S3E4 • Spirited

Tricia Legat: 0:00
The jingling in the background is the dog.

Jonathan C. Legat: 0:02
I thought it was Christmas sleigh bells.

Tricia Legat: 0:03
Yes, it’s Christmas, sleigh bells and our dog. Okay, so are we doing an episode? Sure.

Jonathan C. Legat: 0:30
Greetings and or salutations, and welcome to Imbibe Cinema. The Imbibe Cinema podcast is brought to you by the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, otherwise known as BWiFF. We are currently accepting submissions for our 2025 festival. We seek independent, character driven films of all length, styles and genres. To learn more, please visit B W I F F dot com. I’m festival operations director and emcee Jonathan C Legat, along with my cohost Cinema Centennial program director.

Tricia Legat: 1:01
Tricia Legat

Jonathan C. Legat: 1:01
As well as our executive producer and the executive director of the film festival, Michael Noens. In this episode, we are going to be discussing our 2024 holiday film pick Spirited. The cocktail we’ll be imbibing is called the Bob Cratchit. I know it’s not Scrooge, but wait for it. Follow my TED Talk for a second. It contains Aviator Gin. Again, this is our.

Tricia Legat: 1:31
Third podcast in a row.

Jonathan C. Legat: 1:32
Third podcast in a row making the call back to Aviator Gin and Ryan Reynolds.

Michael Noens: 1:37
Aviation. Aviation Gin. You know, Ryan Reynolds would be very upset.

Jonathan C. Legat: 1:40
He would, but I’m already at least one glass in, because we’ve just started the podcast.

Michael Noens: 1:45
So you’re officially an aviator now and it’s off of the same bottle, because that’s a big bottle.

Jonathan C. Legat: 1:49
We finished it tonight, oh really, oh, we did.

Michael Noens: 1:51
Nice, cool, I have a whole unopened one still.

Tricia Legat: 1:55
I believe in the rule of threes. So we drank the gin three times and we will reference Ryan Reynolds for the third time, and then we stop. No more. Because after that, it’s stalking.

Michael Noens: 2:09
I thought you were going to go in a different direction. Like you know, on the third time we’ve referenced him three times, then does he actually appear so that would be a Christmas miracle that would be a Christmas miracle and what the uh?

Jonathan C. Legat: 2:23
um, guest celebrity uh appearance. Now, I mean, you know, holiday miracles, let’s, let’s just put it that way um, but this also has a burdo uh and triple sec. So it is essentially uh, it is very reminiscent to me. I make aina gardens first word sound a mulled wine wine for Halloween, so that I can give that out to the adults walking around with trick-or-treaters, because it is a nice warming beverage. So this is a heated wine that we have added gin and triple sec to.

Tricia Legat: 2:58
Right, not that he’s getting the neighborhood trashed, it’s more like we live outside the Chicago area and it’s cold.

Jonathan C. Legat: 3:03
Yeah, and you have to walk a long distance between us and even just the next house over. So I mean, people need something to warm them up. Yeah, the recipe, as well as pictures, are available on our website, imbibecinemacom, and our mobile app. In addition to this podcast, we also offer a variety of short and feature length independent films that you can enjoy for free. Variety of short and feature length independent films that you can enjoy for free. But when you become an In Vibe Cinema member, you get access to the monthly limited releases and the BWIFF virtual experience from our week long festival. To learn more and begin your membership, please visit InVibeCinemacom or download the In Vibe Cinema mobile app, available on the App Store and Google Play.

Tricia Legat: 3:44
So we started with the drink. Yes, it’s a Bob Cratchit drink instead of a Scrooge drink, and I think that is awesome because we can then start with Bob Cratchit in Spirited, played by Octavia Spencer, and she’s amazing she is.

Michael Noens: 4:00
She is amazing in this. I think seeing the movie the second time, because I’ve only seen this twice.

Jonathan C. Legat: 4:06
I saw it, oh, okay.

Michael Noens: 4:08
Yeah, so I only saw it. When it first came out, I loved it, and then, you know, sunday.

Jonathan C. Legat: 4:13
Last night for us.

Michael Noens: 4:14
Perfect, yeah, and I just I really enjoyed the heart that she brings to the story, but like the struggle, the struggle, the inner struggle that she brings to the story, but like the struggle, the struggle, the inner struggle that she has, it’s very modern, you know, between, uh, work life balance, yep, and uh, what I did find really fascinating was, you know, that she has been doing this for so long and still still has held on to some sort of positive force of humanity, you know.

Tricia Legat: 4:48
Yeah, right which.

Michael Noens: 4:49
I think is kind of amazing, because it’s like, and the way that she plays is it’s like this, you know, it’s like just dangling by a thread and she keeps making sure that it’s still intact, just so that way you know she keeps her sanity. Yeah, now I have. I’m a terrible person. I love this movie.

