(2009, 89 min)
Country: United States
Director: Rob Williams
Studio: Guest House Films
Language: English
SYNOPSIS: The holidays get overly festive as Olaf “Gunn” Gunnunderson (Keith Jordan), an out-and-proud gay college student, crawls back into the closet to survive the holidays with his parents. But when his boyfriend, Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero), shows up at their doorstep unannounced, Gunn must put on a charade to keep the relationship a secret. With pressure mounting from all sides, will Gunn come out before the truth does?
The comedy in this holiday film is quite hysterical at times and thanks to Olaf’s mother’s “fondness” for the holidays & decorating, there is no shortage of Christmas! It is a perfect romantic “Hallmark-esque” comedy made better because it features two gay male lovers..
REVIEW:
Just in time for the holiday season comes "Make the Yuletide Gay," a softer, lighter romantic comedy from a genre not known for its restraint. Eschewing heavy dramatics, "Yuletide" makes an admirable attempt to remain buoyant, sustaining the festive Christmas mood as far as humanly possible. However, the material eventually falls apart, caught between the mechanics of an out-of-the-closet farce and a tender story of personal and familial acceptance. The festivities kick off with a hearty ho-ho-ho. They end with a disconcerting no-no-no.
While free to life openly as a gay man at college, Olaf Gunnunderson (Keith Jordan) is reluctant to return home for the holidays, where his Midwestern parents Anya (Kelly Heaton) and Sven (Derek Long) are unaware of his sexual preference, pushing their son towards a spunky neighbor girl (Hallee Hirsch). Removing all traces of homosexuality from his person, Olaf takes the plunge, enjoying the insane festivities and decoration his mother employs to amplify Christmas. For Olaf's boyfriend Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero), the holidays are a nightmare thanks to his frosty parents (Gates McFadden and Ian Buchanan), inspiring him to make a surprise visit to see his lover. Freaked out, Olaf tries to conceal the true nature of his relationship with Nathan from his family, only to be confronted with the absurdity of hiding his love in front of those who care for him the most.
Joining a growing collection of coming out pictures, "Yuletide" is perhaps the softest of the bunch. Taking a benevolent Christmas cue, the feature is surprisingly mild when it comes to language and sexuality, preferring goofier routes of ribald comedy, spraying the screen with an extraordinary amount of double entendres, writer/director Rob Williams's ("3-Day Weekend") preferred weapon of choice. There's also a juicy slice of "ohhh yahhhhh" Minnesota/Wisconsin stereotyping going on to endear Olaf's parents to the audience. Turned into lovable boobs who adore Christmas, their son, and in Sven's case, chemical recreation, the Gunnundersons are broad creations intended to add some warmth to the picture, as well as create some sense of mystery as Olaf faces divulging crushing news to a pair of cheerily aware lovebirds. Brightly performed by Heaton and Long, the parents are the life of the "Yuletide" party, squeezing the best laughs in the film with their display of deafening Midwestern thoughtfulness, competitive spirit (a rival neighbor is played by Alison Arngrim), and again, those pesky double entendres.
Timing is a huge problem for Williams. Sluggish and unable to maintain a suitable rhythm, "Yuletide" reaches out as a farce, yet everything unfolds slowly, and actors lay on the jokes instead of nimbly working through the humor of the script. The lethargy smothers the viewing experience, making little sense when the plot is essentially a refurbished "Three's Company" episode. The lack of finger-snap movement frustrates quickly, and the comedy eventually washes away entirely, as Nathan watches Olaf bury his true nature to avoid any conflict with his parents. The sentiment is sincere, but the new rush of solemnity disrupts whatever little flow the picture was enjoying. The poignancy seems to emerge from another movie entirely, disorienting "Yuletide" completely.
Reviewed by Brian Orndorf [https://www.dvdtalk.com/]
