Falling into Place (Hallmark Channel - 2026)

[00:00:03] This is a Bramble Jam Podcast. Hi, I'm Brian and I love Hallmark Fall Movies. I'm Brian and I like Hallmark Fall Movies. I'm Dan and I despise Hallmark Fall Movies and this is the Deck The Hallmark Podcast. Deck The Hallmark, it's this podcast. My friends host this podcast. We hope you like the Hallmark Podcast.

[00:00:32] How dare you. Yeah, I know. One guy did this. Wow, wow, wow. Hello everybody, how are we? Over there. How are we? Oh, it's brisk outside, the leaves are falling all around us. Sipping on a hot pumpkin spice bevy brand. That's right, that's exactly right Dan. None of that's true. And if you listen, and if you listen real closely, that's the sound of jingle bells. That's the sound of sleigh bells. You know what it is the sound of? Probably is.

[00:01:01] That's the sound of a Hallmark Christmas schedule perhaps coming out this week. That's the rumor. That's the scuttlebutt. That's the scuttlebutt. People are talking that maybe a day or two from now, we might hear of an official schedule. History is any indication. Typically happens. It'll be sometime in the next couple days. And you better believe that we'll be there to cover it. You know we will. Whatever it happens. That's right. Head on over to our YouTube page, we'll be live of course, breaking down what we're seeing. A first look.

[00:01:30] Yeah, even though we kind of got one on Hallmark, my words. I don't want to talk about it. It makes me upset. Yeah, we put all 34 movies on screen. All of them had, basically 31 of them already had a full, a name and cast. And I'm like, we do this already before the preview show. I was so, I didn't want any part of it. You guys are all warmed up then. We're warmed up. We're kicking off the first look. I didn't hear the whole show. I tried to stop. I was just like, yeah, you didn't tune in. I caught the beginning. A little goss.

[00:02:00] To me, I see those things. And until it is officially announced, it doesn't sit in. It's like, anybody can put anything out there. I'm putting it. That's right. I'm calling into question the journalistic integrity. You're telling me sleepy kitty Paul's just put stuff out there. I don't think. When's the last time she's been wrong? I don't think they just put stuff out there. I think that it's possible that information's wrong. When's the last time she's been wrong about a movie? I don't know. I've never gone back and...

[00:02:29] But you would say if sleepy kitty Paul is posted on Blue Sky, it's pretty much as good as happening. Right? But it's not real. Okay. True. All right. Whatever. It's true. It's not real until the press release goes out. It's all speculation. We can all speculate. I can't believe you can talk about Sheila like that. We can all speculate. Sleeping does great work. Amazing. The best of us. But I'm just saying, up until the official announcement comes out, it doesn't enter into my heart. It doesn't enter into your heart.

[00:02:58] Because I can't let myself get excited until it's official. It's got beta blockers. Yeah. That'll get you. Yeah. You guys aren't like that? You don't have... You're not the official. Your body hasn't set up a defense mechanism for Hallmark Christmas Leagues. The way that, first of all, maybe see someone. I don't know. Mental health professional. Someone. But also... They see the whole team, it sounds like. I've been told it's important to guard yourself and protect yourself. To compare it to... And now you're saying it's wrong. To compare it to the bracket release day, Brian. You can't trust them.

[00:03:28] I know most of the teams that are going to be in the NCAA tournament. I don't know who they're going to play and when they're going to play. And that is a very special day. Even if I could guess, a lot of people prognosticate. I don't really read any of those beforehand. That's something a doctor does to you. Right? Yeah. I actually have... I'm due for a prognostic. Yeah. We all are. No, that's not until you turn 40? Is it when you turn 40? 45. You get your prognosis. You get your prognosis. You get your prognosis.

[00:03:57] Yes. You do all of it. Correct. Colonoscopy, endoscopy, prognostication. Yes. All of it. All of it. All in one place? I don't know if it's a one-stop shop. That would be nice. That's what's missing out there. So write that down. Yep. Double back of the week. 100%. So let's go start that. 100%. We're talking about falling into place this week. Ology. Right. Falling into place this week, a fall movie, smack dab in between two mystery movies. Thank goodness. That's how you do it. So we add the horror, whatever it's called, Haunted Harmony.

[00:04:28] Haunted Harmony. Yep. And then we have this. And then next week, Garage Sale. Garage Sale. It's back. I'm excited about this. And then rowing movie. It's unrelated. It's not related at all. Yeah. So I'm excited. I'm excited to, I think I'm excited to venture into Garage. Yeah. The story, the story especially. That's the story. The Lizzie Borden. Oh, right, right, right. Which people. What a hubbub. People were real mad ass. I've got news for you, gang, everyone that's from New England.

[00:04:58] Down here in the South, that just doesn't, like, this idea that that's. Doesn't move the needle? U.S. history. It's not a football game, so it doesn't matter. The number of true crime stories I know throughout U.S. history is, I don't know of, I don't know if I know of any off the top of my head. And I taught U.S. history a long time. That's not the same thing. Like, true crime is its own world. Like, I don't know of a famous true crime. I literally don't know of one. Like, off the top of my head. Really? I'm sure if you mentioned one, I could maybe be like, oh yeah.

