vacation with derek is a disaster

Consider this episode very much a "we watched it so you don't have to" situation, because we are NOT recommending the movie, but we did do some of our best work covering all of the reasons why. 

Vacation with Derek came out in 2010 (Canada, 2011 US), following the finale of one of our favorite shows, Life with Derek, and that's almost where the comparisons end. 

Please rate & review and reach out to us on socials with any thoughts you have to share. 

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Theme Song by Patrick Dunnevant, (https://www.youtube.com/c/AcappellaVGM)
Artwork by Dawn Wheeler (https://www.instagram.com/wool_and_stone)

Chapters

• 0:00 intro
• 4:13 background
• 6:45 cast
• 10:45 summary
• 23:45 what we like...?
• 41:44 what we didn't love
• 1:24:34 dasey scale
• 1:26:39 quotes
• 1:29:12 final thoughts & outro

Transcript

[get home from school turn on my TV who are these friends staring right back at me now that we're older why don't you come over and go back in time with me 90s Babies nostalgia] 

Hi, I'm Amanda.

And I'm Jessica, and this is 90's Babies nostalgia, where two 90's babies rewatch and sometimes watch for the first time, iconic entertainment from the early 2000s.

Just to be clear, we are not sponsored by nor affiliated with anything, one that we talk about ever, unless otherwise stated. We just really like talking about TV and TV movies. And today we are talking about vacation.

Vacation with Derek

This is a 2011 made-for-TV movie spinoff of Life with Derek that came out after the show finished. If you don't know much about Life with Derek, go back and listen because we have covered the entire series. Before we get into it, Jess, what have you been enjoying lately?

Well, in all transparency, we are recording this the um weekend after the election in the US. And so I would argue I'm not enjoying much. However, I have been doing stuff as a distraction, and one of my favorite things obviously is music. So I'm gonna shout out an artist that I've shouted out before, one of my favorite political artists, um specifically his album that came out in 2020, but I'm gonna shout out Grandson's album, Death of an Optimist. In general, it's a beautiful political piece from beginning to end. The album is gorgeous. It's about someone who is like very boisterous and optimistic in their want for change. um And that kind of comes to a halt and they feel defeated, but they find a way to work past it. It's a great, great album. It was very real for when he released it in 2020, and it feels even more real now. And I've been loving it, along with other things, but that's the main thing I would say. I've listened to it at least three times this week.

Yeah. Yeah. Art is important in times like this.

Yes, definitely.

Yeah.

What have you been enjoying?

Oh, you know, similarly therapy, civil unrest, whatever glitch in um German Amazon Echoes has made our Halloweentown episode very heavily downloaded. Just like the most random Grey's Anatomy, I'm on the the plane crash plot line. So that's really enjoyable. But if I want to give like a tangible answer, tangible because I can pick it up. I did recently finish this cute little novella called Women by Chloe Caldwell. It originally came out in 2014. And it is like the most what you expect of a sapphic relationship depicted in a novella. it's ah It follows a writer who's not successful. Like she's had one book published and now she's moving cities and working at a library and like not well off at all. And her tumultuous relationship with an older woman and It feels, even though I've never been in a relationship like this, it feels like any women loving women relationship written out on a page.

Okay.

it's just really raw. and like natural. I recommend it. And apparently before, because this is the 10th anniversary edition, it first came out in 2014.

Oh, wow.

Apparently, like it didn't sell super well for at first, and it would often be out of print. And the way that it like, stayed relevant and in the zeitgeist was just like, sapphic women would give it to their girlfriends and their friends. And then there's like the writer has gotten lots of stories from readers about how they lost their copy in a breakup and stuff like that.

Oh, my God. I love that. All right, we're gonna get into Vacation with Derek, but before we start on the summary, we I'm gonna give a little bit of background. So this was filmed in Northern Ontario, so same area that the show was filmed in fall of 2009. It aired on the Family Channel first in June of 2010, and then aired not quite a year later in March of 2011 on Disney Channel. It was directed by Michael McGowan, who us as Americans wouldn't really recognize him for anything, but he is a very well known like Canadian filmmaker. And Daphne Balan, who was the same writer, so um Daphne wrote and directed the movie. Daphne also was the writer on Life with Derek, as well as I was a sixth grade alien and comes back to write on Life with Luca as well. Surprisingly, you cannot find a lot of information on how or why this movie was made. I didn't really care before I watched it, and then I watched it, which we'll get into. And then I was like, who why who approved this? Why did we make this? And I wanted to know, and you know, didn't really find a lot of answers.

I too was a little disappointed at the lack of background information, not because I needed answers, but because I wanted answers.

Yes.

Because because i it's not that even that I don't think it should have been made, it's just like a I need to know how it was made. I need to understand.

Yeah. Yes.

You know, this is a feeling we have a lot these days is we really need to understand what's going on.

Yes. Yeah.

And you'll understand with us guys Yeah. Getting into our

This episode is a freaking, it's gonna be a doozy, y'all. A doozy. I'm just preparing you, but it's gonna be fun.

Yeah, if you need an indication as to what kind of made-for-TV movie this is, we watched it on YouTube because it is up on YouTube and it's actually a better quality than the show was on streaming, but the the movie does not exist on streaming, at least not in America, and we understood that after watching why that might be the case.

Yeah. Yep.

so don't I don't recommend watching the movie. Spoiler, I don't recommend watching it, but I do recommend listening to our episode to understand why we don't recommend watching it.

Yeah, I agree, I agree. Oh my goodness. Okay, getting into the actors, I'm not going to touch on everyone because a lot of this we already covered in our Life with Derek episodes. So in addition to the Venturi McDonald family, We have a few additions in this movie including Felicia, who is played by Kate Trotter. Felicia is Nora's mom, Lizzie and Casey's grandma, and she like owns this gorgeous lakefront lodge. She is a Canadian actress of the 90s, like very, very well known Canadian actress of the 90s. And then more recently, she's done stuff here and there, but she's been in a lot of Hallmark movies in the last few years.

We get Nicolas Archambault. Archambault? Archambault? I don't know. It's French and it has a lot of letters because he's from Quebec and he plays Jesse, a waiter at the lodge who's into Casey and also is a dancer. And why is he a dancer, you ask? Because Nicolas, aka Nico, was the winner of the first season of So You Think You Can Dance Canada in 2008, a couple years before this movie was made.

And when I looked that up halfway through the movie, it made a lot of sense.

Yep. Then we get Al Sapienza, who plays Doug Dumbarton. He's like an evil rich guy who wants to tear down the lodge and turn everything into like a resort. Like he's that kind of, I don't know, trademark character that's like in to ruin everything as it is because he's rich and just wants everything his way. This is an actor who, if you saw his face, you'd be like, I've seen that face and other things because he's literally done one episode of everything. Like, I'm not even exaggerating. His credits were 283 credits long for all of his acting work um on IMDB. And he's not that old to have almost 300 credits.

wow

Like, he literally has just done one episode of everything ever.

Respect. That's a lot of auditions that he he got 

Honestly, he's probably like making more money than some of these names that we would consider more well known because of just how booked and busy he's kept.

Yeah, absolutely. And then we get Kristen Gutoskie as Roxy Dunbarton, Doug's daughter, and just a hot generic girl that Derek is into. She was in Beaver Falls, The Vampire Diaries, The Handmaid's Tale, and Chicago Fire. Did I know any of that? No. Have I seen? Well, I've seen one of those things. I've seen one out of the four. I've seen all of Handmaid's Tale could not have recognized this person. She looks and acts so generically. Was that rude? Oh well, I'm in a mood, guys. I'm gonna try to perk up. I'm gonna try to perk up. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

I feel like I'm in the same mood but on the silly spectrum because I'm just like what was this 90 minute movie but Amanda and I both were like we're reworking the schedule we figured out some fun stuff for the winter holidays which we're excited about like we had a planning session we got things going but we're like oh we'll just throw in vacation with Derek because we knew we wanted to cover it neither of us had seen it and then i watched it before she did and i was like what did we sign ourselves up for like

I think my mood is more like... related to the current goings on in the world of like what the hell are we doing like sitting here for the next couple of hours talking about the sh!tty ass Canadian made for TV movie when like the world is on fire like it's actually just absurd it's like Dadaism like it's ah absurd art not that you could call this podcast art in this particular moment although maybe this episode will be art in ah ah a misunderstood moma type of way you know

Mhm.

anything's art. Anyway, we're gonna get into the summary, guys. We are getting into the summary, and you're gonna enjoy it. I promise, I promise, no matter what kind of start we've gotten off to, you are going to enjoy this summary, okay?

Yeah yep.

Okay.

