This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
Abby and Harper have been in a relationship for a year. Abby, though not a huge fan of Christmas, agrees to go with Harper to her family for Christmas. Secretly she is also planing to propose her during that time. Plans change when Harper confides to Abby that she is not exactly out to her family and they think she is bringing her roommate for the festivities. Abby is shocked but Harper assures her that she will definitely tell her highly-critical, affluent, social-climbing parents right after Christmas. Back in the family, we meet Harper's parents, her older sister with perfect happy family and kids and another younger sister. The family has lot of traditions and Harper's endless parade of relatives, friends and exes keep popping up for various events leaving very little time for Abby and Harper together. Abby starts questioning whether she wants to be with Harper or not. Stakes are high since her father is running for mayor. Abby's best friend comes from home to support her during these testing times. Secrets are finally revealed and after some awkward drama, all is well with the family accepting each other as is.
The film is supposed to be a feel good holiday film. It doesn't promise to deliver something out of the extra ordinary and it sticks to it. We have the usual not out individual, the lover questioning the relationship, an ex showing up wanting to get back, family drama; these are the perfect ingredients for a nice happy holiday film. Kristen Stewart looks her part of Abby and does a decent job. To be honest , the one reason I saw this film was because of Dan Levy, Abby's gay beast friend. Every single dialogue from him is pure gold, even with the very limited screen time he gets. Harper and her two sisters are a riot of tangled rivalry and their scenes also add some fun element going for the film. I think Harper is the main lead here who is struggling between who she really is and what her family expects to be. In the most beautiful scene, Abby's bets friend makes her realize that just because her coming out story was happy, doesn't mean it is easy for everyone. Every individual's coming out story is different and they know the best on how and when to do it. Pressure doesn't help. I thought that scene was amazing because all that time Abby was making about herself without being empathetic to why Harper is behaving the way she was.
The film is just about decent. There are no real negatives here but a very common story and with nothing much new to offer, there is nothing memorable about the film. (6.5/10)
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