[00:05:28] Murder? Yeah, in South Carolina. And I know that because I live here, not because it happened a hundred years ago. Somewhere, like, I just, I don't know. But we didn't know who Lizzie Borden was. It was a big deal, apparently. Here's what I'll say. Our track record on picking up mystery wheels after over a dozen movies have aired isn't great. It's not great. It's not great. It's always tough. Aurora Teagarden, we destroyed those movies. Hannah Swenson, destroyed those movies. Still actively destroying those movies.

[00:05:58] I just am not looking forward to the pushback when we are not happy with a Garage Hill mystery movie. And if I'm wrong, I'll be the first to tell you. Should we take the week off? We should. Should we take the week off? We're not gonna, but we should. We can't. Our hands are tied. I think it's actually obligated. Yeah. Kind of like the first look episode. It isn't even the first look. First look was last on the homework, my words. No, that was like an episode zero. Right. What's the first look? Episode one? First look is episode one.

[00:06:28] It is? Yeah. So how is it before a preview episode? What's preview? So the first preview is episode two? Yes. You have lost your mind. You've officially... You're done. And by the way, I'm excited about this. The first up TV announced their Christmas movies already in talks with Rye Guy to do a preview episode. Trying to work out, iron out contract negotiations. He's in. Good luck. Oh, wow. We signed that deal. Halfway there? I'll read the text. Let's read that contract a lot.

[00:06:54] Although we might have talked about this yesterday with him on the Marvel episode. I was on the Marvel episode, but you didn't get to hear about this. No, not yet. So he up and up? Yeah. He said... He said... He said, he said... So first of all, no Brianna Cohen anywhere to be found. Wow. Which I thought was shocking. And then he said, these are looking pretty rough. And I said, are you out? And he said, oh, I'm all in, brother. Wow. He's all in. He's all in. He's all in.

[00:07:22] And we're already getting preview shows on the docket, folks. Don't you worry, your pretty little heads are coming. Those are episode two. Let's talk Fallen into Place. Yeah. September 12th, 2026 is when it premiered. And it went a little something like this. Kaya is... She's in business. She is in business. Big business. The business is a big business. What is the business? It's a good question, Bren. I'd like to speculate the conglomeration. Exports, imports. Yeah. There's definitely some synergy.

[00:07:51] Synergies and strategies. For sure. There are step and repeats. 100%. They're on banners. The business is going to have to wait because she's heading home to Maple Crest for her class reunion. That's right, folks. The stakes are big. She's up for a big promotion at work. So maybe she's going to be returning to a corner office. Oh, yeah. Okay. Okay. It doesn't take long after returning home for her to literally bump into her childhood best friend, James.

[00:08:20] They definitely weren't into each other. Stop asking about that. They were just friends. And she shows him their old fall bucket list. You know the kind. Yep. And she found it and she's like, look at this. Now there's a few items on that bucket list that they did not cross off. And everybody around them, grandma, best friend, co-worker, they're all like, you should do it. You should finish up that bucket list.

[00:08:49] You know what happens when you don't finish a bucket list. You make a buck it list. If you don't finish a bucket list, you're going to find yourself with a fist into your face. Kick the bucket. Kick the bucket. Kick the bucket. So they decide that they're going to do it.

[00:09:14] The biggest item on this, the biggest item on this is that they want to win king and queen of the harvest. As if a passer through like Kaya could possibly win. She doesn't even live there anymore. I put the odds. If I was a betting man, if I was on Polymarket or whatever, one of the other, Cal sheet.

[00:09:40] If I was on one of those apps and it was a prediction model based algorithm. There's an awful lot about these for not being on them. I wouldn't bet. I wouldn't bet. I wouldn't bet on her to win king or queen. Really? Over the harvest. And she's a passer through. Maybe he could win. Anyway. They never heard of this. You watch sports, right?

[00:10:07] You've never heard of how she had Holy market. Dude, they advertise everywhere. You watch John Oliver, right? I don't watch every week. What? Dude. I don't know about this. Never heard of any of them. Are they open to sponsorships? I am out on the taking that money, that blood money. So anyway, the sparks are flying between these two and they go, they begin crossing things off.

[00:10:33] They do the donuts, the festive donuts. They compete in the scarecrow making contest and more. They even almost kiss, but they're interrupted by a honk. When someone honks, you can't kiss. Everyone knows the rules. And then they're hanging out and they end up dancing together in his backyard. Some are saying an extension of your home.

[00:10:58] She ends up deciding that she doesn't really want the promotion. She wants to move home. And so she decides that she's going to buy her grandma's house and applies for a remote position at her job, which she gets. No problem. It's now time for the reunion and they end up winning Harvest King and Queen. God. I know. An out-of-towner? I know. And she tells him the good news.

