Jingle Friends: Holiday Movies & Specials

The Jingle Friends take on their first Hallmark Channel movie, 2008's Moonlight & Mistletoe starring Tom Arnold and D.J. Tanner herself, Candace Cameron-Bure. Will our heroes be able to get kids to stop looking at their screens and appreciate the lame outdated joys of Santa Land? Anyway, if this movie's any indication, we're in for a heck of a ride because there are a lot of Hallmark Christmas movies. Topics include Full House, the Roseanne finale, business vs. sleigh rides, ASMR, a sleeping puppy and the perfect name for a certain Star Wars character's boring relative. We love you, thanks for listening, rate us on iTunes and review us please!

Today we take a look at the 1991 TV movie Christmas on Division Street. We're joined by comedian Aaron Hertzog - check him out at aaronhertzog.com and follow him on Twitter @aaronhertzog! In today’s film, a homeless man teaches Fred Savage about Benjamin Franklin. But the real lesson, well, is that he learns a whole lot more!!! He learns about friendship and he learns about the plight of the homeless! And he learns that Mongolia can go screw! From the writer of Rain Man. Topics include Nazi humor, shitty Spirited Away, dog emasculation, caveman fraud, great old people names, boiling frogs alive, douchebags on Wall Street in the 80’s with their cocaine bowties, Benjamin Franklin’s gout, disco-inflicted madness and fatal iron deficiency.

Happy Mother's Day! We celebrate with Liberace, a man who made no secret of his fondness for Mom. We look at his Mother's Day and Christmas specials and discuss whether or not a demon was controlling his soul. Topics include ghostly hand jobs, spooky skateboard tricks, silent mice, The Ancients and questionable plastic surgery. From Brooklyn, this is Jingle Friends saying thanks for listening and rate us on iTunes!

Zach is absent this week as Carrie and Sara discuss the erotically charged 2015 drama Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. They talk about the travails of 1950s lesbianism, the possible connection between two video games where you can shout a name, body hair, sexy phone breathing, Larry David, how cool smoking looks, terrible men, bisexuality and the gayness of trains. Plus a special appearance by the ice cream truck that you won't want to miss!

Animaniacs is on Netflix now! We celebrate by reviewing a trio of Christmas episodes: "Twas the Day Before Christmas/ Jingle Boo/ The Holiday Concert/ Yakko's Universe", "A Christmas Plotz/ Little Drummer Warners" and "The Christmas Tree/ Punchline: Part 1/ Prom Night/ Punchline: Part 2". We talk fake burping, chickens dressed as humans and the pointlessness of existence. Ho ho ho! Featuring the song "Solstice" by Ross Bugden.

This week we take a look at the classic White Christmas, which has surprisingly little to do with either snow or Christmas. This week's episode is boffo, and we're joined by Joey Dundale from the IFC Comedy Crib web series Video Frogs. Follow him on Twitter @joeydundale or find him on Twitch!

We watch Shari Lewis's 1981 Christmas special with Lamb Chop and some friends you might not have heard of, like Shari's terrifying chorus line partners and a kangaroo that's also a sexual predator. Is it wrong to play puppetmaster? Shari Lewis didn't think so. We're joined by Nicole Eisenberg of VOAA - check out her amazing non-profit at www.voaa.org and come out to the launch party on April 9th!

In this episode, we sit down with writer Mike Reiss (The Simpsons, The Critic, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, Queer Duck) to talk about his life and his Christmas special, How Murray Saved Christmas. We also welcome back special guest Parker Denton to the show. In our sprawling conversation, Mike remembers Garry Shandling, talks about his time writing for the Harvard Lampoon and reveals a hot Simpsons tip about just how far Homer and Flanders might have gone that night in Vegas. Mike also gives his hot tips on how to get fired from The Simpsons and shines a light on the mysterious children’s book industry before discussing How Murray Saved Christmas and just who he would m/f/k. We love you!

The Jingle Friends are here to tell you all about Small Town Santa, a Be Your Own Hollywood Production, and try to figure out whether or not it has a religious message and, if so, what that message is. Santa sees you when you’re sleeping, and also if you’re a lousy father and husband. He’s watching you right now...

Mr. Bean is a sociopath, Parker is afraid of Heaven and Sara is afraid of ALF. Find out why this week on Jingle Friends! Wondering what that spooky song was? It was the ALF theme slowed down 800x and put through a filter.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” —Gary Cole’s character reflecting on the birth of his son. Check out jinglefriends.tumblr.com for saucy pics!

This week, the Jingle Friends are fooled by a DVD into covering a non-Christmas episode of the Simpsons, but they save the say with jokes and japes. The Spanish “Plow King” theme may be the most beautiful sound that some Simpsons writers have heard, but with a little luck, this podcast episode will be the most beautiful thing YOU’ve ever heard. We love you!

No, your calendar isn’t broken — February really is bigger this month! And so we’re celebrating with a special leap year episode in which we discuss the eponymous film about what women are and aren’t allowed to do. We’re joined by special guest Sam Fox-Hartin, who presents his hypothesis that Leap Year is just Star Wars without all those distracting spaceships. Follow him on Twitter @hamsoxfartin and check out his webcomic Bear Psychiatrist at baubonut.com. Editor’s note: turns out it’s Flogging Molly, not the Dropkick Murphys, but who’s keeping score? We love you!

Christmas with the Kranks is about how Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis wanted to get on a boat on Christmas Day but Dan Akyroyd wouldn't let them. This is the moment at which the eponymous characters, portrayed by Allen and Curtis, finally live up to the crankiness implied in their names. Will they make it onto the boat? Let's find out!

At Jingle Friends, our favorite Christmas tradition is telling the truth. We keep the tradition going by telling the truth about Love Actually!