The Experiment
Joel promised us a Christmas episode, and he made good on his promise. Everyone is in the Christmas spirits, except for Kinga of course. All she cares about is planning her wedding with Jonah.
The host segments are good! They're all what you'd expect from a Christmas episode. They're heart warming, charming, and just good fun.
Joel plays Santa Claus and he is annoyed with having to take care of a childish man lawyer from the movie. It is truly a great moment when we see the founder of the feast back in action and in front of the camera where he belongs!
The Christmas that Almost Wasn't
A zillionaire has bought the North Pole, which includes Santa Claus's property. Now he finds himself owing money that he does not have to a man who wishes to ruin Christmas. Can Santa pay the rent?
What makes this movie bad?
It's not bad at all, in fact, I would go so far as to say it's a good movie. It's full of Christmas cheer and cheesy whimsy like it should be. The acting is what you'd expect and the atmosphere is so full of holiday goodness you could just burst!
That is to say, it has certain things about it that are a little irking to the brain. The idea that someone could possibly own the rights to the North Pole is especially dumb, since no one in their right mind could possibly buy it to begin with. No lawyer worth their weight would even touch this case with a ten foot pole. Then comes the thought of the nefarious villain in this flick pulling off his ill-thought up plans. This was a bit of a stretch in terms of plot points. Then there's the title. The Christmas that almost Wasn't is a bit of a spoiler, is it not?
The Riffs
The riffs are, once again, on point! Every single main and side character featured here are ripe for riffing in every glorious way. Though the movie's quality is not bad, the riffing still works so well because of the jolly, corny nature. The songs that they burst into throughout the film get ripped apart and it's wondrous!
The Episode
It's more or less your standard Christmas episode, and they're always good. Not only did we get a new Hercules movie, new Fantasy movie, new Sci-fi movie, now we get a whole new Christmas genre and it fits right in with the likes of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and Santa Claus!
Joel gets his return, everyone gets presents, we get fantastic riffs and a good bit of whimsical, glorious cheer! A great episode for the tail end of a Christmas marathon watch!