So Casey and Lizzie are going on a summer vacation to stay with Nora's mom Felicia at her lodge and George ends up answering a phone call and interprets Felicia's oh the grandchildren can come stay at the lodge which Felicia explicitly meant Casey and Lizzie as all of the grandchildren So the entire Venturi McDonald family goes on a family vacation to the lodge and also at this point Nora's like very very pregnant like about to pop pregnant like she has a belly.

And also she and George are not on this vacation. They drop off their five kids and say, bye, we're going to Montreal. 

And as they're dropping off the kids, Nora gets out of the car. Of course, has she told Felicia she's pregnant? Nope. So that the vacation really starts off strong, Felicia's upset, and she's even more upset that all of George's children are also tagging along.

A little background on Felicia. Apparently she's very stubborn. She's very uptight and traditional or conservative. She doesn't believe in divorce, even though her husband divorced her 20 years ago. She doesn't believe in it. And so she's never accepted George and his kids. So she's really appalled by all of this.

That evening, every single evening, actually, at the lodge, they have dinner at a set time. at dinner, Felicia's like super annoyed with the Venturi children, because they're just being Edwin and Derek and Marti. And Felicia hates it. And then we see Casey making eyes with Jesse, the waiter. And then later on, Casey and Derek are dancing but then this is where this movie takes a turn, guys. It takes a turn from the beginning, but this is where it takes a turn and gets a little wacky. Jesse, the waiter, sees Casey dancing with Derek and how Derek doesn't really know how to dance and like jumps in and is like, oh, I'll dance with you. And then they have an entire choreographed dance number.

the first of many.

Mm-hmm. 

So Derek and Edwin are about to leave. They wanted to leave before, but Casey stole the car keys, so they couldn't leave. But Felicia very graciously offers to buy them bus tickets. And this upsets Marti and Lizzie. Casey, of course, is like, nah, go away. I don't care. there's this really dramatic scene where Derek is dangling Marti over the lake in the middle of the night, like he's gonna f*cking drop her in. I don't know why, but she's also upset about him leaving in this moment. And also Lizzie is like, if you go, then my grandma wins because then you're just proving her point at the Venturi's sucks and also Casey wants you to go and this really turns Derek's mind around and he's like we have to stay and prove these bitches wrong so he decides that he and Edwin are staying. Felicia doesn't love that but the next day Derek sees a hot girl on a boat and Felicia also doesn't love that because who else is on the boat? Her dad and this is the guy that wants to buy the lodge and turn it into a resort and Felicia's like of course you like them. So Derek canoes over to their house across the lake because he's creepy.

Yeah, very creepy. While all this is happening, more things happen and Marti and Lizzie go over to the marsh which is like connected to this lake and they're bird watching and they make friends and they're just enjoying life and Derek flips over Edwin who is canoeing in the lake because he's jet skiing with Roxy and he literally does not care that Edwin like fully flips over in this canoe 

I think this is like the next day, by the way. This is like a few days in a row of like Derek hanging out with Roxy, Edwin hanging out with these kids named Ben and Sven, Marti and Lizzie at the Marsh. Like everyone's kind of doing their own thing. Casey's studying.

Yes, Casey is studying, but also Casey and Jesse are dancing. Then they all come together for dinner and Felicia's pissed because everyone is late except for Casey. Derek and Edwin show up and they're late and then the last people to show up are Marti and Lizzie and they have a little box that they tuck under the table. Well what's in that box? Um it's a snake named Mikey that Marti really fell in love with when they were bird watching at the marsh. The snake gets out, it gets On Derek's feet, Derek freaks out, flips the table, causes a commotion in the restaurant, and Felicia has had it. Like, she's done.

Let me stand up for my man for one second. Derek freaks out, which causes the others to jump up. He doesn't flip the table.

Mmm.

Edwin showed up to dinner with his fly down and accidentally zipped the tablecloth into his fly zipper. So when he jumps up, because Derek jumped up, he takes the whole tablecloth with him.

I forgot about that detail yes yes that is what happens 

No, because I was watching it and I was like, how did they take the whole tablecloth off? All he did was jump up. And then they made that comment and I was like, oh my God, Edwin. no

yeah and so after this Felicia is like the boys must leave they have to leave Derek wants to stay because of Roxy and so Derek kind of plants a thought in Casey and is like, you need to pick, it's either your grandma or it's us, which is so dramatic. And so then Casey tells her grandma, you know what, if the Venturis have to leave, then I'm leaving too. And so Felicia's like, oh, and you can tell she's a little torn, but she still really does not want the Venturi children there. And then they realize Marti is missing. And when Marti goes missing, Derek jumps into action. He's asking everyone, where's the last time you've seen her? has Edwin going to like a little watchtower to try to look for her and he realizes what would Marti do? Marti would want to return her snake Mikey to where she found him and so of course Marti's at the marsh they go and find her and bring her back and after witnessing all of this happen Felicia changes her mind and it's like okay I guess you guys can stay.

Derek is still hanging out with Roxy. He's still hanging out with her but now Grandma Felicia has gotten into his brain a little bit so he's kind of trying to dig for intel from her and her pops about what's going on. He sees like plans that are being made with a surveyor and learns that he's gonna drain the marsh to create this resort that yachts can can drive in float. What what what do yachts do?

What do boats do? Do they drive? Do they... They don't float. They don't swim. What do they do?

I was gonna say motor, but that's not, that's not, that's not right.

Steer? I guess? Whatever boats do. He's gonna drain the marsh.

I think boats drive, I think boats drive. They don't drive they definitely don't drive

like planes fly and cars drive and trains I don't know what trains do either trains run trains run and boats also run I'm gonna say and boats run 

Yep

so he's gonna drain the marsh so that yachts can run on the lake 

Yep

and create this big resort and so he takes this back to his family and um what's her face Felicia says that he tried already to develop the marshland but was denied it and then she makes a call and finds out he appealed the deny. So now she's waiting to find out, she should find out by the end of the week, whether or not his appeal goes through. And so Lizzie, little environmental queen, is like, okay, we need to host a rally. We need to save the marsh. And Casey's like, you're being unrealistic. And she's like, kid power. So now we get many montages of the whole gang of five kids organizing a rally that's not really a rally. It's a talent show kind of, to save the marsh.

Do you want me to take over?

I felt like I left off at a really good point and you could take over from there.

Mkay so while they're Lizzie's planning her event and everything is going off and everyone is getting riled up about saving the marsh, Felicia gets a call that the appeal went through and that Doug will be able to drain the marsh and build the resort that he wants. She feels defeated. So she agrees to sell. When she agrees to sell later on, she's having a conversation with Casey and, she you know, she tells the children that she agreed to sell and Casey and her kind of have a back and forth she tells Casey that she's turning into Nora and that she's not focusing on like the serious things in life or the things that she should be focusing on. And Casey's like, okay, well, you also were never there for us. growing up like you haven't tried to make an effort to be part of our family now that mom married George like you haven't even tried to get to know Derek and Edwin and Marti and after this conversation Casey writes a letter in the morning and leaves to take a bus home because she's like I said some things that I probably shouldn't have said and I just want to leave At the same time with Casey leaving and Felicia agreeing to sell, Lizzie is feeling very defeated about the Save the Marsh event, and so she's about to give up on the event as well. 

Yeah, because there's no marsh left to save.

Mm-hmm.

But then they realize that they have a secret weapon and that is Felicia's arch enemy, George Venturi, their lawyer father who worked on civil cases in the show but apparently also kind of works on environment stuff. So Edwin makes a call to George and George is like, this is impossible. but fine, whatever. Derek tells Felicia to go to the bus station because maybe Casey's bus didn't leave yet and they go and make up. And also Derek goes to fish around and ask Roxy for this commissioned report that her grandfather commissioned about the the the environment of the wetlands and all of the species that live there generations ago that she doesn't actually know about until this very moment and yet somehow also says she wouldn't give it to him but also gives it to him because they need to prove the importance of the marsh.

As the save the marsh rally is about to kick off. Dumbarton shows up to the event to get the paperwork signed. Meanwhile, outside, they're all like, we need George to show up, like he needs to hurry up, like she is about to sign, we need to stall Felicia. And the pen is about to touch paper and George bursts in and is like, don't sign the contract, I got an injunction, stop all development. And they celebrate by still hosting the event. Jesse and Casey perform this dance that they've been working on the entire time. We didn't really mention it all that much because I mean, you've just listened to this plot. That's why we didn't mention it all that much. And of course, there's a famous choreographer in the audience who is the son of one of the people who were staying at the lodge, who also performed um at this event. And he is so blown away by Jesse and Casey that he offers them both parts in his show in New York City. And so Casey debates taking a year off from college, deferring for a year. And Felicia encourages her to do so.