Tricia Legat: 5:03
making sure that it’s still intact, just so, that way you know she keeps her sanity. Yeah, now, there I have. Uh, I’m a terrible person. I love this movie, I really love this movie, but I do have one little thing that I would have tweaked that, I think, would have improved it.

Tricia Legat: 5:16
Um, that slide into um bad moral judgments yeah it’s not, you know, like flipping a switch, it’s not uh, it like uh, scrooge, was, you know this? Angry, hateful, like taking joy out of other people’s misery, kind of uh, portrayal of the bad guy, right? Uh, he is charming from the get-go, and so you can understand why her character would kind of go along with it. But what I would have changed is there’s that scene where you go back to his past and his benevolent boss, mr Figgywig, or whatever in this who fires him because he crosses the line, and it’s a small detail.

Tricia Legat: 6:09
What I would have done is they talk about how he had spread a lie about something right, and it had ruined this person’s life right, and that was crossing the line. I think that is going too far, too fast. I think what it should have been is he had lied about something that caused a scandal. That wasn’t true. But it was about somebody who was already bad right, it was already somebody who was a monster. So if they’re already a bad guy, what harm is it right? That’s an easier line to cross than to get to the part where you’re then going after children, where you know you can cross that like to me, morally, that’s kind of how you could slide, yeah but it’s like you were always.

Jonathan C. Legat: 6:51
He was already making a horrible choice in the past and being totally okay with it yeah, I’m trying to remember if, if they they established, because my brain is suddenly completely fried by wine and gin, um, but uh, yeah, this is the one where where it starts, and he like cues it up.

Michael Noens: 7:11
You know, clint is doing what he does um best, which is, you know, trying to distract um yeah, and then he’s like all right, stop. And he like stops the scene yes the, the guys fade away and then you know he answers his questions basically all right I’ll give you these answers all right now. Shut up and like yeah, watch this scene play out yeah and so it was that scene.

Michael Noens: 7:34
And then he leaves and walks over to um kimberly and, you know, asks her to join him it’s not not like she just decides to do this.

Jonathan C. Legat: 7:47
The boss actually pretty much gives her the nod, like go with him.

Michael Noens: 7:52
It’ll be better for her career-wise Correct.

Tricia Legat: 7:55
My biggest hiccup with the whole story is his decline into becoming unredeemable. And he’s likable from the beginning and I feel like if we just made him just a tad bit unlikable and then you get under the skin and then you’re like, oh, he’s really likable. You know, I don’t know, there’s just something there that I think could have heightened it. But again, it still is an incredible movie and the only reason I think I’m drawn to that is because we are doing a take on the Christmas Carol and because I can see Will Ferrell’s journey clearly. And it’s harder to see Ryan Reynolds’ journey, his change from being unredeemable to redeemable Because he’s always likable.

Michael Noens: 8:46
I feel like Ryan Reynolds plays this character a lot. And it’s somebody that if you were there with him you wouldn’t like him. But because you’re watching a movie you know you find him funny.

Jonathan C. Legat: 9:01
Like him as Deadpool is a prime example.

Tricia Legat: 9:04
He uses humor and wit, right, no, but he uses humor and wit to deflect and in fact to attack yes.

Michael Noens: 9:14
So I don’t really find him likable, but it’s his. It’s the Ryan Reynolds charisma that he brings to it.

Tricia Legat: 9:21
Right, he’s charming, yes, and Scrooge typically isn’t charming, but that’s another thing, that’s.

Tricia Legat: 9:31
That’s one of the things that I think really makes this movie kind of um of the times and uh and uh scary in its own way is how, uh, social media and misinformation and mistruths and the outright lying. Of course, I also just watched last night Buy Now the Shopping Conspiracy documentary on Netflix, which but I mean just the incredible amount of psychology that goes into marketing and getting people to believe one thing or another, and how that can come at such a great a cost and how everybody can blame someone else for it that nobody is actually, you know, held accountable, right In today’s society. Well, it’s, you know, it’s the company, it’s not the person, it’s, it’s the, it’s the. Or maybe you shouldn’t believe everything you read, or blah, blah, blah. But again, maybe we should, I don’t know, tell the truth. And the fact that he is kind of the master of lies and misinformation and he’s so charming is, well, that’s kind of very villainous, right, yeah, yeah, I mean, you’re not wrong. My tangent over.

Jonathan C. Legat: 11:07
I mean I’ll call out, as you lovingly pointed out, when it comes to like corporations and whatnot, just how he manages to spin the room of Christmas tree growers into a frenzy by you know, making them feel like they are the patriotic you know lifeblood of it, yeah. And letting that self-righteousness, and then just villainizing the others, continue to rip this nation that we love apart.

