San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Holiday movies that center LGBTQ stories
The past several years have seen an explosion in holiday films that celebrate LGBTQ people. Representation has come a long way since 2005’s “The Family Stone,” where queer characters are relegated to side plots. Now, queerness gets right in the center of the family Christmas photo. Here are five must-see films for the holidays.
‘Happiest Season’ (2020)
“Happiest Season” is the logical holiday evolution of all the classic coming-out queer films of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Kristin Stewart (“Spencer”) stars as Abby, a young lesbian who is ready to propose to her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) at Harper’s family Christmas. However, Harper lies to Abby about being out to her family, leading to a tense, closeted time for the couple that threatens to break them up. Directed and co-written by Clea DuVall, “Happiest Season” explores all the ways that a family’s lack of openness can hurt people.
Watch it: Streaming on Hulu.
‘Girlsam’ (2019)
There are surprisingly no full-length Hanukkah movies about same-sex couples. However, there is one fantastic and sweet short film written and directed by John E. Kilberg.
The story centers on Sam (Anne-Marie Trabolsi), whose girlfriend Dana (Dominique Brillon) refuses to invite her to Hanukkah because Dana’s family doesn’t know that Sam is a woman. Sam is resigned to spending the holiday alone with their cat, which she promptly lets out of a window. Desperate to not admit she lost the pet, Sam finds the courage to tell Dana how much she wants to be fully in her life.
Watch it: Streaming on Vimeo.
‘Season of Love’ (2019)
Six women’s love lives intertwine in this cult holiday classic. It’s a Christmas film, so don’t worry too much about a sad ending. That said, every scene is full of tense, “will they, won’t they?” moments that get your heart racing.
At the center of the story is Iris (Emily Goss), a bride whose wedding gets canceled and who has a complete crisis of faith when it comes to love. From that high-stakes beginning, the other leads (Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Sandra Mae Frank, Laur Allen, Janelle Marie Rodriguez and Jessica Clark) weave in and out of the story on a lovely, comforting journey. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect queer rom-com.
Watch it: Streaming on Tello Films.
‘Single All the Way’ (2021)
Director Michael Mayer’s “Single All the Way” uses every trick in the festive rom-com book. There’s our hero Peter (Michael Urie), who is too embarrassed to go home for the holidays after a relationship crumbles, and whose advertising firm makes him come up with a new campaign over Christmas to boot. His best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) agrees to pretend to be Peter’s boyfriend, but it’s pretty clear that there’s more there than friendship.
Finally, there are some brilliant scenes with ridiculous mixed signals, a blind date with a hot spin instructor and a hilarious children’s holiday pageant.
Watch it: Streaming on Netflix.
‘I Hate New Year’s’ (2020)
Of course, the holiday season ends with New Year’s Eve, so here is a queer love story to round out 2023.
Layne (Dia Frampton) is a frustrated pop star who returns to her hometown of Nashville to overcome some writer’s block. While she’s there, she starts looking up exes for writing material, but starts to develop feelings for her childhood best friend, Cassie (Ashley Argota). The film has many fantastic musical moments, including a banger of a duet by the two leads called “Flatline.” This is the closest we’ve come to a queer holiday musical thus far, and it’s a very good start.
Watch it: Streaming on Apple TV+.