Must Watch Queer Holiday Movies

Poster of the Happiest Season. Picture Courtesy: Instagram

The holiday season is here. It's time to start hunting for presents, sip on mulled wine, and fore mostly snuggle in front of our televisions with warm fuzzy socks. Each year dozens of holiday movies storm our screens with every romantic-comedy cliche imaginable. Truth be told, we like the predictability of a formulaic movie, in times as difficult as we are in, we all could use a happy ending or two. As long as one can remember, most holiday movies revolved around straight white characters. Filmmakers have slowly caught up to the changing times and we've been seeing an increase in LGBTQIA+ centric movies.

Before we get down to the cool list, 26-year-old Meera who identifies as pansexual, shares why LGBTQIA+ movies are important, "Representation saves lives. When queers see themselves represented in media, it impacts how they view themselves and the society. Mass representation shapes perceptions and can be a tool to overcome prejudice and stereotypes. This is precisely why shoddy caricatures hurt the community, especially in a country like India where misconceptions and prejudice have long impacted queer lives."

We've handpicked the far-too-rare queer holiday movies that are bound to bring a smile this holiday season

Happiness in the air

It's 2020 and Kristen Stewart has blossomed from being the damsel-in-distress in vampire movies to the lead in what is being labelled as the first major queer holiday movie. In the Happiest Season, Stewart plays Abby who plans to propose to her girlfriend Harper, played by Mackenzie Davis, while visiting Harper's parents for the holidays only to realise that her girlfriend hasn't come out to her conservative parents. This holiday season, Happiest Season is the coming-out-movie and emotional rollercoaster you can revel in.

Stormy nights

Based on a young-adult novel, Let it Snow is a romantic-comedy about teens stuck in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve. The movie stars an ensemble of likeable actors in a story which at its core is about the relationships between them and the insecurities that plague all of us in our teen years. Among the many breakups and makeups, is a secret gay romance. The endearing movie has the right amount of melodrama and teen angst to pull on your heartstrings. Isabela Merced (Julie), Kiernan Shipka (Angie), Matthew Noszka (JP Lapierre), Shameik Moore (Stuart), Odeya Rush (Addie), Liv Hewson (Dorrie), and Anna Akana (Kerry) make this a relatable fare.


A different homecoming

Who knew heartthrob Robert Downey Jr. played Holly Hunter's gay brother in comedy-drama Home for the Holidays. Directed by Jodie Foster, the movie follows Claudia Larson, played by Hunter, who loses her job and quite literally heads to her parents' home in Chicago for the holidays. A series of events take place on Thanksgiving Day unearthing many secrets of the dysfunctional family. Dylan McDermott (Leo) and Robert Downey Jr. (Tommy) make for an enviable pair in this ensemble. Anne Bancroft (Adele), Charles Durning (Henry), and Geraldine Chaplin (Aunt Gladys) pitch in with endearing supporting acts.

Love, actually

If there was a unicorn for queer women, it would be Season of Love. Never before has there been a romantic holiday movie with six queer women at the centre of it all. Some have called the film the equivalent of Love Actually for the LGBTQIA+ community. Written by queer writer Kathryn Trammell and starring several queer actors, the movie centres around Iris, played by Emily Goss, who's cancelled wedding forces her to revaluate her life. The ensemble cast also includes Dominique Provost-Chalkley (Sue), Jessica Clark (Lou), Laur (is it Laura) Allen (Mardou), Janelle Marie (Janey), and Sandra Mae Frank (Kenna). Peppered with adorable romantic tropes, this quintessential romantic-comedy has all three love stories intersect in a dreamy holiday setting.

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