And then they're all dancing, again, in the middle of the Lodge community, hall, whatever, and Casey and Jesse kiss. Also, Lizzie Kisses another guy on the dock that we'll get into that kind of and Casey and Jesse kiss and then Derek pulls her away to dance with her and that's the movie except the credits roll and we get blooper scenes and then at the end of the credits we get a one year later and everyone is back at the lodge and taking a family photo and now there's a baby and his name is Simon and now we're done! That's the movie! That's the movie!

And it's like three movies in one. Did you catch that? It's giving...Honestly, it's giving cheaper by the dozen, which I realized as we were finishing. like I kind of get why there was so much going on because there's so many players involved, but it was still a lot.

it's a lot and we'll... get into it more in our what we didn't like section. 

But first

But before we do that, we are going to talk about what we did like. And I wrote this as a question mark because I don't actually know if I liked it, but I didn't dislike it. It just was a big change. Lizzie's hair is like blonde, but purple but Also dark.

And also an asymmetrical cut, like a very asymmetrical cut.

Yeah and the only, which I did not look into this at all, so I don't know if this is fact, but the only thing that I could see is I'm like, has the actor started on Degrassi yet? And is that the reason for the like drastic hair change?

I was also wondering that. I think the actress also likes her hair and playing with it. Because I think like after playing a trans man on Degrassi for years, she was like so happy to grow her hair out again and stuff. And I think she just like likes an edgier style. It was kind of weird for Lizzie, but I didn't hate it. It didn't not work, but didn't work exactly.

Yeah.

everyone's hair is different. Casey's blonde now. Derek has some like Elvis ass looking hair. It drove me nuts. 

Yeah

It drove me nuts the whole time.

Yeah, it also looks dyed, like they dyed it darker or something.

Yeah. Yeah. Also, everyone's wardrobe was like very 2010. Like all of the strappy dresses and tank tops. And also at one point, Casey is dancing in these like three inch cork wedge sandals

Yep

which was like insane.

I think of all of these things, Lizzie's hair was the least offensive to me despite the fact that it was like the most glaring.

Yeah, it just doesn't fit the character of the show. Like, I don't know if Lizzie from the Four Seasons of Life with Derek would dye her hair like that.

I could see her getting purple in her hair.

yeah 

I couldn't see her dying at bleach blonde. Or caring that much.

Yeah, totally. The other big difference is obviously Marti being the youngest member every single new season and now with the movie, anything where there's a gap of time, how much older she looks just is like, It feels like she grew up four years, even though she really didn't. But she seemed so much older to me in this movie, like so much.

She is fully in her tween era 

Yeah

and it's jarring.

Yes

And at the very, very beginning when we just see Casey and Derek, I'm like, if it weren't for Casey, whatever. Derek looks like he could be Derek from kind of the start of the show. Like um'm I'm ambiguous about his age because his hair is weird. And then you see Marti and you're like, Oh no, this was filmed like four years after the show. It wasn't, but it feels like it was 

It does yeah

because she looks so much older.

Yeah, it's kinda crazy. I wrote this that Derek has dice hanging on his rear view mirror in his car. And I just felt that that felt right. It felt like a good character choice. Amanda wrote that this also was in the show. I don't remember seeing it in the show, but that makes sense that they kept it consistent. But I feel like Derek would have those like fuzzy big dice hanging in his car.

Yeah, he had the dice in the show. What did confuse me? So at the start of this movie, we didn't mention Casey and Derek drive to the lodge together, as opposed to everyone else is in another car because big family. And he's supposed to be driving the prince, is he not? He's supposed to be driving the old car, which we've seen in the show. But instead, he's driving this like, I don't know like civic Volvo kind of crappy green car that has flowers painted on the side of it. I can't see Derek Venturi driving a car with flowers painted on the side of it.

Yeah, that part does not check out also I'm like is it a shared car like Derek and Casey both Share it and that's why there's flowers on it. I yeah, I'm just trying to come up with the reasons

Yeah, historically they do share a car, but I don't think Casey would put the fla- I think it's like an old family car, maybe? That's why. But I think they would paint over it. I finally realized that if Jess is Casey, I, Amanda, am Derek.

okay
 
because I am also very sassy and overly competitive and don't like when my ego is challenged. And I realized this in a moment that I wrote down in our quotes when he had a comeback as soon as he met Felicia. And I was just like, yep, that is unfortunately me. Except I'm not as cool as him, but that's okay.

Uh I don't know, is he really that cool?

Okay, I'm not as confident as him, and that's not okay.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's fair, that's fair. There is this point where Edwin lectures Derek in the same manner that Derek would lecture him in the show. I can't remember the specific reason I wrote this down, but I know there's moments where like, Edwin kind of is like, pushing Derek to want to stay and the reasons they should stay in is kind of adding into the whole like, well, if we leave, we're letting Felicia win. And the way that Edwin is going about it is just very like he learned this style from Derek.

Almost every one of those instances, though, Edwin is the one that's like, no, we should be leaving.

Yeah.

when the girls convinced Derek to stay, Edwin's mad because he wants to leave. And at the beginning, when Casey and Derek show up late, Edwin is like, there's no TVs in the room. There's no internet access We've stepped into some f*cking time warp. He's walking down the like not even road gravel path ish with his suitcase and his pillow in his arms being like, we have to get the heck out of here. And he has a monologue.

Yeah. Yes, he does.

But it is similar to Derek, he has learned, and we have seen the siblings grow up, also with Lizzie being like, knowing exactly what to say to make Derek stay.

Yeah

We kept some of the character growth.

Yeah, I think the character growth and like the how in some ways they have kind of become like one another and Lizzie and Edwin are stepping into their roles as now being the oldest siblings with Casey and Derek on their way out. Like that kind of growth and transition in the characters we did keep in the movie, which was nice. there's this point at the beginning of the movie where Derek is coming out to, I'm pretty sure, either say hi or maybe complain to Felicia.

He's bringing her orange juice when they decide to stay the first time.

Okay, he's trying to make make her like him. she is having her regular morning skinny dip.

Yep. And I could tell that that woman was skinny dipping before she said it.

Oh, me too. It was very obvious.

I know you put this in favorite moments, and I guess it kind of was, but I also am like very confused and concerned because unless you have a waiver that everyone is signing, why are you the owner and proprietor of this like hospitality establishment skinny dipping every morning in a public lake where anyone can walk up on you?

Yeah, the only thing is I'm like, is she doing this at 5am? But the sun is up when she's doing it, so no, she's not. But yes, I agree when you think that this is a lodge in which she is paying guests staying there to enjoy their summer, it is completely inappropriate that she would be skinny dipping. Like, it's not okay.

it's not an adult only lodge.

No.

If she were in a private area, sure, but if Derek can find her, and it's not 5am because Derek wouldn't be up at 5am.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Um, that was just like, what? But I also relate a lot to Felicia in that she's been single for a long time. She's an older woman. All she cares about is her business and has like a very particular way of life that she enjoys living. And like, I do see myself as a woman like that when I grow up. So I don't, I don't blame her exactly, but like find a privacy, a private area, you know?

Yeah.

Don't be flashing people without their consent.

Yeah, and you have to think she's run into issues with this if this is like a regular behavior of hers.

you would think. And yet. This is not a side plot. This is just a character trait of Edwin's. This is not a side plot, Jess.

It comes up enough that I'm classifying it as a side plot. There's a recurring bit, I guess you would say, it's not a plot, it's a bit. There's a recurring bit that Edwin Farts in his sleep the entire movie, and I just like... One, it's hilariously dumb. I love it because it's dumb, it's stupid, it's mostly harmless because Edwin doesn't really care, he's pretty shameless about it. but also like was this ever in the show like this feels like all the kids are like oh my gosh i'd run farts in his sleep and he's like no i don't huh but i'm like if this is something they all know he does and they don't want to sleep with him like why was this not in the show it feels like such a random bit to throw in oh it was okay okay that makes me feel better

It was in the show. It was.

I don't know if you remember like the last season, especially, he's very much characterized as like a gassy kid that has issues with beans and various things. He farts a lot. And then also in the episode where they take the road trip that goes really terribly wrong 

Oooooooh.

and they end up in that like too small hotel room, he definitely farts in his sleep.

Yesss.

So I actually really liked that this was included because I felt like this movie was like so different from the show in a lot of ways. So for them to keep in these certain elements of the characters from the show, like that he's really gassy and that Lizzie really likes the environment, felt like, okay, these are the same characters. This is the same universe.