Tricia Legat: 11:42
By buying plastic trees.

Tricia Legat: 11:43
Yeah, by terrifying, that is, and the fact that you could do that well, and any ramifications right and how it is done and how, like we have these, uh, social media wars or, um, just in general, we will, uh, as a society, get divided over something and how much and the creepy thing is well, how much of it might have been manufactured just to in to incite people and and what?

Tricia Legat: 12:09
Uh, he says it’s so scary, is he’s like it’s not enough to say this is why we’re right. You know, we’re bringing back christmas. That’s the name of the song which is one of the like my favorites in the in this, in a movie filled of amazing songs, um, the bringing back christmas song about, like, how we’re bringing back nostalgia and what Christmas should be and how, like this is a point of pride. But it’s more than that. You have to make them hate not only the producers of your opposition, your competitors. You have to hate the consumers of those products, and that hatred is what’s going to make that righteousness, is going to make profit and it’s like, oh, this is so gross, but I’ve seen it.

Michael Noens: 12:54
Yeah, and to the film’s credit, specifically with that song. What I think is so amazing is even on the first viewing you get that so black and white, how clear that point is made in such a fun, happy way, and yet you’re internally conflicted going oh, this guy, this fucking guy, and whether he believes any of that or not, it doesn’t matter.

Jonathan C. Legat: 13:24
It doesn’t matter because all he’s doing is whipping the people who are paying him into a frenzy so that they can help him smash and destroy the people that are not paying him and you know what his character reminds me of.

Tricia Legat: 13:37
Uh, thank you for smoking aaron eckhart.

Michael Noens: 13:40
Aaron, yes, thank you, uh, and he has this whole spiel.

Tricia Legat: 13:42
But I was like it’s not about proving that I’m right, that’s never how you work, how you uh debate, it’s just proving you wrong. I, that’s all I have to do. I have to poke a hole in your argument. I never have to make my own, I just have to make you look bad and that’s like the key.

Michael Noens: 13:59
And it’s scary yeah, they’re uh an unlikely pairing.

Jonathan C. Legat: 14:04
Thank you for smoking and spirited I mean, you know, one’s a musical comedy, one’s not, uh, it’s a musical.

Tricia Legat: 14:13
Yeah, it’s a comedy question mark.

Michael Noens: 14:14
Yeah, that should be a genre comedy just like, okay, flashback, uh uh block.

Tricia Legat: 14:22
Do you remember going into a rental facility? And if you do, wow.

Jonathan C. Legat: 14:26
Rental facility. Holy hell, robot. Yeah, I was about to say I’m like I think you’ve managed to date it even worse somehow they’re going to figure out that Trisha’s actually.

Tricia Legat: 14:38
AI. Okay, you go back in time. Now. This is only a very few people left alive, remember this. But um, jesus christ, you go in and you’re like I’m looking for this movie and it’s like I know it’s. It’s a drama and you’d find it in the comedy section after you search the dramas. And then you’re like I give up on this movie and I’m gonna go over here and like why is it over here? It makes no sense. And it’s like there are some movies they just couldn’t figure out, like Forrest Gump.

Michael Noens: 15:06
You could find it in different locations and it’s like well, I blame this on the Golden Globes, where it’s like best musical or comedy and you’re like and even this year there are a few where I was like. Yeah, why is that?

Tricia Legat: 15:19
a comedy show show don’t get me wrong bear was good. I liked the bear. Not a comedy, it’s not true. Not a comedy, yeah, but I mean yeah to john’s point. Um, if christoph waltz, who I would say is the scariest villain there ever was, made me laugh so many times, but it also made me more terrified of him yes, I, I would not want to like, and it’s just because of his character.

Jonathan C. Legat: 15:41
I mean like I would not want to like and it’s just because of his character. I mean like I would not want to encounter him in a dark alley and I’m sure he might be a lovely man, but no Inglorious Bastards, no.

Tricia Legat: 15:58
No.

Jonathan C. Legat: 15:59
No Pound on subscribe. I would not want to be there.

Tricia Legat: 16:02
Do you mean hashtag, pound?

Michael Noens: 16:06
Well, it’s the pound symbol. Yes, I know, but I like pound pound unsubscribe.

Jonathan C. Legat: 16:11
Would you rather I say octothorpe, also a pound symbol alright, so scrabble guys.

Tricia Legat: 16:18
Alright, so, moving back to the film, what? Where were we? What were we talking about?

Jonathan C. Legat: 16:23
what haven’t we been talking about? This has been a smorgasbord, so this is obviously a to the film. Where were we? What were we talking about? What haven’t we been talking about? This has been a smorgasbord, you’re right. So this is obviously a new retelling of the Dickens classic A Crispus Carol.

Tricia Legat: 16:37
What does Will Ferrell say in the Good Afternoon Song? Kiss my Dickens son Kiss my Dickens son yeah.

