Calling this a comedy sets up an expectation the film never meets: I didn’t laugh once. The hired-boyfriend premise has supplied plenty of other movies with good comic material, and there’s potential here too. Instead, this low-budget indie puts its energy into outsized drama. Oddly, I could see much of that excess coming, which didn’t make it any more convincing.
What bothered me most, though, wasn’t simply the missing humor. By the end, I still couldn’t decide whether I actually liked Gary. His problems are genuine, but getting him to discuss them with anyone is another matter. He keeps retreating into silence, as though refusing to talk might somehow resolve things. Ken at least makes an effort to get him to examine himself, giving their relationship something to work with beyond the arrangement that brings them together.
That arrangement begins with a Christmas visit Gary hasn’t made in five years. He’s finally leaving Miami to spend the holiday with his family in Atlanta, and he tells his mother, Rachel, that he’s coming. She’s forever pressing him about family matters, so this is already a departure from his usual routine. He also lets her think he’ll have someone with him. Unfortunately, the man he’s dating breaks up with him on their anniversary, only two days before Gary is due to leave.
A friend who also works with him suggests a solution: hire a boyfriend for the trip. Enter Ken. There’s a rather important complication to this plan, however—Gary hasn’t come out to his family. Bringing home a paid stand-in for the boyfriend who has just dumped him is hardly the simplest way to handle that.
Atlanta doesn’t exactly provide Ken with a warm reception. Gary’s father is the exception; the rest of the family offers little welcome. His sister is married to a considerably older man, while his brother has a wife, children and the favored position among the siblings. Their parents have always treated that brother as the golden child, with their mother particularly obvious about it. Rachel’s show of friendliness doesn’t disguise either her control over the family or her preference for her older son.
Put Gary’s fresh breakup into that household, add the friction between siblings and the childhood issues that are still hanging around, and the visit soon becomes emotionally combustible. People find themselves having conversations they hadn’t anticipated, and the holiday keeps delivering surprises. Once the upheaval has subsided, Ken’s part as the weekend boyfriend is over and he has to go home. By then, however, the connection isn’t entirely pretend. He later turns up in Miami to surprise Gary and ask him on an actual date.
The basic story is perfectly serviceable. Its execution is where the film struggles. The limited budget is unmistakable, much of the acting falls short, and repeated uncomfortable pauses drain momentum from the scenes. Too many story strands are left dangling, making it necessary to guess at what is going on rather than giving the drama a satisfying shape.
Underneath those problems, this is a fairly conventional Christmas-season movie with gay characters occupying the lead roles. I suspect it was originally made for television, although I’m not certain. I also don’t know how I missed it on release. These films really do depend on catching you in a festive mood; watch them outside that holiday window and their heightened emotions can feel excessive and oddly misplaced. That may explain part of my reaction, but it doesn’t rescue this one. Having now seen it, I’m not especially sorry I missed it the first time around. Unless you truly have nothing else available to watch, I’d pass. 3/10