship that she forms with Buddy. And I love those little animated sequences that kind of harken back to those Rankin Bass like classic Christmas special type films. I think Elf is such a great film and it's a must watch every Christmas.
Susie Youssef:
If the only thing you love more than Christmas is a Christmas switcheroo, then you're going to love The Holiday. So, The Holiday not only set around kind of the festive Christmas time, but there is a swap situation that you will love.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It is basically an adult version of The Parent Trap in that is a transatlantic swap and directed by Nancy Meyers.
Susie Youssef:
She loves herself a swap.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
You've got to watch those back-to-back in my opinion. Treat it like a sequel. And if you want more just a straight up switcheroo, we both adore Freaky Friday.
Susie Youssef:
Freaky Friday.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And we said it at the same time. So, we swapped ... we just swapped souls in that moment. And there's also a movie in cinemas I just saw called Freaky. And let me tell you the premise of this film. It is basically Freaky Friday the 13th. It's a horror take on Freaky Friday where the kind of young damsel in distress swaps bodies with the killer. It's very cool.
Susie Youssef:
I'm definitely not going to watch that, but I love that you recommended it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
So, this week on the menu, we started off with the classic, The Parent Trap.
Susie Youssef:
Then our main meal today was The Princess Switch: Switched Again.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And for dessert, we gobbled up on the Christmas spaghetti that is Elf.
Susie Youssef:
There's no way I'm going to top that. I've got to just say goodbye to you right now.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Goodbye, Susie.
Susie Youssef:
Bye Alexei.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
If you want to hear more from me you can check out my podcast Total Reboot, where Cameron James and I talk about reboots, remakes, and ripoffs in cinema.
Susie Youssef:
And if you love a little bit of Alexei Toliopoulos with a side of Susie Youssef, then why not come back next week and listen to Hillbilly Elegy?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
The new film from Ron Howard, starting Glenn Close and Amy Adams.
Susie Youssef:
This episode was written and hosted by Alexei Toliopoulos and myself. My name is Susie Youssef. It was produced by Michael Sun and Anu Hasbold. It was edited by Geoffrey O'Connor and executive produced by Tony Broderick and Melanie Mahony.
Susie Youssef:
The other day I was watching TV and Steel Magnolias came on. And that film ... I could watch it 400 times a year and I would cry 400 times a year.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
One of the biggest weepies.
Susie Youssef:
So good.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
The one that gets me now, it's a Nancy Meyers movie as well, that's how much I love her, is The Intern with Robert De Niro. I reckon I cried seven times when I watched that movie.
Susie Youssef:
What do you mean?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It would just stop and then start and stop and start, my reset with the emotions.
Susie Youssef:
I have seen it and it's quite good, but I don't remember crying at all.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I loved it. There's one great moment where Rene Rousseau and Robert De Niro go on a date and they're like, okay, let's just say 10 sentences to get to know each other. She has just one of my favourite lines ever. She goes like, "Well, I used to be sick, but I'm not anymore." And I'm just like, oh my.
Susie Youssef:
Oh geez. That is a good line.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
She's the best. Nancy Meyers is a God.
Susie Youssef:
I've got to rewatch it.