Yeah. I forgot about that, but now you mentioning the road trip episode. I'm like, Oh my God. Yes. I forgot that that was a trait of his, but I just thought it was funny that it came up so many times during the movie.

Yes, it did because they have to sleep in bunk beds and no one wants to sleep above Edwin and every night there's a fart and then he immediately goes, wasn't me, which also like, dude, you're supposed to be asleep, but whatever.

a thing I appreciated is, as terrible and stubborn and set in her ways that Felicia is, she does come around. And I feel like I appreciated that not only did she come around you see her open herself up to the Venturi children, but there's also this moment where she apologizes to George and Nora about not going to their wedding, and it actually felt like a sincere apology.

I agree. I think she's generally a pretty terrible person, but the two times that she apologizes, first to Casey at the bus stop and then later to George and Nora after the whole shebang, they do feel like very sincere apologies.

Yeah, like she actually means it and she feels deeply sorry. Like she realizes in retrospect that like her behavior was inappropriate. And I liked that, it humanized her a little bit.

Mhmm Mhmm 

Oh my God. when they are getting ready for the Save the Marsh rally. I swear to you, Lizzie is using an industrial stapler to staple up these flyers. I understand that this is a very random thing to include in the notes, but I was so confused. I'm like, why is she not using tape like normal people?

Oh, okay. I was wondering why you were confused because I'm like, yeah, you would need an industrial stapler to put it up. You can't use a regular when it would break. But I mean, if you're, if it's staples versus tape, yeah, she should be using like, like masking tape or something.

Yeah, like think about around your apartment, like when people put up like, missing dog or found dog or whatever it is, flyers, it's always taped or, you know, yard sale this way. No one is f*cking stapling it.

Would staples work better on a wooden pole? I mean, obviously on a metal pole you would have to tape, but would staples work better on a metal pole? Like maybe tape doesn't stick that well to wood?

Yeah, I still feel like it's vandalism. I don't know why, but I don't like it.

Well, it's all vandalism.

Yeah, but the other stuff you could remove, but it's like if you rip off that paper, those giant freaking staples are now living in that pole for the rest of time.

There's staple removers. Also, can I just remind you that we are in the what we like about the movie section?

Okay, I'm gonna put this as like what we like slash favorite moments, which I would say this is a moment that stood out for me. It's not something I didn't love. I just thought it was weird.

Okay. Fair enough.

But the wrong choice of apparatus, I think.

Would not be the way you would distribute flyers. Understood.

Correct.

I feel like these are all mine.

They are. They are.

The next the next one is Amanda. I have to say, I'm here to defend Felicia a little bit. As Amanda said, she's terrible. And I agree, she's terrible. And there's not a lot of redeeming moments. But one of the big things that the girls keep bringing up, specifically Casey, is like you've never came to see us, you've never made an effort to be part of for our families since George is part of it, and all these things are valid points that they are bringing up. However, this woman also works in hospitality. She is running a small business. It is her lodge. Like, who is gonna be there if She's not there to greet the guests and take care of everything. Like, she is a busy woman. And hospitality is no joke.

See, I didn't even hear the part about you're not around because I was too focused on the you've never accepted George and the whole marriage and kids thing, which feels like an unforgivable character trait So I think the fact that she's like stuck in her lodge is a little negligible. I'd also like to point out that she is in Ontario at a lakefront lodge, which definitely has a down season when she could be traveling to see her grandkids.

Oh cause it's probably closed in the winter.

Yeah, probably.

Okay. Okay. Okay. I take that makes sense.

But i and I understand your point. She is a very busy independent woman.

Yeah. Like

And again, I feel like I'm going to be a Felicia when I grow up, but I still see her as like a pretty terrible character 

Oh yeah

where I was like, you don't deserve Casey and Nora loving you the way that they do.

Oh absolutely not. This woman is not a good woman and she's not a good grandmother and like very obviously was not a good mom either and like really probably like Nora is very damaged by her you know like she's not a good woman.

Some of the stuff she was saying, I was like, this is harsher than what I'm going, like, working through in therapy right now.
 
Yeah it's like bad.

My one thing that I have to talk about that I thought... was, I don't know, interesting-ish, was that halfway through this movie when it became about, like, the resort versus the lodge, I was like, are we watching the plot of Camp Rock 2? And which one came first? I was gonna ask, do you think that this inspired Camp Rock 2? And then I found out Camp Rock 2 came out in 2010 or 20- 2008? I think it was 2010. It was before this one by a short time. And also halfway through the movie when we saw more of the set, I thought, This could be the place where they filmed Camp Rock. Like I remember them saying they filmed it in Canada.  So then I looked it up. It's not the place where they filmed Camp Rock, but it is an hour and a half away from the place where they filmed Camp Rock. They're both in Ontario near Algonquin National Park. This lodge is actually is not in the park. It's further south. The other one is actually further north um in the park, but which is a very, very large national park in Ontario. But I just found it interesting. And do we think maybe the production teams were the same because they were produced so close together? And were they like, dude, is this the same movie, but like dance instead of singing?

I think they were one after another because based on this, Camp rock 2 came out September 3rd of 2010.

Mm hmm.

And this movie, even though it didn't come out on Disney Channel until 2010, it premiered on Family Channel almost an entire year prior. So this movie did come before.

they were probably They probably even had production overlaps, or very likely could have.

Yeah, very interesting. I forgot I like blackout camp rock 2 from my brain, but they are basically the same movie.

Yeah, and also revolve in these like camps in the woods that are built on lakes, which like obviously is a fairly common thing, but still just I was like, is this the same place? No, but very similar and close by. And I was proud of myself, guys, because as little information as you can find about this movie online, you can find where it was filmed on IMDB if you scroll far enough down past the silly, silly reviews. Getting into things that we don't love as much as if we haven't already discussed. Guys, it's not just going to be us sh!tting, it's going to be us sh!tting in a funny way. You know? that I could have chosen better words.

Yeah, like.

It'll be funny, it'll be entertaining. Keep going, keep rolling with us. Are you having a good time? I'm having a good time. 

Yeah

And do I sound like I'm on drugs? A little bit.

Yeah, I was like, think I'm not bringing the energy that Amanda's bringing. I'm not negative. This movie is just like a bad TV movie. like It's not like the worst thing I've ever watched in my life. I didn't want to turn it off. It's just a hilariously bad.

I didn't see, the thing is, I not only didn't hate it, I didn't necessarily think it was bad.

Oh 

I just think that going through all of the things, it sounds crazier and crazier.

It was crazy. Watching it, I was like, this is crazy. And then writing the notes, I was like, it was, it validated me. And then when Amanda texted me that she was watching it and she was like, Jess, this is wild. I was like, I feel very validated to my own personal experience of watching it. so we have to start with this intro scene the intro scene with the like intro credits and the song was like a paper doll style animation i don't would you describe it differently i don't really know how 

It was like a claymation, wasn't it?

Yeah but they almost looked like paper dolls like they didn't

It was weird, is what it was, and it was absolutely nothing 

No

like the intro to the show. 

No, and the song made my head hurt. It felt like it was piercing my brain. I hated it.

I cannot recall it at all. It wasn't catchy in the slightest. it was a boring-ass song with a weird-ass intro that felt like I was not watching A Life with Derek production.

Yeah

I didn't like it.

My very first note when watching it was, what the f*ck is this intro?

Me too. I was like, I don't understand. The style is weird. The song is bad. Doesn't feel like life with Derek at all.

And this brings me into, I generally hate made for TV movies based off of TV shows. I will watch them and appreciate them for what they are, but in the realm of things that I like and dislike, this goes in the dislike pile, okay? It's vacation with Derek it's Wizards of Waverly Place. I don't even really, like, I don't like the Wizards movie that much. Sue me. I don't even really like Hannah Montana, the movie that much. I do like Lizzie McGuire, the movie, but that's because I don't even really associate it with the show because it's Not the same. like 

Mhmm

And yes, I realize two out of the ones that I just said were made for theaters, whatever. I don't like, even Steven's the movie that much either, okay? There are other examples. I just can't think of them. so [grumbles] Okay, I don't like them because the reason I'm watching them is that I enjoyed this show that had whatever charm it had and While the directors and writers may or may not be the same, the production quality is always so different. It visually looks different. The budget has changed, the equipment has changed, the way that they edit it has changed. And it starts off with that f*ck-ass intro and then immediately they're hanging out in a yard that we have never seen. And the outside of the house looks not really like the outside of the house that we've seen before.