Jonathan C. Legat: 16:48
I mean, he’s got some big dickens energy, um, uh, but I mean, you know, I I love that. You know, uh, ryan reynolds calls out. You mean, like you know, the, the bill murray, um, the, the fact that they essentially call out all of the films that we had watched growing up, and I believe that we have said this previously possibly in another Christmas, one, but your favorite incarnation of the Christmas Carol. Yep Muppets Christmas Carol.

Michael Noens: 17:16
Oh yeah, we talked about it last week Yep. Yeah, Was it last week? I think it was last week and I it hit the cutting room floor. Oh but yes, we did talk about it also in jacob episode jacob marley in this uh film is uh.

Tricia Legat: 17:31
I think he’s really the representative that gives you. He gives you that whole, like charles dickens feel yes he is from that era. It doesn’t seem like he’s changed much.

Jonathan C. Legat: 17:40
Yep patrick page, and one of the things that I actually want to understand about this this, this telling of it. You know Scrooge. For those who have not watched this movie, please watch this movie. Drink the drink that we are drinking, enjoy the movie, enjoy the drink and then come listen to us, because we kind of spoil things. Sure do. Will Ferrell, who plays the ghost of Christmas Present, was an unredeemable. He was, in fact, scrooge. And they talk about the fact that, okay, so you can retire and go back to Earth and live out your days. Now, what I find fascinating about this is, if we go with the original Dickens story, Scrooge knew Marley in life, that they were partners. Why is it that Marley dies and becomes this entity who now has three ghosts who go and do this? And then now this is like essentially a corporation, that they do this every year. They pick a being whom they need to haunt and do this, and my personal favorite is Dolly Parton is on the wall.

Jonathan C. Legat: 19:02
Oh my God, that was so hard that they they’re the reason. Thank you that Dolly Parton is the amazing humanitarian that she is. We love you, dolly.

Tricia Legat: 19:11
The national treasure.

Jonathan C. Legat: 19:13
Yes, the absolute national treasure that is Dolly Parton. But so you know. But why is it that Marley-.

Tricia Legat: 19:19
Don’t forget, they save Karen. That’s how we open the movie. Yes, they save a Karen. They save a Karen, save a Karen.

Jonathan C. Legat: 19:24
Hashtag save a Karen.

Tricia Legat: 19:26
Octothorpe.

Jonathan C. Legat: 19:27
Octothorpe. Save a Karen Well played. But why is it that Will Ferrell has an option to retire and go back to Earth? He was in the mail room, essentially, I think. Oh, okay, I know, we have the real, I know Trish, yes.

Tricia Legat: 19:47
Because Marley explains in Christmas Carol the chains he forged in life or the ones that he carries in death. When he pretty much says I was like really, really bad and you’re on your way, he deliberately shuts down a mine so that all the people that work there will be too broke to pay their mortgage.

Jonathan C. Legat: 20:09
So he can like- Buy those houses at really cheap.

Tricia Legat: 20:13
Right, and he can explain all this to a small child begging for his father’s job and you’re like, wow, that is evil. Like before I always knew Scrooge was bad, but damn.

Michael Noens: 20:22
Right, Even Clint is like yikes, that is cold.

Jonathan C. Legat: 20:26
Yeah, and so did you manage to stay, you know good, for the rest of your life, or was it only three and a half weeks? Yeah, there was. The leading cause of death of that period was called January.

Tricia Legat: 20:41
Yes, but then yeah, there’s a lot of back and forth about today versus 200 years ago and the indoor plumbing and all the other things that have changed. How like holding hands was third base back then.

Jonathan C. Legat: 20:53
Yeah, Can I? Can I take a shower every month? Look out New York. I’m going to take a shower every month.

Michael Noens: 21:00
Look out New York. I’m going to take a shower every month. Yeah, one of the moments in the movie, also relating to the Dickens story, that really made me laugh out loud was when he’s trying to remember Tiny Tim’s name. Yes, that’s right.

Tricia Legat: 21:14
Little Larry, super Small Steve, yep, super Small Steve, micro Mike yeah.

Michael Noens: 21:20
It’s one of those where you’re like was this like multiple takes?

Jonathan C. Legat: 21:24
and just coming up with whatever, and you can only imagine your objective is it’s Tiny.

Michael Noens: 21:30
Tim. That’s Ryan Reynolds’ objective. It’s Tiny Tim and Will Ferrell is like it’s any other name than that.

Jonathan C. Legat: 21:36
Which could you imagine being one of the background artists in that elevator? Oh, my god, how many takes were ruined you have to.

Michael Noens: 21:44
You have to be like a background artist. That’s like I.