[00:11:27] She pulls out the bucket list and she shows that she's added one thing. Kiss at the reunion dance. And so they do. Only to cross it off though. Right. No other reason that my friends was. Falling into place. We did it. Let's take a break. We'll come back. Falling even more into place. Nice. Let's take a break. We'll come back. We'll break this movie down. Okay. On the other side of it here on. The Hallmark.

[00:12:03] It's great to be here today. We're talking about falling into place. The latest Hallmark fall movie. I would like to suggest that we start with our hot takes. Second. You don't need me. You want to do. Second it. I second the motion. Oh, you second it. I thought you were saying you want to do that second. No, I know. Okay. I second the motion. Third. Great. So it's passed. Yes. We presented it though. Yeah. You can't third your own present. I will third it. Okay. Wow. He thirded it.

[00:12:33] Across the board. Let's share our hot takes. I also second. Whoa. Swear we shared. Breaking rules left and left. So is that a fourth? The ambition on this guy to third, fourth, and second. Dude, check Calci. Odds on that. I bet on it. Lost big. That's what I'm talking about. We're too close. We're too close. Been there. So how much is it at? I mean, I took a bath on Bonk. Yeah. Yeah. Put 20 bucks into Bonk. Thought I was going to pay off big time. Yeah. You ended up getting Bonk. That's right. Sure did. Bonk hard.

[00:13:02] Bonking is the Bonks we Bonk across the way. Let's get to our hot takes. There was one set of footprints in this. That's when I Bonked you. Right, guys? What did you think of falling into place? So level set. Brand, you gave this five and a cream. Yeah. Just a level set. Five and a cream. And you gave it. I gave it 4.5. And I gave it. Super realistic. Zero. Zero. Big goose egg. And so that's where we're at with this one. Expectations are super high. I wonder who is closest to being right.

[00:13:32] Well, if you average the... No, I'm not even going to pretend. It's over three still if you average them together. Yikes. That's a little bit. Like 3.18 or something. 1.5. Some days this job is harder than others. And today is just one of those days. I thought we were going to get a ton of fall in this. Like... There's so much fall. What are you talking about? It wasn't like... No, no, no. What are you talking about? What? There is... Everything. There is leaves. There is fall.

[00:14:02] There's a harvest festival. Not really. It was an average amount of fall. It was not a lot. You guys are... I thought we were going to be overwhelmed. Like, I thought we were going to be at a fall fest getting leaves poured on our head. Brian, the fall fest at the end, the harvest fest at the end of this movie has no fall decorations inside. I thought that there was plenty of fall in this. Wow. But you would agree that the harvest festival with the dance at the end, there's no decorations aside from those little twig tiaras they take off. I don't know. There's nothing else. It's just like vertical lights in the background. I don't recall.

[00:14:30] So maybe that means that it didn't stick out for me. Yeah. It just wasn't... I don't know. We're outside a bunch. Regardless, that doesn't matter. Yeah. I mean... That's the only thing that matters. I just want more fall. Stop it. I want more fall. And I'm like starved for fall this year. So it really... Because it's so hot. Yeah. And it just didn't do it for me. I'm sure though, this one is so like standard straight down the middle that there will probably be an audience that loves this. They thought this was like the perfect fall movie. This was great. How? Yeah. I don't know.

[00:15:00] It was just like not that exciting for me. I wanted... It wasn't quirky or goofy. Not enough fall for me. I did like his old truck. I like that. Having the truck there, a great anchor. Nice old truck. Other than that, yeah, it was just okay. Wow. Yeah. Devastating review from Brian. Sorry. I feel bad. Devastating... I wanted more. Listen, if you're listening, Nathan Whitty, Alvina August, that is the death knell for your movie. What are you... This movie or Honda Harmony last week?

[00:15:29] Yeah, Honda Harmony. 100% Honda Harmony all day long, every day. Every day. Not even close. On a loop. I am not even... It's not even a question for me that I'm picking this movie. That's... It's not even a question. Mind boggling. I think that there was plenty of fall in this movie. Plenty of fall. Aside from the fall. But once again, I think I've made it clear that... You're an easy boy. I get it. I'm an easy boy. But listen, this movie is not a good movie. This is not a good movie. Okay. It is... As long as we have it on record.

[00:15:58] Really paint by numbers. Yeah. And it's just kind of whatever. I wasn't necessarily even rooting for these two. But it is a fall movie. It takes place at fall. It's my favorite movie of September so far. It takes place at fall. I don't know what to tell you. It did it. It did... It checked that box. And sometimes that's all it takes. Dan? This movie is unfortunate in so many ways.

[00:16:24] It's a movie that, because we're now six years removed from the Bill Abbott era, we've kind of forgotten that there used to be a hundred of these a year. The B-A-E. The Bay. The Bay, if you will. There used to be a hundred of these a year. Salt Bay. You got it. Yeah. That's good. It's a good callback. There used to be... I remember. Is it elbow up like this? Yeah. Tony Stark? What? What are you talking about? He looks like Robert. No! Just because he has a goatee? Keep going. Hold on.

