Bah Humbug: A Christmas Movie Podcast with Helen O'Hara
Published by Helen O'Hara & Stripped Media
TV & Film
Film Reviews
Film History
If you have tinsel on the brain and mulled wine in your blood, this is the podcast for you. We’re living in a golden age of delightfully cheesy Christmas movies, and on Bah Humbug we examine the biggest new offerings this season, as well as looking back at classic seasonal favourites. Think Kurt Russell in The Christmas Chronicles 2, Dolly Parton in Christmas On The Square and Kristen Stewart in Happiest Season. Hosted by Helen O’Hara (the Empire podcast, His Darker Materials) and a rotating cast of film experts and guests, this will take a (mostly) affectionate look at the snowiest, coziest, Scroogiest, and Santa-iest films of all.
Merv: A movie about a dog should be a slam dunk for Christmas. Right?
A couple split up and negotiate shared custody of their dog - but when he gets depressed, they reunite for Christmas to cheer him up. It's a rock-solid premise for some light comedy, with likeable stars - Charlie Cox and Zooey Deschanel - and a great canine performance. But does it live up to the basic idea? And is it even Christmassy? Your host, Helen O'Hara, is joined by journalist and author Kat Brown to hash it out. Merv is out on Prime Video now. For more from Kat, check out her website katbrown.com here, or follow her on Bluesky here. Her book, No One Talks About This Stuff, is particularly relevant to this film and may be of help if you've been affected by infertility and childlessness. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a shiny five-star review on your podcast provider of choice; it really does help. And Merry Christmas! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jingle Bell Heist: It's definitely better than its title, but how much better?
Christmas is a time of miracles, and also robberies, according to Netflix's new rom-com crime caper, wherein two plucky but dodgy young people played by Olivia Holt and Connor Swindells decide to rob a department store on Christmas Eve. In defence of these bad Santas, they have both been provoked by its awful owner (Peter Serafinowicz) - and their plan may be smarter than it looks. Here to assess how well they succeeded are your regular host, Helen O'Hara, and film journalist and podcaster Amon Warmann, with bells on probably. Jingle Bell Heist is out on Netflix now. For more from Amon, check out his social media or listen to him weekly on the Fade To Black podcast. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a shiny five star review on your podcast provider of choice; it really does help. And Merry Christmas! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Christmas, Again: Will this indie film become a mumblecore seasonal classic?
It's not all glitzy romances and action movies at Christmas; spare a thought for the microbudget indie movies that are also set at this time of year. Take, for example, 2014's Christmas, Again from director Charles Poekel, finally hitting UK cinemas this December with its tale of a Christmas tree salesman (Kentucker Audley) trying to shuffle through the season without too much fuss. It's been described as a mumblecore effort, so can the movement that launched Greta Gerwig also bring us a genuine Christmas classic? To figure that out, your host, Helen O'Hara, is joined this time by film journalist and author Laura Venning for a good old mumble all about it. Christmas, Again is out in UK cinemas now. For more from Laura, you can find her substack Mise-en-Ven here, or her site here. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a shiny five stars on your podcast app of choice; it really does help. And merry Christmas! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Family Plan 2: Mark Wahlberg leads an international criminal family Christmas - or something
What's more important: Christmas or geography? Can sexy Russian spies also be cat ladies? And is Marky Mark secretly French? All these and more questions will be answered on today's episode of Bah Humbug, the Christmas movies podcast, as we look at The Family Plan 2, Apple's Christmas-tinged sequel to the 2023 action comedy with Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan. Your host, Helen O'Hara, is joined today by Chris Hewitt of Empire magazine to look at this action classic (tbd). The Family Plan 2 is out now on Apple TV. For more from Chris, pick up a copy of Empire magazine or listen to the Empire podcast here. You can find the spoiler podcasts he mentioned here, and to come along to the live show in London on January 9th, pick up your ticket here. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A Very Jonas Christmas Movie: Are we broken or is this actually funny?