Jonathan C. Legat: 21:47
I don’t break you either have to be a background artist that says I don’t break, or you have to be listening to like death metal in like earbuds, uh, and and just not know, like at 11. Because you’re deaf, right, right.

Tricia Legat: 22:04
Okay, so All right. One of my favorite parts of this movie that I’m very excited that we get to talk about this movie in regards to filmmaking in general, is the choreographer. Regards to uh, filmmaking in general, is the choreographer?

Tricia Legat: 22:24
um, because the incredible amount of uh, they go all out yes for the dancing in every number, but it’s like every number one ups the next in going above and beyond. They’re all like broadway show stopping ridiculous, incredible numbers. And then, uh, I had to look up, because not just the special effects, like the stuff they do with the flashlights, the stuff they do with the water, the stuff they do with the uh, acrobatic- people.

Michael Noens: 22:50
There’s like this whole thing where they’re dancers on like pogo sticks at the very, very end the other thing, uh, with the choreography that I particularly enjoyed. Uh, the use of tap. There’s a lot of tap in this, and even the call out to tap after a good afternoon is just so funny. You know like it’s such an expressive medium.

Tricia Legat: 23:11
Oh yes, well, no, and the fact that they did they like, they took tap, they trained to be in this film. But it’s more than the effort uh that they uh put in the and by they I mean the leads uh put into the dancing.

Tricia Legat: 23:26
It’s the incredible amount of uh dancers yes, in the film and I believe, in looking up uh uh chloe’s um background, she is, like in like an acclaimed, like world-renowned tap dancer, but but she’s also other things. She’s got a pretty diverse background as far as, like, directing, producing, like she’s got other credits. This was just like I have to look up this person because they have like I’m now a huge fan and need to see more now a huge fan and need to see more.

Michael Noens: 24:03
Well, and it’s, it’s, it’s, um, it’s also, I think, uh, a compliment, I mean to the whole production team, because I think that, uh, specifically the way that they did all of the cinematography because you know, like like old classic Hollywood, where we like back off and we just we let the choreography tell the story Um, like you would see it on stage, and I feel like there’s a lot of musicals where we get really close and we’re only seeing bits and pieces and so you can’t see the big picture, except for those specific shots that you see the big picture, because it’s like, oh, this was a really cool movement or this was a really cool thing.

Michael Noens: 24:38
You know, it’s like they’re thinking like filmmakers, not like filmmakers Establish yeah.

Tricia Legat: 24:41
And I love that they did this, where we got to see these incredible dance numbers. And then they also said, when I read up about Chloe, was that for this film the dancers ranged in age from children. Children to like in the 70s, in people’s 70s. Like it was a very diverse dancing crew. Like they’re from all over and all different ages and shapes and sizes, and it made more for the realism of it that everybody doesn’t look like a dancer.

Michael Noens: 25:17
Right.

Tricia Legat: 25:17
Straight off from like your stereotype of what dancers look like. One of my favorites is that the training crew like I guess they’re like newbies or whatnot to working in the afterlife and they have like some sort of I don’t know supervisor that guides them around.

Michael Noens: 25:35
They’re like on a tour the entire time and in the beginning.

Tricia Legat: 25:38
In the beginning it’s like, oh, my God, god, why are we? Why, what are they doing? Oh, it’s a musical. The afterlife it’s. It’s a musical. We just call it out right away. And uh, and one of them, uh, he’s, he’s like, oh, I’m not gonna, I’m not, I’m not gonna do in the end you don’t dance, no. And then in the next big dance number, he’s in the center and he’s, he’s killing it. And after that, like, you’ll find him dancing and it’s great. No, you didn’t see that.

Jonathan C. Legat: 26:04
No, oh yeah, watch it again. I must have missed him, actually, because I thought he just continued just like no.

Michael Noens: 26:11
It’s during the course of the year when they’re doing like. At least that’s when I remember noticing him.

Jonathan C. Legat: 26:16
Right, it’s during, like that montage where we’re going month to month to month, oh, and they’re planning how to haunt him. Yes, Okay. I’ll have to rewatch.

Tricia Legat: 26:24
No, what’s also great about that is like the montage of them doing their research, Like it’s a John Oliver, Like we have to do all our research before we can haunt you. We have to know everything and it’s you know, the big board with all the pictures and the lines. But then at the same time we have tap dancers that are practicing at all times and their tapping is getting more elaborate because we’re doing more research.

Jonathan C. Legat: 26:47
Awesome. We are going to take a few minutes here to fill our glasses and get ready to imbibe more after this.

Jonathan C. Legat: 27:14
I’m Jonathan C. Legat and I am here along with Michael Noens and Tricia Legat, and we are discussing Spirited, Enjoying this podcast? Please subscribe and or follow us on all of your favorite podcast providers to get the new episodes as soon as we release them each week. Rate and leave us a review to help the show reach that larger audience. And you can also follow Imbibe Cinema on Facebook, Instagram and the Threads.

