Phoebe Bridgers, 2022 EP
Best Song: “If We Make It Through December”
Worst Song: “Christmas Song”
Underrated Hit: “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night (feat. Fiona Apple & Matt Berninger)”
Overall: “So Much Wine” is a six-song Christmas EP containing covers of classic Christmas songs. While Bridgers is usually known for her lyricism, she makes the covers of these songs shine. Each song is a typically mellow Christmas song, and I enjoyed that. It kept the essence of her music without her having written the songs herself. The title track “So Much Wine” has the best production, but “If We Make It Through December” is a close second, plus it’s one of my favorite Christmas songs. “Christmas Song” is not objectively bad, it just wasn’t my favorite. Bridgers utilizes synth and echoey vocals (as she does in “ICU” from her album “Punisher,” “Motion Sickness” in her album “Stranger in the Alps” and “Cool About It,” a song done by her band Boygenius), and it’s what her audience has come to expect from her.
Director: John Pasquin
Genre: Holiday Comedy
Notable Cast: Tim Allen, Eric Lloyd, Wendy Crewson, David Krumholtz, Judge Reinhold, Paige Tamada
Summary: Scott Calvin, the director of marketing for an Illinois toy company, is dead set on his son Charlie continuing to believe in Santa, even though his ex-wife and her husband believe Charlie needs to grow up. On Christmas Eve, Charlie and Scott hear a noise and discover Santa Claus, startling him, causing him to fall of the roof and die. Scott puts on the suit and he and Charlie are taken to the North Pole where Scott is told that by putting on the suit, he has activated “The Santa Clause” and is now Santa Claus.
Something I liked: There’s a certain quality to classic Christmas movies like “The Santa Clause” that feels magical.
Something I disliked: Scott is often super unlikeable, which is unfortunate, considering he’s Santa Claus.
Overall: This was one of my favorite holiday movies growing up and it has aged well. It has that camera grain and holiday magic. Would recommend to any family on Christmas Eve.
John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
Genre: YA/ Fix-up novel
Summary: Thanks to a snowstorm on Christmas Eve, the town of Gracetown is transformed into a “real-life” Hallmark movie. In this “fix-up novel,” a series short stories (“The Jubilee Express” by Maureen Johnson, “A Cheertastic Christmas Musical” by John Green and “The Patron Saint of Pigs” by Lauren Myracle) follow three different teenagers in Gracetown and the romantic adventures that occur because of the snowstorm.
Something I liked: I loved the way the three stories were taking place at the same time. I’m a sucker for books and movies like this (“He’s Just Not That Into You” is a classic, infuriating, but a classic nonetheless) and “Let It Snow” really delivers the same feeling
Something I disliked: It’s a little strange to read a novel with three different writing styles, especially when one of the authors is John Green, who has such a distinct and present voice in his writing.
Overall: I give this book a 7/10. My favorite story was “The Patron Saint of Pigs” because the male lead in that story, Jeb, is present in the other two as well, which made finally getting to his point of view satisfying. I also like reading books that are just a little absurd, and in this book…that quality is present. Teenagers get chased on their way to Waffle House trying to bring a gang of cheerleaders the game Twister. A girl’s parents get arrested for participating in a riot over miniature decorative houses (that she was named after) and gets trapped in a snowstorm on a train to her grandparents. Would recommend this book to anyone who likes a little bit of holiday craziness.