[00:16:54] We're not. We can't. Go! So this movie has nothing that sets it apart from any other Hallmark movie. Not a single defining characteristic that hasn't been done a hundred times. Not one. Not even the truck. No. Of course. Nothing about this movie. Now in new Hallmark, when they make a movie like this, where the big city girl goes back to her hometown and meets her high school sweetheart that we're just friends, and then she decides she doesn't want to climb the corporate ladder.

[00:17:22] And like, he's running a landscaping business, an adult homecoming king and queen. It's all nothing about this movie. There's no sauce on it. There's nothing that sets it apart from something we've seen so many times. And Alvina August and Nathan Witte are both incredibly capable, incredibly charismatic, who are not on the network. Nathan Witte is first lead. It's not even close. It's such a dumb thing. That doesn't look like Tony Stark to you? No!

[00:17:52] Robert Downey Jr? What? Wow. That's all I see when I look at that. I don't see it. Are you face-blind? I am. I did wake up dizzy. Yeah. Yeah, it could be it. Although there is a meme that says, looks like Robert Downey Jr. is getting fancy and also salty. Dude, if you put up a poll, I bet majority will agree with me. Let us know in the comments. Do you think? Honestly, if I'm baring my soul, I honestly thought it was Robert Downey Jr. doing that. If you're watching on YouTube, let us know if you think that Salt Bae and Robert Downey Jr. look the same. Thanks.

[00:18:21] I'll say about this movie is that Alvina August was in Delivered by Christmas, one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies of all time. Nathan Whitty has been a standout supporting cast member of Hallmark for decades or at least a decade because we've been watching him for the entire time we've been doing this podcast. Neither of them are serviced by this movie. Neither of them are serviced by this script. It is so generic. It does feel like a bot wrote this movie. There's nothing, literally nothing to hang your hat on.

[00:18:48] There's no feels for me in this movie because I mean the movie with Tyler Hines and Taylor Cole falling into you, whatever that movie was we watched in 18. Yeah. The crowd part scene at the end of that movie, the radio angle of that movie. There's already more unique about that movie than this movie. There is just nothing here. It is, it is just sleepwalking through and putting leaves and fall foliage on screen occasionally.

[00:19:16] I would rather watch almost anything else. I gave it zero. I was right. Yeah. Falling into you as the movie. And it just released a few weeks ago. Re-release is a DTH classic as we're taking a journey back through some of the classic Hallmark looking back on it. Yeah, it is. I was, uh, I'm on the Hallmark movie drafts for September. Congratulations. Hallmark movie drafts. Thank you, dude. Appreciate that. Uh, the, we're doing this, I guess. Throw it in the air.

[00:19:44] Uh, and we do all of the Andrew Walker movies. Uh, it's the five year anniversary of the show. So we do all the Andrew Walker movies since the last time we drafted Andrew Walker. So for the 16 movies and 16 since the last time. That's right. Since 2022, he's been in 16 movies as a lead. Wait until Wes Brown hears about that. Yeah. No kidding. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Uh, but, uh, Kate Baca on the show told me that she thinks double holiday was too early

[00:20:11] in my Hallmark watching and I was too hard on it. And, and sometimes that happens, right? Like with falling into you, like looking back, that movie is better as a fall movie for as much as we rave about fall, fall movies typically kind of suck. Like aside from Ashley Williams movies, name me a great fall movie. Name me one. All of them. Yeah. You can't, you got nothing. There's not one that pops into mind. It just, it's just not how that works. Hallmark movies that are fall movies.

[00:20:41] We asked for more, but we haul out the Halloween. Oh yeah. Yeah. That would be maybe it, but you know, you're well, three, uh, three beds, one bath, three bed, one ghost, one ghost, whatever that is. Um, but like that was okay, I guess. But looking back falling into use a better movie than I probably said it was at the time where I believe I compared a beardless Tyler Hines to Nathan Fillion and Matthew Perry together. Um, this held up very well.

[00:21:08] Uh, but I just, this movie is just so incredibly generic. I just can't imagine anyone looking back in five years and be like, this is a favorite. Yeah. Well, stay tuned soon. We're going to be actually, uh, ranking, uh, Hallmark fall movies. Uh, I told you about this. Yeah, man. Um, yeah, I think it'll be a fun, I think it'll be a fun journey. I don't know if we'll rank all of them, but maybe take the top rated ones on IMDB or whatever and rank them accordingly. That's a good idea. So, uh, stay tuned for that.

[00:21:38] So get in the fall. And there's a fall, a Hallmark movies draft, a Hallmark movie draft episode that you can check out. That's got our boy Panda on it. There you go. Shout out. Um, all right, let's get to the fields. This is where we talk about what this movie gave us fields. Let's start with you, bright guy. Yeah. I did think that his backyard was really nice. Cool, man. He's a landscaper. Yeah. And it was almost like an extension of his home. Wow. Yeah. Thank you. Don't, I mean, it's just an idea I'm like working on with my architecture background. So don't like tell anybody. It's awesome.

