Geek Girl Authority
8 Queer Christmas Romcoms That Don’t Totally Suck
By Melis Amber
Dec 11, 2023

Christmas romcoms: you either love them, or you hate ’em. Even if you love them, a good one is hard to find. The same can be said of queer cinema. Combine the two, and holy moly, is it difficult to find anything worth viewing? 

The eight movies we’ve featured below are far from cinematic masterpieces. But they are fun to watch and will get you in the Christmas spirit. Also to note, many of them feature queer actors!

There are spoilers below, but then again, being Christmas movies and all, they spoil themselves. 

Make the Yuletide Gay

Make the Yuletide Gay (2009) is cheesy in the best way possible. Directed by Rob Williams, the movie follows Gunn (Keith Jordan) as he brings his boyfriend Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero) home to meet his family. The trouble is Gunn wants to keep it all in the closet. While still having his cake. It’s a typical LGBTQ+ romantic comedy with a sprinkle of Christmas flair. Plus, if you’re a Degrassi fan like me, seeing Ruggiero is a treat. 

Rated: Not rated (content warnings)

Streaming: dekkoo; rent: AppleTV & Amazon

Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas

Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas (2019) epitomizes holiday silliness. While not front-and-center gay, Kimiko Glenn plays queer sidekick to ghostly protagonist Jess (Aisha Dee). This bonkers fantasy-comedy is a whacky, out-there twist that spins A Christmas Carol and Freeform-vibes into something truly awful in the best way possible. I mean, there is a tea shoppe. Even better, this film isn’t as much of a “white” Christmas as most holiday fare, featuring many actors of color. 

Rated: TV-14 (content warnings)

Streaming: Prime, Fubo, FreeForm

The Holiday Sitter

The Holiday Sitter (2022) was Hallmark’s first holiday (read: Christmas) romcom led by a gay couple. The movie stars Mean Girls‘ Jonathan Bennett as Sam Dalton, the wealthy perennial bachelor from The City. He has to give up his annual holiday to Hawaii when his sister needs an emergency babysitter. Turns out, he’s a pretty good guncle when the hot dude (George Krissa) next door lends a hand. Maybe he won’t leave after all… Bennett is genuinely funny in this film, making it worth a watch.

Rated: TV-G

Streaming: DIRECTV

Dashing in December

Directed by Jake Helgren, Dashing in December (2020) throws Wyatt (Peter Porte), a big-shot New York dude, back to his family’s ranch for some Christmas shenanigans. Enter Heath (Juan Pablo di Pace), the ranch hand with serious charm, and throw Andie Macdowell as Wyatt’s mom, and you’ve got your classic holiday “Hallmark” romance.

The big question is, will Wyatt save the ranch in time to salvage his burgeoning relationship with Heath? (Spoiler: Yes, of course, yes; it’s a Christmas movie)

Rated: TV-14

Buy: Amazon

Merry & Gay

Merry & Gay (2020), also known as Christmas With Love, has all the familiar plot threads of a holiday romcom: childhood best friends kindle a romance when the New York big shot returns home to the small town. But in this case, the small-town grumpster, Sam (Andi René Christensen), is nonbinary! This leads us to my only real issue with the film (I mean, it’s a pretty innocuous holiday romcom): Why are these characters called gay/lesbian if one of them is nonbinary? In any case, the leads have great chemistry.

Rated: 13+

Streaming: Prime, Peacock, Tubi, Xumo

Scrooge & Marley

This film, lol. Scrooge & Marley (2012) should not be mistaken for a cinematic masterpiece, but if you like offbeat gems, add it to your watchlist. Another play on A Christmas Carol, this film follows Scrooge ( David Pevsner), a grumpy bar owner, being led through his gay life as he comes to realize what a jerk he’s been. And when I say offbeat, I mean offbeat. Think: Bruce Vilanch plays Fezziwig. 

Rated: Not rated (content warnings)

Streaming: Tubi, FreeVee, HereTV

Tangerine

Tangerine is only nominally a Christmas movie, as the film takes place over Christmas Eve. It’s also only nominally the “rom” part of “com.” Directed by Sean Baker, Tangerine is the height of indie filmmaking, shot on iPhones in the grungy streets of Hollywood for that extra touch of sophistication.

The movie follows Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor), two trans sex workers, as they get into what can only be described as shenanigans. However, they’re some pretty serious shenanigans (getting out of jail, smoking crystal meth and having sex with your pimp). Tangerine might have rough production values, but the story is compelling.

Rated: R (content warnings)

Streaming: Fubo, Paramount, Showtime, Hoopla, Kanopy, DIRECTV, Magnolia Selects

The Christmas Setup

The most interesting, fun, and recommend-worthy part of The Christmas Setup (2020) is that its two leads are played by a real-life couple, Ben Lewis and Blake Lee. They have good chemistry and all that, but this is another film about, you guessed it, a big city guy going back home for Christmas. Hugo (Lewis), a New York lawyer, returns home to Milwaukee (ohmigosh! It’s not a tiny town), where his mom (“secretly”) sets him up with Patrick (Lee).  They fall in love as they try to save the local train station from being torn down. Also, Fran Drescher is in the film.

Rated: TV-PG

Streaming: Hoopla; rent: Amazon

The post 8 Gay Christmas Romcoms Worth Watching first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

ComingSoon.net
Scrooge & Marley Trailer Previews 10th Anniversary Release of Gay Holiday Comedy
By Anthony Nash
September 14, 2022

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the LGBTQ holiday comedy Scrooge & Marley will be released on digital for the first time, as well as on DVD.

The news comes from Dark Star Pictures, who are set to release the film digitally for the first time. Scrooge & Marley will also receive a special 10th Anniversary DVD release on October 4.

“Returning to the 1970s days of his teen years by the saucy Ghost of Christmas Past (Ronnie Kroell),” reads the official synopsis for the film. “Scrooge bitterly recalls being kicked out of his home during the holidays for being gay, meeting the young rogue Jacob Marley, the fabulous disco impresario Fezziwig (Bruce Vilanch), and the luckless love of his life, Bill, whose love Scrooge eventually destroys in his pursuit of wealth. The jolly Ghost of Christmas Present (Megan Cavanagh) next whisks Scrooge on a joyous, music-filled tour of current holiday sights, including a visit to a lively party hosted by Scrooge’s niece Freda (Rusty Schwimmer) and her expectant partner Mary.”

Check out the Scrooge & Marley trailer below:

Starring David Pevsner, Tim Kazurinsky, Rusty Schwimmer, Bruce Vilanch, Megan Cavanagh, Ronnie Kroell, and David Moretti, Scrooge & Marley is an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s iconic 1843 novella A Christmas Carol that reimagines the story by turning Scrooge into a successful piano bar owner who despises people and makes life miserable for everyone in the gay community that he resides in.

Originally released in 2012, the film was partially crowdfunded through an Indiegogo campaign and was released to limited theaters. Following its premiere, the film received mixed reviews, with many praising its “campy” style and attention to care to a niche audience.

The post Director/Writer Richard Knight, Jr’s ‘Scrooge & Marley’Goes Digital & DVD On 10th Anniversary first appeared on We Got Bruce!.