The Couch Critic
The Couch Critic is your laid-back guide to movies and TV shows that deserve your attention—or maybe don’t. Nathan dives deep into storytelling, character development, and cinematic style with a sharp eye and a wry sense of humor. Whether it’s a blockbuster hit, a hidden gem, or a cult classic, Nathan’s relatable approach ensures every episode feels like a cozy chat with a friend who just happens to love film. Perfect for casual watchers and cinephiles alike, The Couch Critic brings thoughtful critique without the fluff. Grab your favorite snack, settle in, and let Nathan guide you through the world of screen entertainment.
The Couch Critic
Unraveling the Legacy of Meet Me in St. Louis: Classic Cinema or Holiday Film?
Meet Me in St. Louis sparks a fascinating debate about what truly constitutes a Christmas movie. Does a film need to center around the holiday itself, or is it enough that Christmas simply occurs within the narrative? This vibrant MGM masterpiece from 1944 follows the Smith family through four seasons in turn-of-the-century St. Louis, culminating in a poignant Christmas segment that forever changed holiday music.
The unquestionable star is Judy Garland, whose musical talent shines throughout, particularly during her heart-wrenching performance of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" – a song that originated from this very film. We explore Garland's complex personal history, including her marriage to the film's director Vincente Minnelli and their daughter Liza, alongside the tragic aspects of Garland's short life. The movie offers a fascinating window into 1940s gender expectations, with young women openly pursuing marriage as their primary goal and theatrical performances that modern viewers might find stylistically dated yet charming.
We're divided on our final verdict – one host considers it a perfect five-star classic representing quintessential Hollywood filmmaking, while the other appreciates its historical significance but questions its rewatchability as a holiday staple. Whether you're a classic film enthusiast or simply curious about the origins of one of our most beloved Christmas songs, this episode offers fresh perspectives on a timeless piece of American cinema. What's your take – is Meet Me in St. Louis essential holiday viewing or simply a classic film that happens to feature Christmas? Share your thoughts and join the conversation!
On the couch. We're laughing, crying, feeling it all, breaking down the big screen, the hits and the flaws. Grab your seat, press play, let's take the pic. Lights, camera action, it's the Couch. Critic, critic.
Speaker 2:I literally every time I try to talk about it, I can't remember the name it has the word St Louis. I keep wanting to say Sleepless in St Louis.
Speaker 3:Meet me in St Louis. There's literally a song in the movie that's the title listen Meet Me in St Louis.
Speaker 2:there's literally a song in the movie that's the title. Listen meet me in St Louis. There you go.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Meet me in St Louis.
Speaker 2:Meet me in St Louis. Okay, I would like to say right now on record that I think it is up for debate. If this is a Christmas movie, maybe it's kind of like Die Hard. It's like is it really a Christmas movie or does Christmas happen in the movie? Yes, is there a Christmas song that we sing every year? That came from this movie. Yes, is it about Christmas?
Speaker 3:No, I mean, is Home Alone about Christmas? Is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer about Christmas?
Speaker 3:Yes that one is. But I would say and actually I've heard a lot of people say that they would debate that Home Alone is less of a Christmas movie than Die Hard. And there's also people that would debate that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is less of a Christmas movie than Die Hard. But that's not the movies we're talking about. We're talking about Meet Me in St Louis. So, Katie, what are some of your likes and dislikes of this film, or would you like to give a synopsis of it first?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I'll do my own synopsis. Just follows a family through four seasons of living in St Louis. St Louis, there you go. And the only star that matters is Judy Garland. I had never seen any of her movies other than Wizard of Oz. It's the only one I knew about. Fun fact I learned was she actually married. The director of this movie and that is how we have the actress, liza Minnelli Did not know that was her mom, what. And I learned a lot about Judy Garland in my deep dive. I didn't realize she had quite a tragic life died pretty young, in her 40s, struggled with many marriages, many drugs.
Speaker 3:But gosh, can she sing? Did you ever see the? You probably didn't, but there was a biopic about Judy Garland, called Judy, starring Renee Zellweger, and it was a fantastic movie. Very sad because, yes, she did have a very tragic life, but like brilliantly acted by Renee Zellweger. So if you haven't seen it, go check it out. It's a great movie, just know. It is very depressing Because her life was sad.
Speaker 2:Which is not like this movie is. I would say it's very lighthearted. There are lots of songs I mean I guess it's a musical. There's several songs that happen. There's lots of silly parts. I think that Trudy the little sister, the whole gag, her whole thing. She's just like this rotten little daughter and she gets everybody into trouble. The grandpa was funny, so I did think it was very cute.