[00:22:07] But I thought that that was a nice vibe and I want to hang out in that backyard. Um, anytime I see a, like an apple cider donut, a pumpkin donut, whatever, I get pretty excited and I wouldn't be opposed to, uh, baking some of those in house and be giving, giving them a shot. I think that would be fun. It doesn't seem like a, uh, super hard recipe to crack down. It's just the, it's the getting the donut right that I think. And you guys who made donuts during the, uh, baked into love can attest.

[00:22:36] It seems like you just, it's got to, you know, I think if you're margin of error there in the oil or in the bed, whatever it's, it can really make or break it for a real donut. Yeah. You use fried donut. We made cake donuts with Brian. Brian likes cake donuts. I am not a cake donut fan. And that's just a baking? It's just, you got a pan. It's a specific type of pan that you use. And then you kind of have to put the batter in a, a thing, but it's, it's baking. It's just like baking a cake. But it goes in the oven? Yeah. There's no oil.

[00:23:05] No, no, that's not in my, like a cake donut is just a different shaped cupcake. I don't really have any, you know, but have you tried making fried donuts? Um, I have not. My wife has fried them in a Dutch oven at the house. Uh, and they turned out pretty good. Um, but you know, that's how I would prefer. Maybe I'll do that this week. Well, I'm going to be gone this week. Oh no, I'm back this week. Oh, you're back. He's back. I was gone. You were gone. And we had some, we had some bidets, which you called bidets, uh, by mistake. Uh, you don't want to make that mistake twice. No, it's true.

[00:23:35] You asked for a dozen bidets and it was weird. Luckily I made the mistake. You get a bidet. You get a bidet. I made the mistake before. These New Orleans bidets are something cooking. I didn't do it to the person. I said it out loud and practiced it. To Dan, and then he's like, that's not how you say that. But please keep saying that. Yeah. I went to the bathroom on a beignet and it was a mistake as well. Uh, Dan, uh, did you go all the fields? Do you have any? I don't have one. Okay. Very good. No, there's literally nothing in this movie that's worth talking about. Oh.

[00:24:05] Why are we here? Are we done? What? You've ever said about a movie and you said it so passively. Ouch. Yikes. All right. We'll be right back here. For will. There's nothing in this movie that's worth talking about. Yeah. Basically. Well, let's talk about it some more. Sure. Let's keep it going.

[00:24:35] Wait, what? Just when we talk about what this movie is going, wait, what? I'll start with you, Brian. Yeah. I personally wouldn't be caught dead at a reunion. Any type of reunion. Thank you. I have the same thought. I think if any of us were to be excited about a reunion, I think it would be me. Yeah. I still have high school energy about me. And I really liked high school. I have zero desire. Zero desire to go to a high school reunion.

[00:25:02] This year is my 25th high school reunion, I guess. I don't think there was. I'm not sure. I didn't look into it. I just did the math. And 25 years. Great. I've like the people from high school that I want to see. I see still. Yeah. You know, I'm in a fantasy football league with about seven guys I went to high school with. I see them once a year. We all get together, eat pizza and wings, draft, talk about our lives growing up. And then we take off a reunion with everybody. What are we doing? What's the point?

[00:25:31] Is it just to try to make everybody jealous or? I don't know. I don't know. In the movies, it's always like the single people show up and they like rekindle a relationship. Maybe it's because we all marry young. Maybe that's it. And we don't get it. But if I was single, I can't imagine being like, can't wait for the high school reunion. I can't imagine going under any circumstances. None. It's awful. And neither did most of the graduates from this high school in this movie because there was like nobody there.

[00:26:01] There's like 12 people at this. It was so empty and so confusing because the more you think about this town, the worse that gets. And I'll get to that later. But it's bad. It's real bad. There's maybe 12 people at this. Yeah. Brutal. So just really could not connect with that. The Fall Fest King and Queen thing were so confusing to me because I thought it was real school related, but it's not. It's the Fall Fest related, which is different than the reunion, but it's awarded at the reunion. And it just, there's so much corruption around it.

[00:26:30] And you can just. I said there was nothing worth talking about. The corruption at this event. This King and Queen thing. It just didn't make sense. I was confused by adults campaigning to win King and Queen of the Harvest. It's because it's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. But yeah. I was the only impression we had no Kings. No Kings. So I, it's really. Unless you're in Maple Crest. I guess. But where they have Queens and Kings. Both together. Which is the way to do it. Queens. We love Queens. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:27:01] Thank you. Mattresses. Wow. Et cetera. We're out on Kings. We want to know. Yeah. You're right. It's like what. Cause they're campaigning with like post flyers around the town. Right. But like, who is it? Is it for only for people that are going to be at the reunion this year? There's a full campaign that happens in this movie. It's absurd. And you just write in is meant like whoever gets the most right in,

[00:27:29] which would make me think that it's not. Yeah. They just handed it off to a different. It doesn't just doesn't work. No one put it. What was the event we are at at the end of this? The reunion. That was the reunion. The high school. They announced at the reunion, the fall harvest King and Queen. Right. With no fall decorations. Exactly. What is the fall harvest? The town thing that's outside. Yes. Yes. Smooth so bad. It's very like the lines are very blurred here.