No

I'm just like this doesn't and then also on top of that all the characters having new hairstyles and whatnot Like I need something to feel similar and none of it did 

Agreed. It was very like... Strange. And so we know the writer is the same. We don't know if the whole writing team is the same. My guess is no, but the main writer Daphne is the same. The directors are different. This director did not direct any of the episodes of Life with Derek, which makes sense. Normally movie directors are different compared to TV show director. But yeah, it just is weird and off-putting And it doesn't feel like the same show because the production is so different.

Yeah, and I think that that's often the case is that the budget is increased, right? The amount of money that you have to make a 90-minute movie versus 20, 30-minute episodes is way different. to me, I think a lot of it comes down to the style of like suddenly the colors are vibrant, the saturation is different, the contrast is up, things like that that I understand it's because you have money for better editing and equipment and stuff. It tonally makes it feel like a very different project.

Yeah.

And this brings me into other thing that confuse me. Timeline confused. So confused. This timeline makes no goddamn sense.

Mhmm

Were you also confused? Because I was constant-

Mhmm

Okay, okay. So at the beginning, we know that it's summer break before they go to uni. We don't know that they haven't gone to uni though. I assumed that maybe this was like They're a couple years into uni. Did it cross my mind that nora is still pregnant? Absolutely not I forgot about that and that that wouldn't make sense But Nora mentions at the beginning that they've been a blended family for four years But didn't Casey wasn't Casey like 15 when they first came maybe she was 14 I guess that would work that they were 18, but I thought she was 15 and also like high school I checked I checked you know what I did I went on Wikipedia and looked at high schools or secondary schools as they're called in Canada in London, Ontario and I opened the wiki page for every single secondary school in London, Ontario and almost all of them are grades 9 through 12 and why did I do that? Because it differs based on the county in in Canada.

Mmm.

So grades 9 through 12 like a normal American high school which would be 14 to 18 and now Edwin is 15 but he still hasn't started high school and Casey hasn't started uni and I just and also if this is right off of the show then like f*ck Truman and Emily I guess because they both have love interests and don't ever mention them and like don't think about them at all and Nora was like just pregnant at the start of the summer at the end of the show and now she's like ready to burst which it would only be a couple months later like that wouldn't make sense I'm just confused

Yeah, it doesn't make any sense because even if Nora and George waited to tell the kids until she was past her first trimester, which based on the events we see in the show, doesn't seem like she did. But let's say she waited those three months and then that's when they told the kids. Still, based on the timeline of them jumping this summer, she would still be in her second trimester. So she would barely be starting to show. Most women don't show until their third trimester. So it's like, it makes no sense, no sense.

Whereas for context guys, she's so pregnant that at the end of the episode, 

So pregnant

or at the end of the movie, I thought she might go into labor.

Yes, me too. I was like, is her water about to break? Like, what is happening?

That is why my notes laid her down. um Because that's how crazy this movie was that I was like, I would not be surprised if in this climactic moment, Nora's water broke. and she's that pregnant. And so I'm just really confused about the timeline. I feel like it should have been like a couple years later, but whatever, whatever, whatever, I don't care, I don't care, it doesn't matter.

yeah yeah jumping off of that this entire movie even though amanda said she doesn't think it's bad i'm gonna stand and say it's bad um this entire movie is pretty bad but to me especially the first 50 minutes It just felt like they were trying to do so much. Like you got the big mix up of like, oh, we didn't actually mean all of the grandchildren. And you had all the back and forth of like, are they going to stay? Are they going to leave? Are they going to stay? Are they going to leave? Marti goes missing and then, oh no, the marsh is going to be taken over. Like they are doing so much. in these 50 minutes, the entire time I was like, I don't know what the plot is. Like, what? What is the plot? And where are we driving to? Because there's just so many different things happening. It was a lot.

I agree. It was a lot, and it was at times too much, but I've come to terms with it after sleeping on it because I watched it just last night. And the reason I've come to terms with it is that that's life, baby. There's a lot happening at once. You can't control when your evil step-grandmother gets involved and then also they're trying to take over her lodge. I'm good with the two concurrent plots of she's coming to terms with her daughter's second marriage and also they're trying to save the marshland. I'm okay with that. What feels like too much is when you add in all of those f*ckass side characters that don't matter. However, knowing the Venturi McDonald kids as I do, if they were all together at a lodge over the summer, would they be spending any time together?

No.

No. They would be making other friends.

Mm hmm.

They're not the spend time together family. So they're doing too much. But sometimes life is too much. And this is when I say it kind of feels like a cheaper by the dozen movie.

Mm hmm. It does. It does.

Cheaper by the half dozen. In the things we didn't need in the first 50 minutes, the last 50 minutes, the any of the 90 minutes that this went on.

Oh The entire movie did not need any of the numerous Casey and Jesse dance scenes. I think we get four, maybe five. All of them are entirely unnecessary.

And I gotta to say, anytime I have seen Casey dance in both the movie and the show, unless it is a specifically choreographed number, when they're like, they clearly were like, oh, Ashley, you can just freestyle. She does the same exact routine every time. 

Mhmm

Every time, I don't need to see you do that, f*ck ass. Backwards, cartwheel, sh!t, anymore. One of the very first, what maybe the second dance scene 

Second

that we get between them is when she sees him in the rehearsal room and she's like, I also have a routine to this song. And he's like, you gotta show me. And she's like, I'm so out of practice and so out of shape. I haven't danced in a few months. And then she immediately like stumbles and like sucks ass in like the least realistic way possible.

Mhmm


And I'm like, girl, it's been three months. Like at max it's been three months, you can do this. If you've been dancing for, what, at least a decade

Yeah

you can do this.

Yeah!

And then there was also this weird thing about how he clams up at auditions. He like lived in New York for a year or two and was trying to make it, but he sucks at auditions. And then they find out that that choreographer is in the crowd and he apparently has no problem performing. And like, that's not how that would work. That's the same thing as an audition if you think it's an audition.

Yeah, also he is like a little nervous and Casey has to be like, it's okay, we got this, we've practiced a lot. But it's just like normal encouragement you would need before an audition or a performance. It's not like crazy nerves that he's showing.

No. And in the scene when the choreographer is impressed by him, you see his face a couple of times and he's impressed. Every time that they got to him looking impressed was when Jesse was doing something that I could do. For instance, when he jumped off a stage, he didn't flip, he didn't do anything fun. When he jumped off the stage, he just jumped off the stage. I can jump off a stage, man. Is he a good dancer? Yes, of course. But it's also like when I found out he was the winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, it made so much sense because they do that. Like, it's enjoyable. But in this movie, it made no sense the like, hip hop, modern combo style 

Mhmm

that just feels, I don't know, it felt very of the time and of So You Think You Can Dance.

Yeah, also very like, is this the time that all the f*cking step up movies were coming out?

yes 

Feels very step up

it is that time and he after winning so you think you can dance the first thing he was in was a french canadian basically step-up movie 

Got it checks out

Jesse looks 35 and he's not. He's only two years older than Ashley Leggett. And he looks 35 and I don't care. It's upsetting. And he's not an actor. This man cannot act.

He hasn't acted much since. Thank God. Thank the Canadian screens.

The thing that I, now remembering, he also, the problem my problem with his entire character besides acting bad you're a waiter and there becomes a point where he is waiting on them and then all we see is him dancing. He's always in the practice room, he's always dancing. I'm like, what is your job? Or what are you getting paid to do, sir?

Yeah, it's like he probably gets lodging and studio space. But also does he get paid? I don't know. Like, he's really not working very much.

No, correct.

No.

Not normally how those like summer stints had a resort like that would work, that would give you lodging, like you're working eight to 10 hour days minimum. 

Yeah

But no, Jesse's alone by himself in the dance studio eight to 10 hours a day.

This is not about Jesse, but this is tangential to it is during that final dance scene. Casey is wearing a black mini skirt with black leggings and black strappy heels and it's very dated and it's very awful. It's just atrocious. If you're going to wear black strappy heels, wear tights. Don't wear leggings that cut off and show your f*ck ass foot.

Mhmm yeah I didn't pay attention to the outfit, but yeah, it's not a good look. It doesn't even feel of the time either. It just feels like bad costuming decisions.

Oh, I think we wore a lot of leggings in like 2010 to 2013, 2014.

But with strap, did we wear them with strappy heels? I agree with you. We wore leggings under mini skirts. And like, that was a bad idea.

Yes.

But did we wear leggings with strappy heels?

No, because we didn't wear heels. Well, you did actually

I did wear a lot of heels in high school and college.

Also, any time that Jesse and Casey are interact or seeing each other across what the way, or if there's various times that it happens between characters, there's this like slow-mo with cringe music and it just, oh, that was maybe my least favorite part of this movie was the amount of slow-mo and cringe music when people see each other.