Speaker 2:It definitely takes you back. It was, you know, made in the 40s, so there's some quite dated ideas in it, mate, and you definitely see them throwing themselves. The young girls are throwing themselves at men. They just want to get married off and I do think that was maybe part of that time period. Judy Garland's character just sees a hottie next door and she's like I'm going to marry that guy and I don't know enough about the 40s movies. She kisses him on the second date and there's two different kissing scenes. I don't know if that was scandalous or not. We don't be, basically, I guess, playing the role of a high schooler going off and kissing a boy. But I did enjoy the movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and of course one of my favorite Christmas songs is have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and I didn't realize it started from this movie.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I actually shared something about this with you on Facebook today. I don't know if you saw it. That song originated from this movie, which I didn't know either, and so you know, have yourself a merry little Christmas. And it's Judy Garland singing it and, like you said, judy Garland is just classic. I think it is a classic movie. It may not necessarily be 100%mas related, but it darn it. It's a. Like you said, it's a feel-good movie and it is a movie that you could watch around the holidays because of the classic songs in it. And it her, uh, the sister's name is actually tootie, not trudy. It's a funny name tootie, tootie, smith.
Speaker 2:Well, okayy, it's a funny name Tootie, tootie, smith, tootie, well, okay, now I do have to say some negatives, because it was not a perfect movie, necessarily. I do think that Tootie's character was a bit much so to spoil it a little bit, there's a moment where little Tootie comes back with a busted up lip and she lies and says that the boy next door which is who you know, our jenny garland wants to marry has beat her up. And that's just like we're in this feel-good movie. It's just like we're happy, we're silly, we're saying all of a sudden this like concept that like the guy next door beats up their child, it just feel like it got really dark really fast. And then you find out she's lied and made that up.
Speaker 2:I just just felt like whoa, tootie, you better get a huge whoopin', because that's not a funny prank at all. I felt like that was excessive. And of course she runs over, the sister runs over and she starts wailing on the boy next door, just like she hit my sister. And there's this weird, I guess kinky. There's this weird, I guess kinky kind of like. There's this exchange later where she apologizes for hitting him, since it was all lie, and he says I'd like to let you hit me again I mean it's just whatever, you know.
Speaker 3:I mean, like you said before, the 40s were a different time. The kids are. I mean kids always lie, like sometimes they lie about big things like that. So and the actress who played tootie was a well-known child actor back in those times, so she was in a lot of films. I think she played similar characters in other movies as well.
Speaker 2:So well, I was gonna say I do think she was very impressive. I was actually watching her while while judy garland singing have yourself a merry little christmas. I'm watching this little girl kind of just stare at her and not break character and she starts crying, you know, in sadness. So I was very impressed. At her age I thought she was a very, very good actress. It was impressive. Some of the Judy Garland stuff she can sing, but some of her acting was over the top, kind of weird, like she would always like stare off the screen and do these weird big eyes Like there was a few times I thought is she reading the script off camera right now?
Speaker 3:well, I mean, she's just like your daughter. I mean, isn't liza manelli like that too, and and that kind of what they're known for? So you're. You said your likes and dislikes of the classic meet me in st louis. What would you give meet me in st louis as a rating?
Speaker 2:I think the songs were the best part. I would give the songs a five. It's not one I will watch at Christmas probably again but I am glad I watched it because I think it's a part of our American culture. So I will give this a four and a half. It can't compete with the Holiday, my favorite Christmas movie.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. Well, like I stated before, I think this movie is a classic and it's got judy garland in it and, like we've discussed already, have yourself a merry little christmas originated from this movie. So I'm gonna give meet me in st louis probably a 1.5 on the Christmas rating, because, yes, it doesn't have 100% everything to do with Christmas and it is still Christmas even if you don't watch Meet Me in St Louis. But I'm going to give it a perfect five out of five. I think it is a classic movie.
Speaker 3:People just don't understand what classic movies are nowadays. I don't think there is a modern day classic that I've seen in quite some time, and so to be able to sit and watch a classic film with classic acting, it's just. It's just the quintessential classic film. So that's why I'm going to give meet me in saint louis a perfect five out of five, and that is our thoughts on me in saint louis, lou. So this weekend, on Cinema Saturday, I'm going to be talking about a screen unseen film, so I don't know what it is yet at the time of this episode being recorded, and then our last episode on Tuesday of April which is crazy that this month is almost over we're going to be talking about Chitty Chitty, bang Bang. This is another movie that I don't understand why it's on this list, but it is so. That's what we're going to be talking about next week on the Couch Critic, where every movie gets its close-up.
Speaker 1:It's not just a movie, it's a way of life. We'll watch it together, day or night, so settle in close and don't miss a flick. This is the moment for the couch critic.