[00:27:59] Very blurred. So much to write a song about that. Blurred lines. There is fall fall. Oh. Oh, look. Man, that's good. Um, so that was really tricky for me. Betsy at the orchard makes all of her donuts for her gigantic orchard in a six donut tray. I don't want to talk about it. That baking scene was the most stressful part of the movie. Dude, I, I, heaven forbid we put an oven anywhere near a baking station.

[00:28:29] Do you know where? Where should we do all the ingredients? How about outside? We bring all of the raw ingredients outside in the elements. Yep. Wind, dirt. And then if we're able to keep the, the, the ingredients from getting contaminated and we mix them perfectly, we take our uncooked ingredients set in a pan and Lord help us that we don't trip, fall, jostle on our way to, I would assume a preheated oven somewhere on the other side of the continent. Yeah. What are we doing? Brutal.

[00:28:58] Like the, the reason baking scenes work is these two guys, these two people are like, they're flirting and you can know it's a little bit warm in there cause the oven's going. Right. They, what are we doing in this scene? Yeah. It made no sense. It was really hard. Oh, and like just the way they're just mis measuring the flour wrong and just adding it willy nilly. Sifting it into the big, but they didn't, they didn't measure it. No, he's just like, I'm going to just take a half a scoop and just dump it into this bowl. I, I, it couldn't, it was the dumbest.

[00:29:27] It was so bad for anybody who's baked anything. And you think with us two around, you're going to, you think, you're going to cry with your baking? Do you think? Do you think? You won't do it? Brutal scene. Brutal. And also the, you can, this is how we did these donuts. You just take a spoonful and put it into the tray. Let's add it to the bag. Let's squirt the bag, which is a disaster. It's a disaster. It doesn't work that easy. And he's like, let me get in on that. They didn't spill a drop.

[00:29:56] No, just the one little bit on his nose, which is weird. So stressful. Yeah. Real bad. Yeah. I'm going to stop right there. Okay. Very good. Is he under the impression that he created nice backyards? God, it sounds like that. Like no one before him has ever had the idea of like, hey, what if my backyard was nice? What if my backyard was an extension of my house? What if my backyard was a place where when friends came over and we went and we hung out in the backyard?

[00:30:22] He pitches this as if it's something that no one's done before. Yep. Not in this town. Wild. Hear me out. Nice backyard. Speaking of which, he's in his backyard with his friends and music suddenly starts playing. And she like, it is shocking. Right? And she goes, did you plan that? And he says the playlist was on shuffle.

[00:30:49] I mean, okay, but there was nothing playing before. There was music, but it was like very, very soft, light background elevator music like you would hear in a Hallmark movie during transition. And so. We had no idea that the people could hear it. And what shuffle would go from volume level two elevator music. All the way 10. To volume 10 actual song. Yeah. I don't know. That's worse than there being nothing. Playlist was on shuffle. Playlist was on shuffle. Playlist was on shuffle. Yeah. So was the volume. Volume on shuffle.

[00:31:19] Volume on shuffle. Volume shuffle. Volume roulette. That's a good one. Anytime. Yeah, absolutely. Anytime it's out of 10, you gotta get up and dance. And it's on shuffle. It's the volume shuffle. I don't know what to tell you. And then, yeah, I just, the whole reason why she came into town was for the reunion. And I'm still foggy as to if the reunions happen, to be honest with you. No. It is, I really anticipated reunion being a big part of this movie.

[00:31:47] And they kept talking about the reunion, the reunion. And then the reunion, I think, is what we get at the end. Yeah. And pretty sad reunion, all things considered. Yeah. So I don't know. I was underwhelmed. I was underwhelmed by, yeah. They do it. Underwhelmed by all of them. Shit. Like 80% of the class has died. Yeah. It's tough. It's the whole festival. That's why you don't leave. Black and white picture. That's why you don't leave Maple Crest. You never leave Maple Crest.

[00:32:17] You'll die. Dan? Yeah. One day Hallmark's gonna get boardroom right. One day they're gonna get it right. It's gonna be amazing. I can't wait for that day. Yeah. The boardroom mistake here is all the outward facing company stuff. They put in the boardroom. So like all the stuff that you would want out in your lobby. You're right. Yeah. These things that show who you are, what your company stands for. All of that stuff is in the boardroom to the executives who already know all of that stuff. Um, so that was a mistake.

[00:32:47] Uh, Jeff Gustafson and Nathan Whitty have a conversation early in this movie where he's working on the football field and Jeff Gustafson said, the football field is just gonna get trampled on. And then Nathan Whitty says, that's why most football fields look awful by halftime. What are you talking about? Either the football field looked awful when the game started or it didn't. Right?

