Four Favorites: Joe Dante and Josh Olson on the Christmas Movies that Made Us

It’s a Christmas crossover episode with Joe Dante and Josh Olson from The Movies that Made Me podcast, and Gemma and Slim from The Letterboxd Show! Four hosts, four festive favorites: We’re No Angels; Scrooge; National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation; and Elf (with a side of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer). Also: Joe’s reaction to our Gremlins Easter egg, the odious proliferation of Christmas movies, cinema’s secret weapon Alastair Sim, the Scrooge blooper you can’t unsee, Chevy Chase’s superciliousness, Will Ferrell’s innocence, Humphrey Bogart’s comedy, the gift to cinema that was Dick Miller, what happened to Billy’s mom in an earlier Gremlins script, and the best 2021 films Josh and Joe have seen. Note: This is the last episode for 2021—we’ll be back after a short break with a special Year in Review show.

Links
The Letterboxd list of films mentioned in this episode; Julie’s Neverending Christmas list; lists mentioned: the gdcu (good dads cinematic universe); movies my dad likes more than he likes me; An Overly-Friendly Religious Extremist etc; Top 250 Horror; reviews of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation by russman and Sean Fennessey; review of We’re No Angels by Anthony Herrera; review of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Marna Larsen.

Credits
This episode was recorded in Los Angeles, Pennsylvania and Auckland, and edited by Slim. Facts by Jack. Booker: Linda Moulton. Transcript by Sophie Shin. Theme: ‘Vampiros Dancoteque’ by Moniker.