Friends & Family Christmas

It's not great cinema, because that's not what Christmas movies are about. But it's as solid and enjoyable as television Christmas romances get. The leads are both fun to watch and their chemistry is great. The fact that they are gay is not a plot point - no confusion or coming out of the closet angst - it's just treated as a matter of fact like their hair color or height. It's refreshing to see. And in what I like to think is an homage to "Carol" a pair of gloves is a major plot point. (Not a spoiler, I promise. Just, what is it with lesbians and losing their gloves?) Bottom line, if you want a lighthearted Christmas movie that's not the same old cable holiday movie you've seen a hundred times, give this a shot.

As soon as I discovered Hallmark made a queer Christmas movie with 2 female leads, I was excited to watch it. However I was sadly disappointed. The leads were cute but had NO CHEMISTRY WHATSOEVER! The plot was lacking and weak, one of the leads was always taking off leaving her "pretend girlfriend for the holidays only" alone to entertain her parents from out of town. Constantly! They did nothing fun together like you expect in these movies. I felt that the pretend girlfriend was being used and I would have told the other off. This could have been so much better. Try again with a better script Hallmark!

I'm always looking for cute lesbian christmas movies, and this one hits the spot! It has all the traits of a cheesy Hallmark movie, but with two women (with lgbt friends) and no coming out plot? We love to see it. Both their families are so supportive of them and the conflict is truly about the relationship and not each person's identity. Ali and Humberly do a fantastic job and I think you could really tell that Ali, a queer woman herself, was an executive producer because the movie was done so well. It's important to have LGBT people behind the scenes too! Props to her for doing both 😁 Anyways, I want to watch it again soon. Happy Holidays!

I'm very happy to see solid sapphic representation from Hallmark! In general, this positive, normalized, lighthearted depiction of romance between two women is refreshing and heartwarming. The plot, however, is not anything revolutionary. I don't think it needs to be though! It's a sweet and joyous Hallmark movie staple that gets me feeling cozy for the holiday season. Moreover, the romance has its naturally awkward moments that make it feel realistic and relatable like not knowing how to start a conversation on the first meeting and not knowing how to bid goodnight. The parents' support and constant presence is entertaining as well. A lovely community for the holiday cheer.

So, I watched this mostly because I heard there was a queer storyline and the clips I saw on youtube seemed super cute. I didn't realize how Grinchy I'd been feeling until this movie got me excited about Christmas. Actors were great across the board! The leads pulled me right in and kept me engaged, but honestly the whole ensemble was a delight. The story felt fun and Hallmark without veering too far out of plausibility for me to get pulled out of the experience. Also! Normally I hate "grand gestures" but this one worked for me. Excited to see more work from everybody involved in this project!