[00:33:08] The, the idea that people playing on a football field makes it look overgrown and not well kept is by halftime, unless it's been raining all day, doesn't make any sense at all. Jeff Gustafson in a later scene says, I haven't seen you this excited about anything since the township switched to organic fertilizer. Is he the most boring human being alive? He might be. Uh, sign me up for this hayride.

[00:33:34] Uh, this incredibly comfortable space for days, uh, blankets, shade, no children. Yeah. What a perfect hayride. Yeah. Is this like any hayride you've ever been on in your life where you are shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, not a shade in sight, children screaming, bumping around, spilling their cider. What are we doing? This hayride.

[00:34:03] Janie is there. Yeah. Janie is there. Janie on her hayride. She's wasted and just do another lap. It's the worst. This hayride. Hey guys. Oh my God. Is that Tracy? I don't appreciate you talking about Janie like that. Okay. She's been soaps for three months. Soaps for three months. Yeah. Okay. Did she get that tattooed? Well, hayride season is a pun. She's ready for it. She's ready to be soaps during hayride season. She's gonna show up. She's going to just chill. Okay. She's not gonna go off the wagon. She's not gonna go off any wagon. She's gonna be on it.

[00:34:33] She's not gonna go off any wagon. All right. Good. I'm glad. Thank you. Hey, how's it going? I love you guys. Love you, but yeah. God bless. God bless. Sounds soaps. There's no world. I would never. No. No judgments. No judges here, of course. Thank you. God bless. Thank you. God bless, Trace. I just am saying that hayride gives hayrides a good name, which they shouldn't have. They don't deserve. They never earned it. Hayrides are a disaster.

[00:35:03] Even children don't like it after the first five minutes. They're like, so this is it? We go 10 miles an hour or less and it's bumpy? Like it's, we're all done. Everyone's sneezing. This hayride is immaculate. A perfect hayride. Sign me all the way up for this hayride. Head on its head. Start. Jeff Gustafson disappears in this movie. He is offering sage wisdom left and right. And after 25 minutes, MIA take it to the house for the next 40 to 50 minutes. It's a very small town. What happened?

[00:35:32] And then two other ones, three other ones, actually. There's nothing worth talking about in this movie. Maple Crest High has 12 people at the reunion, but as a football stadium that fits 10,000. Yeah. This football stadium has side covers on the giant bleachers, a glass encased media booth. The town has 12 people in their high school. You don't get both.

[00:36:00] Small town football is a big deal, right? I grew up near Burns High School, 5A. They had a jumbotron before the University of South Carolina. They also have 5,000 kids in their public school. If your graduating class is double digits, your football stadium doesn't look like a small college's. You can't do that. That's not how that works. Um, her grandma is moving to a senior living facility that's very expensive.

[00:36:24] And the only way she can afford it is that she's going to sell her house and use that money to pay for the senior facility. She has to have that money in one month or she can't afford it. How do we know this? Gigi told us all that information. Gigi. Has she put her house on the market yet? No, she's not. She's packed though, right? Not even a little bit. House, it looks like it's just... She put away all the fall decorations? I just... She all... The gambling that she is doing in this movie... She's not baking, right? She's baking.

[00:36:56] She is not even attempting to sell this house. Uh, the early prediction models on Cal she said that she, uh, wasn't gonna sell it. On Cal she said she can't get it done, there's no way. Yep. And she proved it wrong. The biggest bet I've ever seen. Yeah. Alvina August tells Nathan Whitty that the reason she doesn't want to enter in a romantic relationship with him is because their friendship is the one thing she can rely on. I'm pretty sure they haven't seen each other in a decade. Like what friendship? What are you talking about? Like I... It's not like they text every day. Right. I got...

[00:37:26] I don't know. That's all I got. Well, it's time for what the hallmark is where we wonder what could have been maybe having to declare any questions we still have. What are we still wondering about? I'll start with you, Brian. Mine was just around that house sale. Yeah. Easiest commission the real estate agents ever earned. Yeah. Or is he getting hosed here? Because what... I don't know what happens exactly when a house goes on the market and people are seeing it and then a family member decides I'm gonna buy that house. Yeah. Are we working this off the market? Is she paying that $6.29 asking? Yeah.

[00:37:59] So... He's paying that house. He's paying that house. That's right. He's paying that house. $6.29. That's right. Pretty crazy. So just really would love some clarity around that because it's a huge question in my mind. Yeah. How's this sale going down? More than fair. Yeah. Yeah. Just like how long until she gets bored with them?

[00:38:29] I think... Has it happened yet? She is... You know, she is... Career driven, dynamic. Career driven, independent woman who, you know, was up for big promotion and then it seems like she took a demotion and it's like... Yeah. She's pivoting down or over to a remote job. And he's like revolutionizing the game of backyard. I just think at some point she's gonna... And he's thinking maybe he'll buy a truck one day. I think at some point she's gonna be like, uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Yeah. But I don't know.

