Next up is Dashing in December, another made for TV effort for the Paramount Channel from 2020 that also feels like it fits the formula of a million and one Hallmark efforts. Successful corporate businessman Wyatt (Peter Porte) returns home to his family’s Colorado ranch for the holidays with the aim to convince his ageing mother Deb (Andie MacDowall) to sell the place. However, he doesn’t count on falling for her dashing new ranch hand Heath (Juan Pablo Di Pace) who hopes to save the property and its beloved Winter Wonderland attraction.
I’m quite impressed with this as, despite being totally formulaic, director Jake Helgren’s film somehow manages to be touching and enjoyable. The script and dialogue feel richer and the performances much deeper and more heartfelt than I’m used to seeing in TV movies. Porte gives good ‘corporate asshole’, initially interested in nothing more than making lots of moolah and his gradual softening as he lets in the love of Heath’s hunky ranch-worker is both believable and adorable. MacDowall too brings her usual warmth and gravitas as Wyatt’s widowed mum, struggling to make ends meet.
The Colorado setting is gorgeous, with the ranch running a horse-drawn Christmas sleigh ride every December that’s normally a big draw for local crowds. In the absence of selfish Wyatt, who hasn’t been home in years, Deb has drafted in rugged South-American Heath, as well as Blake (Caroline Harris), Wyatt’s cute ex-high school girlfriend, to help run the place. Wyatt is clueless at first, but Heath is openly gay and his mum secretly hopes the two will hit it off.
It’s an interesting recipe for light-hearted drama. Wyatt acts like a condescending prick towards Heath at first, likely jealous of this handsome stranger who’s living in his childhood home and is closer to his mum than he is. However, when he realises Heath’s gay, the two men slowly open up to each other about their pasts and realise how much they have in common. Wyatt thinks he had it hard being a closeted gay man in a roughneck, rootin-tootin Colorado town but it’s revealed that, after coming out during his high school graduation, he was openly accepted and embraced by the community. Heath’s tale is a far more tragic story of rejection and loneliness, the film acting as a reminder that Christmas is a time to count your blessings. No matter how hard you think you have it, there’s likely a lot of people much worse off than you are.
There are some terrifically romantic scenes that warm my cockles. After an obligatory raucous, suspiciously choreographed drinking den line dancing scene, Wyatt confesses he’s never danced one-on-one with a guy. Later, Heath sets up an idyllic date, surrounded by twinkly lights and tasteful music, so the two men can share a private, intimate slow dance. It should be corny as hell but it’s tastefully done and profoundly romantic.
The film’s also pleasantly festive with excellent cinematography, particularly during numerous scenes of horse-riding across the stunning, snowy Colorado landscape. It’s uplifting stuff with Wyatt’s transformation proving both touching and convincing. This Scrooge doesn’t need three ghosts to change - just the love of a soft-hearted romantic soulmate.
Admittedly, there are some laughably gratuitous scenes that might prove a little too much for some, including the part where Wyatt gets out of bed in nothing but his boxers and the camera lingers a little too longingly on both his bum and his ‘bulge’. This is not something I’m used to seeing in movies at all but at this stage I’m viewing these sorts of things as triumphs. Gay audiences are finally starting to get decent films that they deserve and, to be honest, I feel like anyone can enjoy touching little stories like this one. Wow - I confess I have discovered a hidden love for these mushy tales of gay romance. There’s definitely something uplifting about these characters - who potentially have so many more barriers to finding romance - finally discovering real, pure love. Aw, shucks.
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