Michael Noens: 28:16
Because it’s no longer the Twitters, it’s the Threads.

Jonathan C. Legat: 28:19
Yes, Got it. Also, you can now send us a text Look for the link to text us in our show notes, and you can send us a comment or a question and we will try to make some time after the break to address those texts which we have received from the previous week, received from the previous week. So, uh, during the break, we we lovingly pointed out and or realized, uh, that this is the first musical with which we have uh, um, and, and I will state that that is actually interesting to me, only in my mind. It is interesting to me, and yet it’s not interesting to me the fact that, I mean, technically, there’s not going to be a lot of independent film musicals, let alone major motion picture films, musicals. But we, given our backgrounds in theatricus, theater, Theatrics Shh.

Michael Noens: 29:11
How’s that Shh?

Jonathan C. Legat: 29:12
All right, given our background in theater and whatnot. I mean I love musicals in the sense that what a wonderful world. Bad guys have bad things happen to them. For the most part, everything ends up the way that it should, oh yeah right, except for South Pacific and Carousel.

Tricia Legat: 29:35
Oh yeah, right, good things happen, except for South Pacific and Carousel, and wait.

Michael Noens: 29:39
That was a dark era.

Jonathan C. Legat: 29:40
What other ones? Sumitag? Very dark era in theatrics.

Tricia Legat: 29:45
Yeah, right, you sound like. What is the name of the musical television show you?

Jonathan C. Legat: 29:50
know the.

Tricia Legat: 29:51
Apple one Schmigadoon, Schmigadoon, Schmigadoon. We’re like in season two.

Jonathan C. Legat: 29:59
They’re like all the dark musicals where it’s like nobody ends happily ever after Correct, and yes, what a great show that was. Oh, it’s a great show, oh, so good.

Tricia Legat: 30:05
But this, as far as musicals go, is very upbeat Even in its scariness, huge musical numbers. There are one or two softer kind of ballad type songs. Right, there are one or two um, softer kind of ballad type songs, Right, Uh, but for the most part some really uh, energy filled, uh joyous yes Numbers, Um, and they rank them in Collider.

Michael Noens: 30:33
Yeah, uh, before we do those, I’m just curious, cause I think it would be interesting to see how they measure up Um, um. Can you guys identify what your favorite song was from it, because then we can see where it ranks.

Jonathan C. Legat: 30:46
Oh okay, so we’re saying favorite song is in the song itself or including choreography, because I know that there’s two that were like.

Michael Noens: 30:55
I think you have to do all of the weighing yourself.

Tricia Legat: 30:59
Oh, yep, yes on your own time.

Jonathan C. Legat: 31:02
On your own time. So I mean my, I think, visually favorite was Unredeemable Visually. I say that because the choreography utilized flashlights in a way that it just looked like lasers and whatnot. It was on people’s arms, and how they managed to do that, I’d say from the if you’re saying the most toe-tapping e, uh, I would say that the number one is probably going to be good afternoon where I really loved bringing back christmas as far as uh, the tune with uh and uh and choreography was really good, yes, and what they did with the tables, yes, how they utilize the tables in several different ways was incredible, but then, as far as like the visual was a little reference to me um uh for uh uh.

Tricia Legat: 32:00
Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones, because stay with me.

Jonathan C. Legat: 32:05
Follow her TED talk.

Tricia Legat: 32:06
Okay, so Ripple is a cut song. So you see it at the end in the credits and I think visually it’s incredible. And they use the water in that with the dancing. That is just amazing and that is just a great, great number. However, because it is a cut song in the film, there is a little bit of it in the beginning and then there’s a little bit of it like of the chorus that kind of shows up a little bit.

Tricia Legat: 32:34
that is not cut so that it indicates there is a number, but we’ve cut like, but it doesn’t feel like there’s a hole or anything. The editing is done very very well, yes but it it’s that in the beginning, uh where uh will ferrell character president, yes, present is arguing with marley about taking out who we take on this year.

Tricia Legat: 32:58
Who’s who’s going to be the one we redeem? And he wants clint. And uh, marley’s against it because he’s unredeemable and we can’t spend all his effort to turn somebody and change somebody. That is somebody that can’t change and it’s a waste of time and resources. So scrooge decides he’s going to change marley’s mind by singing to him and marley hates all, all the singing all the singing.

Tricia Legat: 33:24
And so he he like, just starts just a little bit. And he’s like, if I say yes, will you stop singing? And he’s like, yes, and that was the end of it. And it to me it reminds me of like the big uh fight in indiana jones, where it just it was supposed to be this giant choreographed scene of a fight and instead he just pulls out a gun and shoots him because he was sick.