Cynical brand extension or charming Christmas adventure? Why not both! A Very Jonas Christmas Movie features pop siblings the Jonas Brothers on an epic quest to get home from London to spend the holiday with their families. Alas, Santa Claus (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) decides that the trio need a lesson in brotherly love so he sabotages their plans, forcing them to spend time together on the road. With a supporting cast that includes Randall Park, Billie Lourd, KJ Apa and Will Ferrell, it's a star-studded musical that is...weirdly charming. At least, so says your non-fan host, Helen O'Hara; does her guest, journalist Charlotte Harrison, agree? Listen and find out! A Very Jonas Christmas Movie is out now on Disney+. For more from Charlotte, look on social media @sometimesmovies. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Goodbye June: Life, death and Nativity plays with Andrea Riseborough and Timothy Spall
Kate Winslet's directorial debut is not your typical Christmas movie. It's set mostly in a hospital, as a family gather around their dying matriarch (Helen Mirren), and features more IVs than holly-and-ivy. But it has a truly impressive cast and a surprising amount of heart and humour. To talk about it, your host Helen O'Hara is joined by Empire's news editor, Beth Webb. We also have a visit from two of the cast, in the delightful forms of Andrea Riseborough and Timothy Spall, so settle in for a surprising amount of cheer given the subject matter. Goodbye June is out in cinemas now, and will be available on Netflix from December 24. For more from Beth, you can find her @BethWebb on Bluesky and @bethkatewebb on Instagram, and of course at Empire Magazine. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Silent Night Deadly Night: We talk to the director of this season's sweetest serial killer slasher
This year has been relatively light on Christmas horror, but fear not. There's plenty of claret on offer in the remake of 1984's slasher Silent Night Deadly Night from director Mike P. Nelson. It's the story of a likeable drifter, Billy Chapman (Rohan Campbell), who is also a prolific serial killer. But, you know, he wears a Santa suit so it's seasonal! Horror expert Becky Darke joins your host, Helen O'Hara, and Mike Nelson drops by to talk us through his attempts to sweeten up the slaying. Silent Night Deadly Night is out in cinemas now. For more from Becky Darke, check out her website here or follow her on social @BunnyDarke. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Pillion, with director Harry Lighton: the unlikely love story with a Christmas twist
It's not often here at Bah Humbug that we can lay claim to a genuinely great, not-graded-on-a-curve film set over the Christmas season, but say hello to Harry Lighton's Pillion, starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgard. They star as a meek young man called Colin and the impossibly hot biker daddy he falls for, in a coming-of-age story about unconventional romance and figuring out what it is you want in life (surprisingly, the answer may not be "someone who looks like Alexander Skarsgard"). It's won acclaim and awards nominations, but how does it score on the Christmassy scale? Your host, Helen O'Hara, is joined by comedian David Morgan to try to figure it out. Pillion is out in cinemas nationwide now. For more from David, you can check out their website here, or on Bluesky here. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oh. What. Fun. - Michelle Pfeiffer, Christmas, an all-star cast. It *must* be fun, right?
