TV Review - The Christmas Setup

In November, we saw some milestones in LGBTQ representation in media. Sony Pictures was the first major movie studio to produce a Christmas-themed film where LGBTQ characters were in the lead or the protagonists. It was Clea DuVall's Happiest Season and because of the coronavirus pandemic, it premiered on Hulu. That same week, the Hallmark Channel released The Christmas House, the first Hallmark Channel production to feature prominently a same-sex couple. For the past decade or so, Hallmark Channel has been doing what it's branded "Countdown to Christmas," which has been a series of films, mostly romantic comedies that have been Christmas-themed. Recently, it came under fire for not having films in that series feature same-sex couples or LGBTQ characters in general. The Christmas House was hopefully a start to rectifying that criticism. The day after this Lifetime movie was broadcast, the Paramount network broadcast Dashing in December (2020), which is basically a clone of this one. It's another gay Christmas-themed movie, so perhaps the tide is changing.

In 2019, Lifetime TV network did four movies that featured queer relationships. However, this one, written by Michael J. Murray and directed by Pat Mills, is Lifetime's first with a gay couple in the forefront. What's great is that Murray and Mills are both openly gay. The film was written by a gay man and it was directed by a gay man. On top of that, the two lead actors are both openly gay. The tendency in a lot of films and TV programs is to hire straight actors to play gay roles, but that's not the case here. Not only are both actors openly gay but they're also married to each other, so it can't be argued that all the credentials here aren't correct. There's even a gay actor playing straight in this movie.

Unfortunately, the problem is that despite being set in the present and featuring modern technology, this movie feels like it's set in the 1950's. It's so tame, so chaste and lacking in heated passion. In that, it's not uncommon from other Hallmark movies that are almost aggressively family-friendly, inoffensive and watered-down to be practically bland. Actually, watered-down is incorrect. It's instead syrupy sweet and with absolutely no sharp edge or any edge at all. That's expected for Hallmark Channel, but this is Lifetime. Yet, even this Lifetime effort can't muster anything with punch.

Ben Lewis (Arrow and Degrassi: The Next Generation) stars as Hugo Spencer, a lawyer in New York City who has been in the Big Apple for ten years. He's probably in his late 20's or early 30's. At the beginning of this film, he interviews to become partner at his law firm. He does so with only a couple of weeks until Christmas. While he waits for an answer, he decides to go to his home town of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in order to participate in his neighborhood and specifically his mother's holiday traditions.

When he gets there, it becomes obvious that his mother, Kate Spencer, played by Fran Drescher (Happily Divorced and The Nanny), is trying to play matchmaker. She is attempting to get Hugo to fall in love with a certain guy. She has another son whom is also coming home and it becomes obvious that she's trying to get him to fall in love with a certain girl. Ostensibly, it's done with the goal of getting her sons to move back home or maybe it's just to get them in relationships, but it only raises more questions and issues that feel more problematic than romantic.

Blake Lee (Mixology and Parks and Recreation) co-stars as Patrick Ryan, a man who works at his father's Christmas tree company. Yet, he's retired from working in the tech industry. He worked in Silicon Valley where he developed an app and then sold it for a small fortune. He was the popular kid who actually came out as gay in high school. He was even two years ahead of Hugo. He's tall, handsome and very charming. He seems like a perfect catch, so it's unlikely and unclear why he's still single.

Murray's script doesn't provide us with much insight into Patrick's social life or his dating history. There's no indication that Patrick is dealing with any issues that would prevent him from dating or putting himself out there. When Patrick meets Hugo, he mistakenly thinks that Hugo is in a relationship with his best female friend, Madelyn, played by Ellen Wong (GLOW and The Carrie Diaries). This means that he hasn't really been inquiring or interested in Hugo prior to his return for the holidays. Patrick certainly hasn't been pining for Hugo, so the question is why would Kate try to play matchmaker for Hugo and Patrick. Is it because they're the only gay people she knows? If so, why is that? I'm sorry I just don't buy that Patrick would be single unless he was actively not dating or his social life would not have so many men in his orbit.

Patrick knows that Hugo lives in New York and that after the holiday, he's going back. Patrick is not a dumb guy, so he knows that in order to pursue a relationship that isn't a long-distance one, Hugo would have to abandon his life in New York or Patrick himself would have to move to New York, a possibility that actually is never presented here. It's a complication that isn't needed, but Hugo is offered an even better job in London, England, which is even farther away. Patrick then gets upset when he learns about Hugo's job offer, but Patrick knew Hugo's life was in New York, so he was going to leave any way. For Patrick to expect Hugo to abandon his life in New York without even considering that he might move is unfair. Again, Patrick is the most flexible career wise.

Chad Connell (Good Sam and Steel) plays Aiden Spencer, the brother to Hugo. He served in the Air Force and is visiting before going to Indiana. His mom plays matchmaker for him and Madelyn. Doing so would mean that Madelyn would have to abandon her life in New York too in order to make a life with Aiden. Kate doesn't seem to consider that when she throws them together. Does she not care about these geographical issues where one or the other would have to sacrifice parts of their lives to be in these relationships? Again, we have no clue of what Aiden's social life or dating life is like that he would still be single at his age without any discernible issues that would make him so. It is interesting though that Connell is gay in real-life. Yet, he's playing a straight character here. It's interesting because I didn't know Connell was gay in real-life. Yet, there's one moment in the movie where I thought his character might come out the closet and be the third in a love triangle. Alas, that wasn't the case.

Going back to the geographical issues, yes, this is a romantic-comedy and we're supposed to suspend disbelief and accept that these good-looking people just come out of nowhere and get together with no real regard with anything that happened before the start of this film or any exploration of it. Finally though, Hugo makes a statement that he can't meet a guy like Patrick in New York. It's unclear what exactly he means, but it's rather offensive and myopic to think they are no good guys in New York City. Yes, this movie is about celebrating Milwaukee, but if Milwaukee is so great, then why hasn't Patrick found anyone? Plus, the movie hinges on this idea of Hugo saving a train station that is the venue for his mom's Christmas party, but isn't useful any other time during the year, as it just sits vacant. It would have been better if they turned it into a shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth or something and not just an exclusive party venue.

Rated TV-PG.
Running Time: 2 hrs.
Saturday, December 12 at 8 PM on Lifetime.