Mhmm

I hate it.

Yeah, I think my least favorite part about this movie is that it was doing entirely too much, yet there was no stakes. There was no stakes. What were the stakes? Like I didn't even feel that invested in the marsh plot because there was so much else going on. If they built up the entire movie to be structured around the marsh from beginning to end and that was the big thing that I was supposed to be invested in, then maybe I would have cared. But there was so much happening the entire time tangentially that to me there was zero stakes, but a thousand things that I was supposed to be paying attention to. And that I think was its biggest flaw.

I mean, I think that there were stakes because of the marsh and the lodge and the selling of the property. And they mentioned it pretty early on, but I agree that there were so many things going on that like it was hard to really care about anything and they could have narrowed it down.

Yes, yeah, there are many things they could have gotten rid of, including All of the scenes that Edwin has with his new friends Sven and Ben...

yep, my least favorite characters of this movie. Well, they're probably tied with Roxy.

yeah yeah they at least maybe had personality i don't really know i don't have positive things to say about them but what i do have to say is disney did this thing or family channel both did this thing which they constantly do with that like younger sibling or middle sibling that i hate But they did it with Edwin's friends instead is immediately Sven and Ben are smitten with Casey. They'll do anything she asks. They don't care that Edwin finds her annoying. That it's Edwin's older sister. They just immediately are like smitten with her. And it's just weird, weird. Can we just have people like people their age?

What I also find weird about it is like, okay, whatever they think she's hot, but they meet her because she comes over to scold Edwin for being reckless. And then they're like, well, let's continue being reckless. Cause like, oh my God, and we wouldn't want her to come like scold to him. Like, but any, any teenage boy who thought that your older sister was hot would immediately be turned off when she scolds you.

Yes

They'd be like, God, she's such a f*cking nag.

Yes.

Like that was the least realistic part to me is that they still liked her after that.

It was unrealistic and yeah, it's just one of those things that we see in every single show we've watched and I hate it every time.

Yeah. Yeah, I agree. ah What really dated this was, okay, also also I was so confused by by Ben and Sven's characters to begin with, because when Edwin meets them, they're playing croquet very normally, and he's like, now what if we played extreme croquet and we like hit the balls against the trees? And then after that, Edwin does not care about extreme sports, but Ben and Sven are like, we're doing everything extreme possible, and that includes, it's 2010, so we're doing parkour.

Yep

And is it real parkour? Probably not. Do I know? Do I have any qualifications? No. They call it an obstacle course. They say, oh, parkour's like an obstacle course where you prove what a man you are. And then they run up the underside of a canoe like it's a ramp. it's confusing. It's giving 2010.

Mm-hmm.

It's giving 13-year-old boy.

I literally was just like, this movie threw in parkour because of course it did? Like, what are we doing?

Yeah, but I do remember boys who would try to flip off a wall and go, Parkour!

Yeah.

In high school, so.

Yeah.

Unfortunately, it's not something I'm unfamiliar with.

you can get rid of this if you want or you can keep it it in i don't care but you saying that reminded me of one time in college we were coming home from a halloween party and we're all dressed in costumes and maureen is which is one of my college roommates is super drunk and she was just being drunk and didn't want to be around us and so she starts running to the dorms jumping over poles jumping around rails and every single time she jumped around any of it she went parkour parkour and she was like so drunk it was hilarious

Yeah, that sounds right, but I do, especially first year, which for us was 2012 to 2013, was when you would drunkenly get home back to campus and run around jumping off of things shouting, Parkour!

Yep

Because the memory of myself doing that came to mind.

yup yep it just feels very of at that time.

of our side characters, as I mentioned, Ben and Sven probably tied for least favorite with Roxy. Yep. We get a love interest who is so bland. Now does it, do I like her more or less than Jesse? Also comparable. Also comparable. You know, Jesse had too much personality for my liking because I did not give a sh!t about that 35 year old. Roxy on the other hand had absolutely

Don't say that he was not 35. You're spreading lies.

He looked it.

He did.

But he looked it.

He did.

And you know what, that man actually has a beautiful head of hair, so why the f*ck was he bald in this?

Oh, he has hair. I just assumed he didn't.

I assumed too, and then I googled him and he has a beautiful head of hair.

What a shame.

So, Roxy has zero personality. She's incredibly bland. And maybe it's a little better, but also not. Even when she's taking a stand, she still has no personality. The one thing I like about her is that she kind of looks like Casey.

I'd say the only personality trait they gave her is hot, which is not really a personality trait.

No, it's not.

she doesn't have a personality. I would say her acting is not really that great either. She just really is there to be hot. Which just then, why did we add her?

Because without her, Derek wouldn't be able to get the plans.

I feel like he could have found a different way. That's a mischievous kid. He could have figured it out. I believe in him.

So true. So true, Bestie.

Also what grown man calls his teenage daughter Roxy and what teenage girl drives around in her dad's boat looking hot. that's a very creepy daughter father relationship. It made me uncomfortable.

Agreed.

I didn't like it at all. Um, but it does kind of explain her reaction to Derek because I have a question for you that I wrote while watching this is if you were on your private Lake Shore and a boy, a teenage boy, just randomly kayaked onto to it and started flirting with you and, and acting like he knew you or should know you, how would you react?

Well, random boy, I've never seen him before.

Mm-hmm. Because she has never seen this boy before.

I feel like I'd be pretty creeped out, but also if I was a teenager, if he was particularly hot, I may entertain it for a moment.

For a moment.

Yeah, for a moment.

And then I'd be like, okay, I'm over this.

Derek kayaks to their property, lie 

It's creepy 

lies about being a volleyball court inspector, which she can very clearly tell he's not and he's lying.

Also, that's not a thing.

I know. And she just goes with it. And then after that, they're spending every day together and he's in their house and he's kissing her. And I'm like, what? I would not entertain a boy like this, no matter how hot he was. I would entertain, if you like you said, if he was very, very hot, I might entertain it for a moment. And then I would be like, give me your phone number, now go away. cause get to know me as a person on the side. Don't come into my house. This is, this is just trespassing.

Yeah, yeah, it's highly inappropriate. That's why I'm like, if he was Derek, I would immediately shoo him away and be like, f*ck off. But if he was very incredibly hot, I'd be like, okay, I'm going to entertain this. But like, please try to pursue me outside of my own property where I was trying to have alone time.

Yes, the only explanation I could think of is that this girl is very lonely and has a very creepy father.

Yeah.

So she doesn't know boundaries with men and also wants companionship. ah Now I feel bad for her. All right.

I don't.

Speaking of weird women, Derek calls Felicia his grandma before they even get along well, which I thought was not Derek-like.

No, he would call her Felicia.

Yeah. It was like when he's explaining to Roxy, oh, my grandma owns the lodge. And she's like, that's your grandma? Well, step-grandma. Derek would say step-grandma from the beginning, or he would just say like, I don't know. He wouldn't say my grandma. I don't know. It felt weird. It felt weird.

Maybe to others, I could see a world in which he refers to her as grandma or step-grandma, but I feel like to her face, he would just call her Felicia, which I think he does.

off and on. Yeah. The way that all of the good things were your notes, all the bad things seem to be my notes.

I mean, a good chunk of them were mine.

The scene where Felicia and Casey fight

This is so valid, so valid.

you know, when Casey like runs off to the bus, she's like, I can't face my grandma after the stuff that I said. The reason that they're fighting is that Casey is dancing. Oh no, she's dancing in the studio with music playing with Derek and Felicia's staff. And Felicia says that she didn't expect Casey to be partying with that crowd.

Mhmm

The crowd in question is her staff that I'm sure she has background checked and knows rather well as she seems very active on this property. And also partying is just dancing to music. There's no alcohol. There's no kissing. What?

it's not particularly like loud or obnoxious. They're not like creating any extra noise. Like it is very, very harmless. Also, as you said, this is her staff. She hired them. She's had some level of trust in them because they're helping her run her lodge.

To refer to them as that crowd, like what are you just being classist now? Is it because they're the help?

Yeah, it's not okay.

In the climax when they need to get the environmental report to George so he can show the judge, I am just very confused as to how they entered it into the faxer and it went to George's cell phone.

Uh huh.

Like, I'm guessing theoretically in my brain that's trying to make it make sense like they faxed it to his office and then his secretary scanned it and emailed it to him. That's the only way I can I can make any heads or tails of it.

I did not connect that he got it faxed to his phone, but that is indeed confusing.

Can you fax to an email?

Yeah.

Or do you have

Well...

Well, you have a fax number. You can only fax to another machine, right?

Yeah, because faxing to an email would just be scanning.