The last time Michelle Pfeiffer made a Christmas movie, the result was the great Batman Returns. Now she's back in Oh. What. Fun., starring with the likes of Felicity Jones, Jason Schwartzman, Chloe Grace Moretz, Dennis Leary, Dominic Sessa and Eva Longoria. She's the stressed-out matriarch of a Texas clan who just goes AWOL one Christmas when she is left feeling unappreciated by her family. A warning for unthinking families everywhere, perhaps, but is it really fun? Well, your host, Helen O'Hara, and special guest Cathy Cullen from the Cinemile podcast are here to break it down - and possibly have a breakdown. Oh. What. Fun. is out on Prime Video right now. For more from Cathy, check out the Cinemile here for all sorts of film-y goodness, follow them on socials @TheCinemile or come along to the event we mentioned at the Curzon Hoxton on January 29 by booking tickets here. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tinsel Town: or, some Brits attempt to explain panto to the rest of the world
Today's episode of Bah Humbug, the Christmas movies podcast, focuses on Tinsel Town, the new Sky film wherein a spoiled Hollywood star reluctantly agrees to do theatre in the UK - and unwittingly finds himself signed up to play Buttons in a panto production of Cinderella. Kiefer Sutherland is our hapless hero, with support from Rebel Wilson, Danny Dyer, Derek Jacobi and many more. To talk about it, your regular host, Helen O'Hara, is joined by talent agent Corrie McGuire and the film's director Chris Foggin. Can all of us together explain the appeal and importance of panto to an international audience? Oh no we can't! Oh yes we can! Etc. Tinsel Town is available to watch on Sky Cinema and Now TV right now. For more from Corrie and her astonishing roster of clients, you can visit her website here. Check out Chris Foggin's credits here. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A Merry Little Ex-Mas and Champagne Problems: Are Netflix Films...Good Now?
Are Netflix raising their game on Christmas movies? Or just softening us up for My Secret Santa? Your host, Helen O'Hara, assesses the contenders with guest Olly Richards. First up is Alicia Silverstone in A Merry Little Ex-Mas, trying to bring that Clueless magic to a tale of a divorced couple trying to negotiate their first Christmas apart. Then we look at Champagne Problems, wherein Minka Kelly flies to Paris to buy some sparkling wine and instead ends up in a fizzy rom-com. And yes, these are Christmas movies, we're still judging on a curve. But are there signs of actual quality here? The answer may surprise you! Both films are now out on Netflix. For more from Olly, you can find him on Bluesky (etc) @OllyRichards, and his new book, Tim Burton: The Complete Unofficial Guide (part of the Iconic Directors series) is out now. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Christmas Karma: Reinventing redemption, Dickens And Muppets
Gurinder Chadha's new film, Christmas Karma, reimagines Charles Dickens' classic Christmas story with The Big Bang Theory's Kunal Nayyar in the lead. How does it stack up to the best previous adaptations? Can it measure up to the Muppets? And why is Dickens still relevant? Your host, Helen O'Hara, assesses the results with the help of comedian and author Marc Burrows. Christmas Karma is in cinemas around the UK now. Marc’s new book, The Story of the Christmas Number One: Mistletoe & Vinyl, is out now, and you can learn more about launch dates here: Marc Burrows.com For more from Helen, you can find her on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her new books, 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know and A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary are available now. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O’Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email producers@stripped.media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our Little Secret
Another year, another Lindsay Lohan Christmas movie - and this time she hasn't even lost her memory. In Our Little Secret, she's visiting her boyfriend's family, when she discovers that her ex is dating his sister. Instead of simply telling everyone about the coincidence, they inexplicably keep it secret and complications ensure - but are they comical or cringe? Well, joining your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) to discuss it is actor David Kirkbride (@DavidKirkbride), who has strong opinions on why these films end up feeling so very generic. We also touch on a couple of Christmas movies that we haven't had time to fully cover this year: Nutcrackers, with Ben Stiller as an uncle trying to find a foster family for his nephews, and Nosferatu - yes, really - from director Robert Eggers, so we can finish off the year strong and be ready for any home invasions that might occur: whether of inconvenient exes, orphaned children or undead vampires. Can't be too careful! If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now. You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Carry On
With people flying home for the holidays, now would be a really terrible time for ne'er-do-wells to smuggle a mysterious and dangerous package onto a plane by threatening a hapless TSA agent. Taron Egerton stars in this Jaume Collet-Sera film with Jason Bateman playing the unnamed man threatening him. But it all takes place on Christmas Eve, so it's technically a Christmas movie and inside the purview here on Bah Humbug, so your host Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) has invited film experts Chris Hewitt (@ChrisHewitt) and Amon Warmann (@AmonWarmann) along to assess airport security and how best to handle Christmas terrorism... If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now! You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dear Santa
