Image Credit: ‘Make The Yuletide Gay,’ TLA Releasing
Welcome to your weekend streaming recommendations, a.k.a. the Weekend Watch, a handy guide to the queerest film and TV content that’s just a click away!
Have you been naughty or nice this year?
Either way, Christmas is right around the corner, and we’re in the mood for some schmaltzy and fun holiday cheer! We managed to find a gay take on A Christmas Carol, and you’ll find there’s plenty of holly jolly to go around. So, as you finish wrapping your presents and stuffing your stockings, enjoy these queer-themed Christmas movies.
Read on for queer-themed holiday movies to stream this weekend.
Happiest Season
We begin our holiday journey with this fun, dysfunctional family Christmas romantic comedy from 2020. Directed by Clea DuVall, Happiest Season stars Kristen Stewart as Abby, who agrees to spend the holidays with her girlfriend, Harper (Mackenzie Davis), and Harper’s family—who of course don’t know she’s gay. Happiest Season features a stellar ensemble cast including Alison Brie, Daniel Levy, and Aubrey Plaza as Harper’s ex Riley, but it’s most memorable for the online discourse surrounding how unintentionally horrible Harper comes across!
Now streaming on Hulu.
Make The Yuletide Gay
Think of this one as a lower budget, male precursor to Happiest Season. This 2009 comedy by Rob Williams stars Keith Jordan as Gunn, who brings his boyfriend, Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero of Degrassi fame) to meet his parents. Of course, Gunn is in the closet. Are you surprised? Make The Yuletide Gay is notable for its wacky characters and indie sensibility. If you really love it, you can read Williams’ novelization, which expands on the story, as well as a sequel novel that was originally intended to be a film.
Now streaming on Dekkoo. Available to rent or buy digitally on Apple TV and Amazon.
The B*tch Who Stole Christmas
In this 2021 drag queen-studded comedy directed by Don Scardino, Krysta Rodriguez plays Olivia, a journalist who heads to a small town that’s obsessed with Christmas to write a story. But once she’s there, she meets a group of insane women, all played by A-list drag stars including RuPaul, Jan Sport, Peppermint, Latrice Royale and many others, all bent on winning a crazy Christmas competition. Sitcom legend Anna Maria Horsford also stars in this absurd, zany comedy. And keep an eye out for cameos galore!
Now streaming on Paramount Plus. Available to rent or buy digitally Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube.
Scrooge & Marley
What if Scrooge was a bitter old queen? That’s the question this 2012 film, directed by Richard Knight Jr. and Peter Neville, seeks to answer. Like the Charles Dickens classic, there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Ebenezer “Ben” Scrooge (David Pevsner). In this version of the story, Scrooge is visited by three spirits who help him revisit his painful past, including losing a loved one during the AIDS-ravaged 1980s; seeing what his life could be like in the present, peeking into his underpaid employee Bob’s (David Moretti) happy life with his partner; and a future in which the gay community he is part of doesn’t care that he’s dead. This low-budget film retains Dickens’ stirring message about the power of love, and has some excellent performances. Oh, and Bruce Vilanch plays Fezziwig!
Now streaming on Tubi, Here TV and Amazon Freevee.
The Kicker…
Single All the Way was a fairly high-profile release in 2021, with fun performances by Jennifer Coolidge and Michael Urie. But we all know Trixie and Katya can be tough critics. See what they thought of this overly earnest movie.
We asked the 63-year-old OnlyFans model what it felt like playing a sexy Scrooge and what the older generation can teach the younger generation about sex.
