Make the Yuletide Gay Blu-ray features poor video and decent audio in this mediocre Blu-ray release
Rob Williams, the director of Long-Term Relationship, Back Soon and 3-Day Weekend, brings us a hilarious addition to the gay holiday genre.
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 (hilarious performances by Derek Long & Kelly Keaton). He keeps his cool as his quirky Midwestern hale and hearty parents try to set him up with his high school sweetheart, Abby (Hallee Hirsh). 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?
Coming just in time to light up the holiday season is "Make the Yuletide Gay," a softer, lighter romantic comedy emerging from a genre not traditionally known for its overt 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 rusty 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 live openly as a gay man on his college campus, Olaf Gunnunderson (Keith Jordan, "Suburban Girl") is reluctant to return home for the holidays, where his Midwestern parents Anya (Kelly Heaton, "Rio") and Sven (Derek Long, "Bio-Dead") are unaware of his sexual preference, pushing their son towards a spunky neighbor girl (Hallee Hirsch, "Flight 29 Down"). Removing all traces of homosexuality from his person, Olaf takes the visitation plunge, enjoying the insane festivities and decoration his mother employs to amplify Christmas to operatic heights. For Olaf's boyfriend Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero, "Degrassi: The Next Generation"), the holidays have been rendered a nightmare thanks to his frosty parents (Gates McFadden and Ian Buchanan), inspiring him to make a surprise visit to see his semi-closeted lover. Freaked out, Olaf attempts 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, "Make the Yuletide Gay" is perhaps the softest entry of the new wave. Taking a benevolent Christmas cue, the feature is surprisingly mild when it comes to rough language and graphic 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 daffy parents to the viewer. 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 a sense of mystery as Olaf faces the prospect of divulging crushing news to a pair of merrily aware, apple-cheeked 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, famous for her role on "Little House on the Prairie"), and again, those pesky double entendres.
Timing comes to be a huge problem for Williams. Often sluggish and unable to maintain a suitable narrative rhythm, "Make the Yuletide Gay" stretches out as a farce, yet everything unfolds leisurely, with actors glacially executing the jokes instead of nimbly working through the humor of the script. The lethargy smothers the deceptively colorful viewing experience, making little sense when the plot is essentially a refurbished "Three's Company" episode, demanding a brisk treatment. The lack of finger-snap timing frustrates quickly, and the comedy eventually washes away entirely, as Nathan watches Olaf bury all traces of his true nature to avoid any conflict with his parents. The sentiment is sincere, aiming to widen characterization, 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.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation suffers from noticeable macroblocking problems, reducing an already fairly soft image to hard edges and blurred backgrounds. There are halos to contend with as well. Detail isn't the strongest here, better with intense close-ups that permit a direct look at the actors, though most of the picture lacks a great deal of texture, finding grain growing noisy at times. Colors should be a shoo-in with a Christmas movie, yet hues look a little tired and faded, especially skintones, with characters looking more light orange than their natural pink. Holiday lights are pleasing, displaying the proper seasonal energy with bold reds and greens. Shadow detail is lacking, solidifying with fabrics and distances, restraining evening encounters.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is a satisfactorily contained listening experience, less concerned with outward acts of sonic dimension and more focused on intimate matters between characters. There's a comfortable sensation of voices, with dialogue exchanges carried cleanly, offering pleasing separation of voices and accents, hitting harder comedic notes as expected. Scoring (acoustical and delicate) is warm, capturing distinct instrumentation, but the reach is limited, balanced well with verbal interactions, just never dynamic. Low-end is nonexistent, leaving the track contained to human antics over broadly demonstrative sound displays.
Audio commentary #1 with director Rob Williams and actors Adamo Ruggiero and Keith Jordan is more conversational than educational, with the two young talents cracking wise throughout the track. It's Williams's job to keep the boys on task, and while contributing sporadic nuggets of BTS information, the discussion is mostly regulated to praise, spelling out motivations, and giggling.
Audio Commentary #2 with Williams, Kelly Keaton, and Derek Long is the more sincere of the two conversations, recorded recently for this Blu-ray release. Williams once again acts as the moderator, pulling out reactions from his two stars, who both positively delight in the picture and their place as fantasy figures to gay kids afraid to come out to their own parents. There's a lot of play-by-play to slog through, but the core of the track is quite enlightening, acting as a victory lap of sorts for Williams, allowed a chance to look back at his movie after a successful DVD release in 2009.
Deleted/Extended Scenes (13:08, SD) elongate Olaf's troubling dinner table confession to his understanding parents, his last day of the semester with his dangerously amorous professor, and provides some backstory on his birth, lovingly recalled by Anya and Sven.
Behind the Scenes (28:15, SD) take viewers to the set to observe the filming of three sequences: "Organizing a Holiday Party," "Rehearsing the Fight," and "Preparing for a Christmas Eve Visit." Laughs, cast interplay, technical filmmaking hullaballoo, and more laughs ensue.
Outtakes (4:22, SD) is a standard routine of cast mix-em-ups highlighting numerous blown lines and giggle fits, with the occasional canine intrusion.
Interviews (70:19, SD) sit down with production participants, peppering them with questions pertaining to holiday season memories and on-set hilarity, capturing platitudes and a few genuine recollections. Closer inspection is provided with Williams (who recounts the development of the picture), actress Alison Arngrim (who chats up her career and feelings about the project), and composer Austin Wintory (exploring the challenge of scoring a picture of many moods).
"A Message from Adamo Ruggiero" (4:55, SD) is a webcam offering from the actor, who talks up the important themes of the movie and his feelings on personal acceptance in the gay community.
Music Videos (6:17, SD) are provided for "Gloria" and "It's Christmas Time," both performed by Jake Monaco and Jen Hansen.
Photo Gallery (23:03) provides a look at publicity stills and production atmosphere.
A Theatrical Trailer (1:23, HD) has been included.
It's difficult to take Olaf's dilemma seriously, and that's not the response this feature appears to want for its apprehensive lead character. Careening back and forth between silliness and despondency tends to blur the messages of empowerment and trust instead of celebrating them. It's a well-intentioned picture, but "Make the Yuletide Gay" just doesn't have a clear enough focus to successfully manage a mounting workload of sharp tonal changes.
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