No trouble with Uber today. The one taking me to work arrived in 4 minutes; the one going home arrived in 3. No traffic, no problems anywhere.
No problems at work, either. We were dead the entire morning. I spent it sweeping, pushing carts, and enjoying the brisk, sunny, lower 40's weather. Not only was it too nice for shopping, but we're still two weeks from Christmas. Most people (including me) likely won't start stocking up for Christmas baking and dinner until this weekend.
Soon as I got home, I grabbed the cards and went right back out. I wanted to make sure they got out in the post office. It's only three blocks away, and I trust actually sending them in the post office more than a box or with the mailman. This time, they had no line. I ducked in, dropped them in the out of town slot, and walked home.
When I got home, I did the rest of the cards. These are the ones for Rose and her family, Jessa and Joe, and neighbors and friends who live in this area. They'll be given out with cookies or gift bags.
Watched A Flintstones Christmas Carol while I worked. Fred's playing Scrooge in a community theater production, but he's getting a little too into the role. He gets so into rehearsing his lines, he forgets to buy presents and pick up Pebbles at day care. Wilma has enough on her plate as it is. She's the stage manager and costume designer, thanks to "The Bedrock Bug" that has felled several members of the troupe, and she's not happy with Fred's behavior. It takes a scare at a department store and really listening to the story beyond memorizing lines to make Fred understand what's really important - the love of his wife and daughter.
Switched to Tom & Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale at Tubi after I went online. Jerry and Tuffy watch a performance of The Nutcracker at a theater and immediately fall in love with the story. Their wish to dance is granted by Christmas magic, turning Jerry into a king, the toys under the tree into Jerry's court, and a ballerina on a music box into his dance partner. Tom and his fellow cats invade the show, capturing all of the toys but Nellie the ride-on horse and Pixie the elf ornament. Jerry and his three friends search for the Toy Maker (Richard Newman), who created the toys and may know how to boot out the cats.
Despite the title, this is more of a cross between The Nutcracker and the other major holiday fantasy Babes In Toyland. The Toy Maker and rescue story comes out of the latter, but the ballet theme and Jerry being a king is really more from the original show. There's some pretty decent pantomimed gags here, and the side story with Nellie only being able to talk when you pull out her string ends up being touching. Not bad if you're a big Tom & Jerry fan.
Did a job search again, then worked on writing. Florrie and the weary Stephen explain how the curse on him worked. If she could see through the monstrous body he was trapped in and kiss him, he'd be restored to his human form and his people would have their memories restored. Stephen admitted he'd fallen for Cora when her parents had talked about how intelligent and sweet she was and hoped she would be the one who could end the curse. Harron locked him in the kitchen closet when she arrived, but a maid took pity on him and released him.
Broke for dinner and Match Game Syndicated at 7 PM. Poor Brett was upset in the first episode that Charles was leaving to star in a Broadway show. The others try to figure out "The Civil __" in the Audience Match and what's under Lassie's beautiful fur coat when she takes it off. Dick Martin took Charles' place in the second show, joined by Bill Daily, Debralee Scott, Gary Collins, and Betty White. Betty's nervous when she has to deal with a double on "__ As Well" in the Head-to-Head.
Finished the night at Paramount Plus with Scrooged. IBC head executive Frank Cross (Bill Murray) is heavily investing in his network's big live Christmas Eve production of A Christmas Carol. He's no saint himself. He refuses to attend his brother's (John Murray) Christmas party, fires one of his employees (Bobcat Goldthwait) for disagreeing about the dark promo he puts out for the special, and forces everyone else to work overtime on Christmas Eve, including his harried single-mom secretary Grace (Alfre Woodward). There's also the assistant (John Glover) his current boss (Robert Mitchum) hired who is after his job.
When the ghost of his former boss Lew Hayward (John Forsythe) shows up and tells him he's going to be visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve, he's skeptical, to say the least. It takes visions of his past, present, and future and rekindling his romance with social worker Claire (Karen Allen) to remind him that Christmas is a wonderful time for charity...and for forgiveness.
My stepfather used to love this movie when it ran on cable in the late 80's-early 90's, but most critics at the time agreed with Mom and found it too mean-spirited. Considering I've seen Christmas movies that were five times worse nowadays, this might have been ahead of its time. In fact, the ending is rather sweet. Murray is at his manic best as the cynical executive who thinks his career is everything, until he's reminded of what really matters. The Oscar-winning makeup, especially on the ghosts, remains incredible and rather horrific to this day, especially Hayward in zombie form and the Ghost of Christmas Future with the TVs for a body! If you like your Christmas comedies on the darker side, this is one that's worth checking out.
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