[00:38:58] You know, I've been wrong before. Mm-hmm. I don't know. Not about this. I'm always right. You're the sleepy kiddie. Yeah. That's true. Yeah. But I still wanna see it. Of course. To believe it. Yeah. Jeff Gustafson, Nathan Whitty are best friends in this movie. I'd love to know how they became best friends. They're 12 years apart in age. I mean, it's a small town, but they seem to have a, we went to high school together vibe.

[00:39:27] But Jeff Gustafson is a generation older. Like a full generation older than Nathan Whitty. Um, I just wanna know how they can become friends. People who are 55 and 43 can become friends. That's not uncommon. But their relationship has a, we went to high school together vibe, but they clearly didn't go to high school together. I wanna know how they became friends. Mm-hmm. Very good, Dan. Very good indeed. Uh, it's time for double decker of the week. I think. Bling, bling, bling. Uh, it is where we dive deep into a life of a double decker. Is that right?

[00:39:57] It is right, Bran. And what happens is if you go to bramblejamplus.com and join at the double decker tier higher, then you get a lot of goodies. And one of those is Brian will shout you out on episode. He's done the deep dive to tell about the business you probably started or something you're doing in your spare time. And you get a Facebook community and you get ad free podcasting. There's a lot of reasons to become a double decker, but the shout out every week, the double decker of the week is the big one. That's right. That's exactly right. And today we have Courtney Folker.

[00:40:27] Oh, Courtney. Yup. Yeah. I looked into this here. Yeah, you did? Courtney is fascinating. And that's what she's doing. She's fascinating? Yes. She will. She'll help you loosen or tighten anything that you need help with. Jars, containers. She's fascinating. She's fascinating. She's fast. She's fast. She'll help you. She's fastened. She'll help you tighten.

[00:40:55] She's aiding you with any fastening jobs that you have. Because some people, you know. Is this, you know, I guess there are people that for various reasons are not able to open or closed jar. Yeah. That is a thing. And so to have someone come in and fasten jar or unfastened jar for you, I think is really helpful. Is this like a per fastening? Yeah. Like what's the pain? Well, first. Hey, you can pay me a flat rate and I'll fasten everything you want me to fasten in an hour.

[00:41:24] It's a fast pass. It's a fast. The fasten pass is a TM, fortunately for Courtney, because that's a great idea there. But it is first one free. And then yeah, first one free travel to your house and fast. No matter where you live. I need this number right now. She's not local? No, she'll go. How big are we talking? Like if I need something fastened to the side of my house. Ooh. That seems like hardware though. She's not going to say no. She's not going to say no. Even for the free first one? That's not limited.

[00:41:53] Pick a big, pick a big one. And she wants to prove. Make it worth it folks. She wants to prove her worth with her abilities and her skills here. And if it's fast and exciting. How fast can she get there? First one's free. How fast can she get there? Fast is not, it's not part of the travel part. So that's the thing. You might be waiting. I'm like, I'm like, uh oh, I need, where's she at? Where's Courtney at? I need to fasten my seatbelt. Yeah. That's one of the big downfalls that could hurt her business. I think is that the speed of which. Yeah. So she might have to work on that. Well, she's going to have to get a lot of different, maybe a lot of employees.

[00:42:24] You would hope it would ramp up, scale up to. Because then you could potentially get someone there quicker. Right. Like a task rabbit. Task rabbit. Yeah. Right. Which we don't talk about. We don't talk about task rabbit here. No, it's more fascinating. Fast. Fasten 18. Fasten rabbit. Well, really good Courtney. I think that this could be something. Keep up the good work. First one. First one free. First one free. That's a bold thing. How do you contact her? Any business, first one free.

[00:42:54] First one free. Can you imagine Domino's being like first one free? First one free. I kind of like the model. First one free. Sure. Up to a point. Up to what? Up to a dollar. First one free. Up to a dollar. First one free. First one free. That's what Domino's would do. That's right. Domino's would be like first one free up to a dollar. Up to one dollar. Good luck. All right, we did it everybody. Congratulations to us. We'll be back next week with more. We'll be back later this week with potentially some Christmas movie breakdowns. So stay tuned for that. Until then, maybe the first to wish you a Merry Christmas.

[00:43:23] It's Deck the Hallmark. It's a Bramble Jam podcast produced by Brandon Gray and yeah, that Greenville, South Carolina for more information on the show. You can go to DeckTheHallmark.com, follow us on the socials at DeckTheHallmark and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts if you please. And then head on over to BrambleJamPlus.com to find the best corner of the internet with ad free podcasting, live video watchers, movie chats, and so much more. BrambleJamPlus.com. Out of breath.

[00:43:52] You're about to hear some ads that help keep the lights on here in the old studio. Thanks for listening or don't listen. It's really up to you at this point. It's at the end of the show. I mean, you're listening to me. Hi. But here they come. I promise they're coming. Yep. Here they are. Happy day.