Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Rosie Searle
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
bkoganbing
Make The Yuletide Gay is a wonderful film that I would recommend to far more than LGBTQ audiences. It is to be fondly hoped that more and more gay youth experience what the leads Keith Jordan and Adam Ruggiero at Christmas time.Jordan plays an out and proud college student and Ruggiero is his boyfriend. Except for one thing, neither has come out to parents. Their concerns are quite real. In my own life I've met too many gay people who were disowned by families and had some terrible life experiences stemming from that.Jordan is heading home to his Wisconsin family and Ruggiero was going to go home, but his parents Ian Buchanan and Gates McFadden are busy in their social world and have just won a cruise for two. So left on his own devices Ruggiero comes to Jordan's and the two have to figure out where their relationship is going.Jordan's parents are an interesting pair. Derek Long was a Grateful Dead fanatic in his youth, now he seems like someone who's just retreated from life. Kelly Keaton is in her own world and appears totally clueless about all around her.Without going into too much detail let's say it's Merry Christmas to all. For a gay themed movie this thing is practically G-rated. Sad to say that the sight of two attractive young men showing passionate care for each other is still likely to earn a restricted rating. Really there's nothing here,even the youngest audiences could see it and not be 'damaged' for life. But just the subject of same gender sex is enough to get the Puritan in some going.I would recommend this as a model film for PFLAG to show how some parents really do care for their children first no matter what their sexual orientation may be.
cynjendrejcak
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.
Johnny LT
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.
adam_world
Make the Yuletide Gay is not a great piece of art. This is not a film that will open on a ton of screens worldwide and earn millions of box office dollars. This is a small budget gay themed holiday film. If you go into it expecting anything more than a bunch of corny jokes and a formulaic plot, you'll be disappointed. College student Gustav "Gun" Gunderson (Keith Jordan) is out and proud at school but is secretly not out to his eccentric Midwestern parents (Derek Long and Kelly Keaton). During the Christmas holidays he struggles to find the right time to finally tell his parents the truth. When his boyfriend Nathan's holiday plans fall through, Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero) surprises Gustav by showing up on the Gunderson home to spend the holidays. Comedy ensues.This film explores familiar territory but it's a fun ride. Some of the jokes you see coming, but generally the script is quite clever. There are a few awkward transitions and the editing could have been a lot tighter. The camera particularly overplays Keaton as mom Anya Gunderson, lingering on her a few moments too long after each punch line. Often removing a few beats here and there would have made a lot of difference.Keith Jordan does a fantastic job. Despite the fact this is a comedy and everything will probably turn out for the best, Jordan manages to make the "what if" fears seem real. Degrassi-The Next Generation's Adamo Ruggiero seemed oddly uncomfortable in front of the camera during the early scenes. Initially I had trouble believing he and costar Jordan were in a long-term relationship. Ruggiero's acting steadily improves as the film progresses and eventually delivers a good performance, but he was obviously chosen to draw in an audience.Make the Yuletide Gay is fun and light-hearted with a few good laughs. It won't become a mandatory Holiday viewing, but it is perfect for what it is. In other words, you get what you pay for.
