The Lesbian Holiday film sub-genre has erupted since Happiest Season became a record-breaking hit last Christmas. The film industry was forced to acknowledge that lesbian films can be successful… especially when snow and gift-giving is involved.
Christmas movies, as a genre, can be pretty cringe. Setting a film around Christmas time often leads filmmakers to focus on the tinsel and pretty lights, the Christmas magic and nostalgia, instead of making a quality movie with a good plot and believable characters. Christmas (and its conventions) is frequently the entire focus of holiday movies, rather than a necessary backdrop that enhances an interesting story.
Why do lesbian Christmas movies go off? Lesbian movies have a history of being subpar. When lesbians try to make lesbian films themselves, the movie often either won’t get made, won’t get seen, or the filmmaker won’t have the financial power to compete with the quality we’re used to seeing in the mainstream. When men make them then we frequently die or are portrayed as sex things for the male gaze.
The “lesbian” and “Christmas” cringe-factors tend to cancel each other out and make for good movies when the genres combine. Yep, I’m thinking ‘bout Carol (again). Carol is the perfect example of using Christmas time as a meaningful backdrop to a powerful story. Christmas doesn’t take over. Christmas conventions aren’t lazily slapped on the film to make a quick buck. The unbearable cheeriness in many Christmas movies — lesbian or not — borderline feels like some sort of propaganda. “Joy” doesn’t define Carol. Oh no.
Maybe it’s the fact that we aren’t used to seeing lesbians on the big screen that cuts through the clichés of the Christmas genre. Christmas movies are so strictly conventional that they allow us to lazily go through the motions, knowing exactly what to expect next. So there’s something pleasantly uncanny about seeing all the usual Christmas bells and whistles, with lesbian characters taking the spotlight. It feels rebellious.
2021 brings new Lesbian Holiday — specifically Christmas — movies. Christmas at the Ranch, Tello’s new lesbian movie, employs the old ‘rich workaholic returns to save the family ranch and falls in love with poor ranch hand’ storyline. Not gonna lie, that’s one of my favorites. Desert Hearts is too close to my heart to talk dirty about it.
I am cautiously optimistic about Christmas at the Ranch. On one hand, director Christen Baker is a woman who isn’t straight. Yay. On the other, I’m not sure if this lesbian Christmas movie is sharp enough to cut through the Christmas cheese. Then again, some people look for cheese when picking out Christmas movies.
It’s impossible to hold low-budget films to the industry’s overall standard of quality. But, if the IMDb user reviews are anything to go by, it’s a cute, cosy, feel-good film that features likeable characters who normalise same-sex relationships, instead of coming out and/or homophobia being the central conflict.
Need more lesbian Christmas content? Check out our review of Under the Christmas Tree.