Yeah, which isn't the same thing.

not the same thing. So they could have scanned it to his email, which then he accessed on his phone, but they did use the term fax.

Yes, and it was in fact a fax machine. It wasn't like a faxer scanner.

Oh, I was like, normally it's like a printer faxer, scanner, like all in one sort of deal.

Uh-huh, I had one growing up.

Yeah, I have to be honest, I think the number of times I've faxed things in my life is two. And so I don't really understand how a fax machine works, but I'm pretty positive you cannot fax it to someone's cell phone.

I am as well. Also when he gets it on his phone, he shows the judge and the judge barely glances at his phone and is like, that is something to consider.

Yep.

Okay. I get it. You're pressed for time. You put too many details in. I already said this, but this is not a rally. This has never been a rally. Stop calling it at a rally. It's a talent show.

Yep.

Speaking of the talent show, in which we've already touched on this, but I have to say, Casey and Jesse have their dance summer. Did you expect a dance movie? Because I gotta say, I don't know what I expected from this movie. Definitely not what we watched. But never, if you told me to like pull out of my brain what I thought this movie could be, dance movie would have never came out. Would have never expected it.

I think that's the part that could have gone. I think that's like the part that we really, really, really didn't need. 

Yep

I get that it serves a little bit to Casey's character, but not even in a way that makes sense, really.

Nope.

like I think the environmental stuff works for the setting. I think that the family dynamics work, but the dancing felt like ah it was from a different movie.

Yeah.

It was really confusing and jarring, 

Jarring

and there was so much of it.

Yeah, and it wasn't like, let me give you 10 seconds of dancing, no like full on like two minute choreographed dance scenes. And I was like, what am I watching with my eyeballs? Like this makes no sense.

why would they cast the winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada in vacation with Derek? This isn't step up. This isn't even camp rock. In camp, in a musical, I would have been okay with the dance numbers.

yep 

Then you could have the plot and still have the dance numbers. This isn't a musical.

nope it indeed is not a musical but you know with the way this movie was they could have thrown that in there too 

It would have made more sense if they had. 

fair i don't know if it would have but

No, I did not know this was going to be a dance movie. I honestly had zero expectations going into this movie, and um I don't know if that was right or wrong, but yep, I definitely didn't get zero. Or did I? So much was going on, we mentioned this, that by the end I thought Nora was going to go into labor because when she and George are leaving the cab or car and George is running to deliver the news about the injunction, and Nora clutches her belly and is like, ow, George, hurry up. And I'm like, oh my God. is she gonna birth?

Literally, I was like, are we getting a water breaking moment? Like, I was waiting for George to be like, her water's broke! And then, I don't know, they were all gonna rush to the hospital or some sh!t together because of the way the movie was going, I was like, it could go in this direction. I don't know.

in the like We're getting too many things and not enough not enough like stakes. We don't care enough, vein, I needed to know more about like Roxy's dad and his origin story because we learn early on that his dad Roxy's grandpa commissioned a study about the wetlands and and how good they are for the environment and also we learned that he cared a lot about the wetlands enough that he would bring Roxy there a lot and show her the wetlands and the biodiversity and She didn't know about the study and he wants to develop this whole thing And am I asking too much of this made-for-tv movie movie maybe because he's just filling a trope of like this evil villain But like why why?

I don't think we're asking for too much. They clearly had a budget. I'm asking for you to give us a Save the Marsh movie. If that's what the movie is, then give us that.

Yeah

Give us the background of why Roxy doesn't know about the report. Maybe there's an estranged relationship between Doug Dumbarton and his dad. Like, give us the full Save the Marsh movie. Make that the entire plot. Make it have stakes. Make us understand the ins and outs of why this is so important to save the marsh. But no, they didn't do that, but they could have.

Yeah, they were just like, there's this blue heron that comes here every year.

Yeah.

And there's like, I don't know, four species of birds that live here that don't live elsewhere or something. It's mentioned very briefly. And yeah, I could have used some more backstory on him and also maybe Felicia and her connection to the land.

Yep.

What absolutely nuts

yep 

What drove me bananas. I don't know if this stressed you out as much as it stressed me out.

Mmhmm.

In the climax, they are starting the rally that is not a rally, the event, the benefit, as they call it at the last minute. And Felicia is about to sign away the property paper to Doug Dunbarton.

And first of all, this is not how property sales go. It would be a months long process, but also she narrowly almost signs multiple times and the kids are trying to stall and then George swoops in and stops her. They could have just told her that George was on the way. They don't tell her so she doesn't know to wait. Why didn't they tell her?

The only logic I could think of is that they thought that would upset her because she doesn't really like George, so them involving George would make her upset. It's the only reason that I could think that they were like, we need to just do this and not tell her because she'll stop us if we tell her.

How's she gonna stop them? George is already on the ball. Also, yeah, okay, maybe she could call and be like, no, don't bother, it's too late. But I don't feel like she would. And at this point, they've already stood up to her about not supporting the family. So they could be like, look, I know you don't like George, but he's doing this really cool thing, trying to help you. So you need to not sign those papers until he shows up. That's something I would have liked. 

Mhmm

I was just I was very stressed and I was just like tell her tell her just f*cking tell her  

Mm-hmm. And on top of telling her, like, actually distract her, they all were like, we need a distraction. But I'm like, I don't know. Trip her, put bubblegum on her shoe. Do something. Like...

Tell her there's like an issue with the power or something and like send her off on a mission that she can't complete

Yes, yes, like actually distract her.

Yeah. Not just have her go on stage for a speech for 30 seconds.

Yeah.

Um, in the things that I didn't need in this movie, Lizzie has a weird little love interest who says all of three words. I don't remember his name.

Me neither.

He likes birds. He doesn't like dancing and they kiss on the dock and I hated it.

Mhmm I don't know if I hated it, but I did think it was not necessary.

I hated it because it felt not like Lizzie to just kiss a boy that said three words to her and half of them were no.

Yeah, I guess I just I'm like, I don't know if they've been here all summer or for a portion of the summer, which we're led to believe maybe they've been like bird watching this whole time together. I don't know.

They've only been there a few days.

Oh, I guess to me in my brain, this took place over a summer.

Yeah, no, George and Nora, when they drop off the kids, they're like, we're only going to be in Montreal for a few days and then we'll come back.

Oh, yeah, then we did not need a Lizzie Love interest.

No, especially because there's no love or interest.

No, True.

There's just a kiss.

Yeah.

I've already said this a million times, but I'm gonna say it one last time, I guess, and probably once more. The first 50 minutes were really wild, and the last 40 didn't make up for it, but I do have to say when we switched into the primary focus being Save the Marsh, I did enjoy it a little bit more. It felt better.

I agree. Once we got past Felicia's hatred of the Venturis and she accepts them, I was like, oh, the movie has started.

Mm hmm. But then I'm like, then this could have just been like a two episode special or an extra long like hour special. I didn't need a 90 minute movie.

Or it could have even been a greater overlap where she doesn't fully accept them until the end and they're working on the marsh stuff from the beginning.

Yep.

Whereas the way that they did it where there was a primary focus for half the movie that became a different focus for the second half, felt disconjointed. 

Yep

Disjointed, I don't know if those are words, but.

No, I liked that word. Disconjointed feels feels like a word that I would make up. And you would kind of look at me and then move on. So I like it. I'll take it.

And also, the latter half was um better,

yeah
 
but I will say when they because they make this big deal about this rally that's not a rally and Edwin calling the news stations to get them which is actually like the funniest detail of it all is him calling people with a really deep voice to get them to come cover it 

Yeah

and it makes it seem like ah we're gonna like raise awareness for this issue but

No.

George is the only one who actually does anything because he shows up with an injunction. So when he shows up with the injunction and they're like, okay, so now this talent show is just in celebration. I'm like, so actually none of this was necessary.

Mhmm

Like all they had to do was call George and they could have done that from the beginning and given him more than 12 hours.

Yeah, yeah, it wasn't necessary You're right.

No, they didn't need media coverage. They didn't need talent. They didn't need banners. They just needed to tell their dad.

And if it was an actual rally where they like went out and protested and maybe then like media coverage came naturally and then that's how George found out and then George chose to get involved. Like, I don't know, there was other ways to develop this story in a way that would make sense.

that would make the event the kids spend the second half of the movie planning and putting on of consequence.

Yes.

Yeah, because it's of absolutely zero consequence, except I guess for that stupid getting cast as Broadway leads detail. Yeah.

Aye-aye-aye.