Tricia Legat: 33:45
Harrison ford had a stomach bug and he couldn’t do it, and so, rather than shoot it, they just had him shoot the guy, and it was brilliant, it was so funny and it was slow. Yeah, it was such a twist, but to me it’s like it’s this build-up for something that doesn’t happen, and because it doesn’t happen, it it’s really funny. Yes, and then, but we’re not denied it because we get it in the credits and it is this incredible number.

Michael Noens: 34:10
Yeah, so that’s and that’s nice that they did that where they found a way to still include the song in the credits and actually really keep the audience, you know, there to see something they hadn’t yet seen. Yeah, throughout the credits, instead of just like a, a reprise and that’s not as they argue in the movie.

Tricia Legat: 34:30
Is it a reprise, right? And we all wonder?

Michael Noens: 34:33
so, yeah, mine is um, I was, I was back and forth between good afternoon, um, but I think I’m going to go with do a little good okay um, that’s the big shows, that’s a big number at the end and it’s, it’s um, I mean it is just, it lives up to like the big climactic song. It is, um, there’s a lot going on. There’s. I mean you have basically everybody coming in off off the street of new york, um, dancing the streets. You got snow, you got people are dancing up on the scaffolding. Uh, great use of tap too. Um, they’re um, the the pogo stick dancers.

Michael Noens: 35:12
I mean like it was, yeah, and I, I, I enjoyed, thematically and story-wise, what was happening throughout that song. I know, like I know people who don’t like musicals because they feel like the plot not plot, but story is going and then all of a sudden we get to a song and it’s like we pause for five minutes so we can sing about that moment and then move on. And I think that is an oversimplification of musicals. There’s lots of musicals that tell the story throughout the song and I felt like, yes, there are moments where we do that in this movie, but there are definite moments where we’re revealing throughout the entire song.

Jonathan C. Legat: 35:52
Correct, right, I was going to say the director for the, the, the musical that I was just cast in, uh uh, talked about the sheer fact that there there comes a point in a musical and as long as the musical is written well, it does make sense that simple words do not convey the meaning or what is going on at that moment, and the only way to convey that is through this song.

Tricia Legat: 36:19
Right, and I think Schmigadoon does an amazing job of explaining that. When you get too emotional to speak, you have to sing. And when you’re too emotional to sing, you have to dance. And he’s like okay. So when you get full circle, like if you’re too emotional to dance, can we talk again?

Michael Noens: 36:37
It’s true, it’s funny.

Jonathan C. Legat: 36:39
I want to give one special call out to that Christmas morning feeling. I love these instances where productions do this. I want to say that Bring it On, did something similar. That Christmas morning feeling is the curtain call. Yeah, and call it’s. You know as essentially the fact that they have the foresight to, um, you know, each day, as they’re wrapping a set, have a particular song play and let the the, the actors, in the makeup or or scene or camera angle that they’re in, do this song is just fascinating to me because you’re able to compile this and edit it all together. At the end, the curtain call is everybody’s taking their bows, essentially, and just what a wonderful thing that is to see.

Tricia Legat: 37:37
My favorite part is when we turn from the backstage crew, the, uh, the backstage crew which is really like the people that are doing like the uh uh scourging staff. I should say the bad, the the scourging staff to the actual crew for the film. For the film where you switch from that and that I love that the whole bit where, uh, when he, when they’re haunting, they have like cue up this scene, cue up this scene, or the transitions. We have a whole team. They work really hard on these transitions.

Jonathan C. Legat: 38:12
Yeah, couldn’t you have just walked me over here? No, no, no.

Tricia Legat: 38:16
You understand, and then like when he will do something that’s not on the schedule, and it’s like no, I need to call out this scene. They’re like but we, I, I know and you have, you see the, the people like pulling the the walls and uh and and stuff in to like and it’s like thanks, bob so, uh, yeah, trisha, now that we’ve done that, like what is colliders called out?

Michael Noens: 38:40
oh, yes, okay, sorry because I interrupted you.

Tricia Legat: 38:43
No, no, no, so they had ranking 10 songs. Ah, my two were in the bottom. What yeah?

Jonathan C. Legat: 38:53
Oh really.

Tricia Legat: 38:53
Yeah.

Jonathan C. Legat: 38:55
Bottom five.

Tricia Legat: 38:56
Yeah, so nine was Ripple. Okay, bringing Back Christmas was eight. Those were my two.

Michael Noens: 39:03
Yeah, those are way too low on the list.

Tricia Legat: 39:05
And the View From here.

Michael Noens: 39:08
That’s a good one.

Jonathan C. Legat: 39:09
Okay, Do A.

Tricia Legat: 39:10
Little Good was number three.

Michael Noens: 39:11
Oh okay.

Tricia Legat: 39:13
And Good Afternoon was number one.

