Make the Yuletide Gay

Overall I am not too impressed with Christmas movies, they tend to be too, sickly sweet.

Since I'm a gay man, and had a free subscription to a gay video channel, I thought I would blow caution to the wind and view the movie.

I actually did like it more than six stars but for one just horrific casting, the father Sven, played by Derek Long. What shall I say about this performance? Hmm, maybe that Derek should find a fall back career? I think that's enough.

Otherwise, I thought the other actors were just fine. Anya the mother played by Kelly Keaton was fabulous I thought. Her comic timing was wonderful, and she pulls of the intensely upper Midwestern accent flawlessly. Either she's a native, or she has an amazing ear.

Now this might seem a strange focus for a review right? Well if you watch the movie, you'll quickly understand why it is important.

The other college male protagonists were great also, attractive and knew their craft obviously.

The strangest part of the movie was the inclusion of Gates McFadden as Martha, the mother of Thomas, the "out" gay college boyfriend. Her scenes we fine, she is a skilled actress oh course, but she had such a small part in the film. Makes you wonder about her motivation for being involved in this project.

If you are looking for a bit of a different Christmas themed movie, check it out and let me know what you think with a thumbs up of my review.

Cheers. Mark (aka The Dying Atheist) P.S. If I were to give this an (MPAA) film rating, it would be PG-13

This film is about a closeted gay college student who visits his parents for Christmas. Things go messy when his boyfriend pays them a surprise visit.

It's unusual to have a squeaky clean gay comedy with a festive theme. "Make the Yuletide Gay" is just that. It's so much fun to watch. Even if the budget was low, it didn't show. Every scene is decorated nicely in detail, creating a homely atmosphere that people feel immediately comfortable in. The script is funny, full of double meanings that makes me laugh hard. It also engagingly explores painful realities, making sure that it is not just a piece of forgettable popcorn flick. I enjoyed watching "Make the Yuletide Gay" a lot, and I would recommend it to others.

I enjoyed this movie. . .

I was not perfect, but it was fun. . .

It didn't preach hard about coming out. . .

It seemed that the problems were that there was no communication from any of them. . .

It had touches from old screw ball movies of the 1940's. . .

Misunderstandings. . .

Confused identities . .

Anya the mother could have played off of the Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers. . .

I would love to see these characters in another movie. . .

Perhaps, the lives of the two young lovers as a couple.

Being gay, I'm subjected to a lot of bad gay movies. It's solidarity; we know they're bad, but we watch them anyway, out of loyalty more than anything else. This is why I'm glad to report that Make the Yuletide Gay is, well, not bad. It's not great, but when I was going in expecting another cringe-worthy gay romantic "comedy", I got a pretty decent... gay romantic comedy. The writer needs a few lessons in subtlety, given the vast number of over-the-top stereotypes and often wince-inducing double entendre in the film, but the actors take the material and make it work pretty well. As a long-time fan of Degrassi: The Next Generation, I primarily was interested in Adamo Ruggiero's movie debut, and he acquits himself nicely. His character starts off as vain and somewhat obnoxious but becomes sympathetic as the film progresses, and when Ruggiero smiles that beautiful smile of his, I can't help but love him all the more. It's a fun little film, and if you can get past some of the writing, it's worth a watch.

This falls right into line with every cheesy, over the top, Christmas romance I have ever seen- and I loved it.

It was lighthearted and fun and I giggled snorted through most of it. Gunn is absolutely adorkable, and Nathan is just SO snarktastic.

All kidding aside, there is a tremendous amount of love and affection in this movie, between the boys obviously, but also those around them. The cast of supporting players was interesting as well, lots of familiar faces.

This wasn't made to be any sort of serious social commentary, folks, it's holiday fluff and if you take it as such you'll giggle too, and enjoy it.