I liked that the credits showed bloopers because that's what the show did and it was cute, but there were two bloopers that actually made me kind of mad because there's one where Michael Seatar is taking off like very big puffy coats into his like normal shorts and a shirt and is clearly freezing and Ashley's like It's snowing. Like, it just started snowing. And it reminded me of Alyson Stoner talking about how when they filmed Camp Rock, and I think especially Camp Rock 2, they were filming it up there in, like, winter, in summer clothes, and, like, stop freezing these kids! Like, let them...I get it, you have to film in the off-season, but it's snowing and you have them in tank tops and shorts? I felt so bad for them. And then the other one that made me mad was that there was a 

I hated this one.

okay. I was wondering if you caught this. I Like rewound and watched it two or three times 

I also watched it twice.

it's the end scene I think when Jesse and Casey kiss and then the director yells cut and Nico says so should we keep kissing and Ashley turns away and is like no. And just like, why are you saying that?

Why are you saying that and why are you including it in the bloopers as something that should be funny 

Yes

instead of it just being wildly inappropriate, which is what it was I would like to believe that if this movie came out now, that would have never been included as a blooper, but to spin it as something that should be funny? It's like, no, this is not okay that he's saying that.

Yeah, I agree. If she had laughed at it, if he had said it in a way that somehow made her laugh because it was like an inside joke or something, 

Yes

like that's something I could see happening between like Kit Connor and Joe Locke like in a blooper that they're actually laughing about it. That would be one thing, but because she just turns away and says no, and also knowing she has a long-term boyfriend, knowing they yelled cut, she's clearly not laughing about the situation, so why is it included as a funny moment?

Yeah, yes, exactly. And I think it would be different if it was an actor that we knew she's had like a long relationship with or has worked with throughout the series

Her and Michael. 

like Sam or her and Michael. or even Truman, I would take, like, you know, an actor that, like, there is a relationship there, but this is, like, one movie, like, they worked on a handful of scenes and stuff together. Like, for him then to say it and her obvious response being, like, not comfortable and then to add it to the bloopers, I just feel like, yeah, someone should have caught that and been like, let's remove that from the bloopers.

yeah and reprimand him

yeah! to finish us off i have to say i wrote i'm mad i'm not mad i'm disappointed that this movie was added to be our series end they're like we're gonna give you four great seasons of a truly excellent show. If you listen to our wrap-up episode, Amanda and I both said that this was one of our favorite shows, if not the favorite that we watched. We both enjoyed this show thoroughly so, so, so much. In the last two episodes of season four, were amazing, so well done, so fantastic, so great wrapped up things, but also kept you interested, added in some fun moments. like They were amazingly well written and well acted ways to wrap up a TV show. To then give us this movie and present it as the wrap up, I refuse. I don't accept this movie as part of it. It's not okay.

And that's part of why I don't like movies based off TV series, because they are often don't impact the plot at all in actuality. like If you think about the Wizards movie, the that that the whole thing is the wizard tournament, but then that still happens in the show later. So like why? why it like it It usually doesn't actually matter. I agree in that. See, I'm not mad to be a mom about it. I'm not mad. I'm disappointed 

Yeah

because I had hoped for better, but I also hadn't hoped at all because I thought a movie called Vacation with Derek. I had absolutely no expectations as to what it would be like because the show is so grounded. I do think the movie is still pretty grounded as far as like it's not even Steven's movie crazy, right?

No, no, no, no, no.

Whereas the show, Even Stevens, is pretty grounded. And then the movie plot is like, what the hell is going on?

Yeah, wakadoodle.

Yeah, this was like, I could maybe see these characters doing it, I guess. 

Yeah

But it definitely was lacking a lot compared to the show, which as you said, was one of our favorites so

Yeah.

I don't consider this a serious finale. I just consider it a spin-off TV movie.

Yeah. I think that's fair.

Or I don't consider it at all. What I did tell you last night that you were like, are you sure about that? Is that I'm glad I watched it because I needed to know what it was about. Because like I said, the whole idea of vacation with Derek just the name made me confused, made me not know what to expect. And having seen it, I now know that it was right to expect nothing and I'm glad I know what it is so I no longer have to wonder. I'm glad that we are covering this so that people can listen to us and not watch the movie. Although watch it if you're curious

Yeah I agree. Watch it if you're curious, but also we're not recommending you watch this.

No.

I think spending the same amount of time listening to our podcast is gonna give you way more enjoyment than watching that movie will.

Yes, yes. I did include this like Dasey scalesque because that's what we did with all of the episodes we covered. I don't know that it needs to be a full scale. If we were saying a scale, I would probably give it like a six out of 10.

Yeah, I agree because there's a lot of like him pulling her away from Jesse and little like playful moments they have throughout the movie that definitely add to the dasey scale There's not like one big moment or anything, but there's a bunch of little things.

Yeah, it's a, they they very clearly put in some fan service into the writing of this movie. So there aren't as many moments like in the show, like the step sister, same thing. Yeah, right moment like where it's actually a tense dialogue or something that could be implied in their facial expressions. It's more like a casual physical flirting comedically that that happens in moments because they also both have love interests. So just to shout out some moments like they of course comedically end up having to drive to the lodge together, George's excuse for this is Casey's the only one that can ride with him and make sure he actually goes to the correct place. Then there's a scene where they're both in a canoe and decide after already being out in the lake that they should switch spots. And so they have to be very, very close together switching spots in the canoe.

like falling on top of each other.

Yeah, like bending over each other.

Yep.

multiple dancing scenes. Derek pulls Casey a away to dance, not just when she's with Jesse, but also at the dinner table beforehand, like multiple times, but also especially pulling her not after a kiss, but during a kiss.

Mm-hmm.

The writers were really, yeah, this felt like if it...

That one especially, I was like, he did not just physically pull her away from kissing Jesse like

Like while kissing him.

yeah.

Yeah, it felt like the Dasey was not written into the show. It was acted in, but it was written into this movie.

Oh yeah. Yep.

But it wasn't acted as much.

Mm-mm.

Quotes, we just have a few. And the first one is the moment that I said that I feel like I am Derek. is when he first meets Felicia, he's running through her lodge after Casey and is just destroying property and inconveniencing her guests. And then he falls on the ground and she says, this must be George's problem son. And without skipping a beat, he says, and you must be Nora's problem mother. 

Mhmm

And if that ain't the kind of sassy sh!t I would have said back to someone.

She deserves it.

Yes. Adults deserve to be humbled. And I say that as an adult. Another Felicia quote, she says, Marti, your brothers are appalling, but I never meant to upset you. And I thought that that was appropriate. And I liked it. And it just showed that Marti really wins everyone over.

Yeah, Marti's the true queen of this show. Always has been, always will be.

even though she is also an agent of chaos who brought a snake to the dinner table.

Oh, yes, but like her energy and just the way she approaches life is like a breath of fresh air that I think everyone like needs that. So it's like, even if you're a curmudgeon, like Felicia, you still love Marti.

Yes, I agree, and she's so innocent about everything.

Mm-hmm. She's like it's just Mikey. It's my little friend 

A Lizzie quote that is very me is when Edwin like doesn't want to a to be involved in the marsh. Lizzie says, Edwin, are you OK with the death of this planet? Which like, are you Edwin? Are you?

I feel like we shouldn't end on my quote, but it is the last one, so we're gonna have to.

I almost I almost changed the order so that we didn't end on this quote.

But it is what it is. This is when Felicia it has agreed to sell the lodge, and they're all kind of feeling defeated, and Marti, there's no secret weapon against money and power. And I watched this the day before the election, and I was like, ooh, the day before the election, this quote really hit hard. And then typing it up after knowing the election results, I was like, oof, like this quote. Too real, it's too real.

Derek says it, and then Edwin's like, but we do have a secret weapon against money and power, and it's George. But I wrote down in my notes, like, so true, Derek, actually. Like, that's one of the smartest things he's ever said.

Mhmm

And so that brings us back to the same temperament with which we started this episode.

Mhmm

Any other final thoughts?

My final thoughts are watch life with Derek. You can skip vacation with Derek. But it's kooky. I'm not going to say I enjoyed it, but it gave us a lot to talk about.

Oh, yeah. I agree. And you know, what there's 31,000 views on that YouTube video. So if you have seen life with- or vacation with Derek, I really want to know what your thoughts are. I really want to know.

Yeah, I would be curious to know too. Up next, little teaser, we're going to kick off our holiday content. And we are doing a fun little holiday episode involving your favorite holiday film characters battling it out. So tune into that one. Also go follow us on our social media, 90s Babies Nostalgia, spell out the word nineties on YouTube and on Instagram, but on TikTok, use the numbers there and give us a rate and review. Comment, DM us. We love interacting with you all. And with that, we'll see you in the next one.

Bye!

Bye.

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