Jonathan C. Legat: 39:15
See, okay, called it. Yeah, called my shot, called your shot, uh-huh.

Michael Noens: 39:20
Wait, and what was? There was one other one.

Tricia Legat: 39:26
It was wait. And when, what was? There was one other, one, number two, what was an and what was unredeemable uh, unredeemable was six, okay, oh, so that’s in the bottom.

Jonathan C. Legat: 39:30
Five also in the bottom, yeah yeah, but look at those flashlights yeah, no, the whole flashlight thing and the fact that they were each, yeah, independently, with each hand, turn on and off, just cover it made me think of.

Michael Noens: 39:43
it made me think of uh, that whole sequence, for whatever reason, just brought me to Barbie. Oh yeah, you know, I just I think a lot of this could be brought to Barbie because of how much realistic it’s.

Tricia Legat: 39:59
not green screen, all of it is everybody’s there in person.

Michael Noens: 40:03
It’s like an old Hollywood musical. No, all of it is everybody’s there in person. It’s like it’s like an old hollywood musical the. The scale of it is huge and it’s all there yeah, all there on the soundstage making these practical effects happen yep you know, maybe enhancing them later in post, but like we’re really there doing that, um yeah uh, yeah, so people can change and and, and.

Michael Noens: 40:29
So let’s, let’s see if the critics agree yeah, or if we can change these critics minds yes, because we’re only going to talk about the bad ones yeah so this movie does have a 70 percent um only which is yeah it’s actually surprising good um, but yeah, there there are a lot of um naysayers on um yeah scrooges uh. Alternate ending says the yep, that’s okay, that is the name of the uh publication. Alternate ending summarizes the film, um, as a horrifically bloated 127 minutes. They don’t like musicals. Wow, yeah, probably.

Jonathan C. Legat: 41:13
That’s probably what it comes down to my boss maybe watch this again, this is one of those instances where, like I, I appreciate what the the film did in retelling a story that we have seen over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, in a way that is not, uh, an active retelling. It is even a continuation of, and modernizing it in a way that is taking into account social media and, uh, trolls and all these other kinds of I. You’re bloated.

Michael Noens: 41:54
Arts Atlanta or arts ATL um says. Now I’m not sure if this is, uh, really a criticism or a compliment. It’s a big, obnoxious and has, in parentheses, shutter a lot of musical numbers delivered with outrageously enthusiastic choreography.

Tricia Legat: 42:17
Oh right, so it’s a musical. I feel like these people don’t like musicals.

Michael Noens: 42:22
Yeah, it is obnoxious, it’s supposed to be. Yeah, it has musical numbers that are delivered with outrageously enthusiastic choreography. Where’s the problem?

Jonathan C. Legat: 42:33
No Other than somebody who is a cinephile, who does not believe that musical theater either exists or should exist in film. It is a medium that still manages to tell the story in a compelling fashion, and I think that all of the songs speak for themselves and are wonderfully choreographed and extremely well written to keep the audience engaged.

Michael Noens: 43:00
Tilt Magazine. So this is just slightly different. Tilt Magazine summarizes their review, a colossal dud one, tragically short on laughs and unable to do anything interesting or constructive with its source material okay.

Tricia Legat: 43:16
So this is, uh, somebody who didn’t actually watch the film and had to write a criticism. You couldn’t totally tell it’s like um, I have to do my homework but I’m just gonna fudge it. So in the civil war we fought the germans and you know like they? Just no, I don’t think, I don’t believe they watched the movie well, and if they watched it by themselves at home, like this? Is on a plane on their cell phone this is.

Michael Noens: 43:39
this is I will actually say say this because I I think it did have a relatively limited release in theaters and this was like a theater movie.

Tricia Legat: 43:48
Yeah.

Michael Noens: 43:48
Like 100%. Oh yeah, A big musical like this is meant to be seen on a big screen, I mean. I enjoyed the hell out of it at home, but if you are watching this at home by yourself, it’s just. I could understand it not being as thrilling because you don’t have that energy, and we’ve talked about that in the past there you have it.

Tricia Legat: 44:09
Any last thoughts? I hope everyone else liked it. I mean, it’s a great movie, it’s a feel-good movie, and Christmas should be about feel-good movies sometimes.

Michael Noens: 44:20
Yes, yeah, not horror movies. What is with the horror movie trend on Christmas Day? We’re just trying to normalize the fear.

Jonathan C. Legat: 44:28
Oh, oh, oh. We greatly appreciate our listeners Hashtag, crambo, yeah shit. We greatly appreciate all of our listeners for choosing this podcast supporting independent films and the blue whiskey independent film festival. This is our last episode for this fiscal year, uh, but we’ll be back on January 8th with another episode. So I am Jonathan C Leggett and thanks for imbibing with us. Happy holidays, cheers. Thank you.