It's a movie based on the old joke, about a dyslexic who sold his soul to Santa. This time, however, it's a kid (Robert Timothy Smith) who writes his letter to Santa with a crucial piece of misspelling, so that the devilish Jack Black turns up that night offering him three wishes in return for his soul. But is it worth eternal damnation to watch this one? Well, to find out, your host Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) sits down with author and comedian Marc Burrows (@20thCenturyMarc) to talk demons, wishes and what exactly this film could have done better. If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK . You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Christmas Eve In Miller's Point
An unconventional and fresh-feeling Christmas movie, Tyler Taormina's Christmas Eve In Miller's Point recreates a family get-together in a small town in the early '00s with painstaking attention to detail and more than a little comedy. To get the lowdown on this atmospheric tale, your host Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) talked to writer-director Tyler Taormina and guest Laura Venning (@LauraVenning) about what it takes to make a real family Christmas. Christmas Eve In Miller's Point is on digital platforms now, and will play in Picturehouse Cinemas this Christmas Eve... If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK . You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
That Christmas
This British Christmas animation is based on a series of books by Richard "Love Actually" Curtis, so you know it's going to be quirky and Christmassy and British, and stars a comedy who's-who of talent, including our guest this time, Rhys Darby! But did our panel love it? To find out, your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) talks to Charlotte Harrison (@sometimesmovies) and Tom Beasley (@TomJBeasley) to find out if it's THAT good or THAT bad before talking to Rhys himself. That Christmas is was in cinemas on November 29, and will now be on Netflix. Your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) sits down with stand-up comic and former MC of Magic Mike Live, David Morgan (@ThisIsDavid) to talk about the difference between chiselled and too chiselled, and what exactly is going on in these small towns... If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK . You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hot Frosty And The Merry Gentlemen
Think Christmas, think perfect chiselled abs. At least, that appears to be the message from Netflix's Hot Frosty and The Merry Gentlemen. The former sees Schitt's Creek's Dustin Milligan play a snowman come to life to fall in love with Lacey Chabert's cafe owner. The Merry Gentlemen, meanwhile, sees Britt Robertson's dancer turn Chad Michael Murray and friends into a topless dance revue to save her parents bar. Your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) sits down with stand-up comic and former MC of Magic Mike Live, David Morgan (@ThisIsDavid) to talk about the difference between chiselled and too chiselled, and what exactly is going on in these small towns... If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK . You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Red One
It's the biggest Christmas film in years, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Chris Evans leading a starry cast and a massive budget. But is Red One actually any good? This year's first Bah Humbug episode, with Amanda Keats (@filmvsbook) and Kelechi Ehenulo (@specialKWrites), join your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara), to dissect a wannabe Christmas classic, that puts the four quadrant into for he's a jolly good fellow. Or something. If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK . You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Holdover
It's not often that you see a Christmas film with Oscar buzz, nor one that the studio for some reason decide to release in the second half of January. Yet here we are, with the excellent cast and crew of The Holdovers. The reunion of Sideways' director and Star, Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti respectively, sees them tackle the story of a depressed teacher left looking after outcast students at a boy's boarding school over the holidays, which is no-one's idea of fun. Joining your host, Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) to talk about it is Radio One film critic and host of Radio One’s “Screen Time” Ali Plumb (@AliPlumb), here to dissect perhaps the best Christmas movie of the decade... If you want to read or hear more from Helen, you can order her book "Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film" which is out now in The UK and comes out on 16th December in the USA and Canada. Helen O'Hara is also on the Empire podcast every week and hosts the Podcast "His Darker Materials" to coincide with the BBC/HBO TV drama "His Dark Materials". You can find Helen on Twitter @HelenLOHara This pod was edited by Ben Williams and produced by Helen O'Hara and Stripped Media. If you want to know more about this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.Stripped.media to find out more or email producers@Stripped.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
