My next film Holiday Heart is a much-celebrated TV movie that premiered on the Showtime channel in December 2000 and was produced by the legendary Robert DeNiro. Watching it, I become aware it’s maybe not an out-and-out Christmas film as such, though its plot does climax on Christmas Eve and with a name like that it really sounds like it should be, so I’m still having it. Also, as this features legendary hardman actor Ving Rhames giving a breathtaking, vulnerable performance as a gay Christian drag queen, I feel it'd be remiss not to mention it - it really is something else.
Lost in grief after losing his police officer partner, Holiday Heart (Rhames) finds a new lease on life when he meets 12 year old Niki (Jesika Reynolds) and her drug-addict mother Wanda (Alfre Woodard). Heart rediscovers happiness again when he steps in as a surrogate father figure to this dysfunctional family but their new life is threatened when Wanda becomes involved with bad-tempered drug-dealer Silas (Mykelti Williamson).
Rhames is extraordinary in this one. So often typecast in stoic, badass roles, rubbing shoulders with guys like Seagal, Willis and Cruise, his transformation to tender-hearted, soft-spoken, gospel-singing drag queen with a broken heart is nothing short of jaw-dropping. He really gives it his all as this lost soul searching for redemption in his new makeshift family of seemingly lost causes. Admittedly, with all I know about Rhames, it’s pretty funny at first to see this big, burly guy wearing a sparkly dress and wig, dancing and miming along to the Supremes but as the film goes on I can see just how much effort he puts into this dedicated performance. The physicality of it is astounding.
It’s a shame then that the film is so unapologetically overwrought and schmaltzy. Director Robert Townsend (Meteor Man), for me, has always been a bit of a sucker for over-the-top melodrama and preachy messaging and everyone in this film, at some point, is guilty of indulging in a bit of hysterical overacting. Early scenes of Holiday losing his shit at his lover’s funeral have me worried that the film is going to be a bit of a car crash but, luckily, it settles down a bit after that.
The story feels deliberately bleak for a holiday movie, likely to hammer home the point of the cruel realities of addiction and life in the ‘hood. Woodard goes in all guns blazing as the struggling single mom who aspires to be an author but can’t quite leave her crippling life of addiction behind. She throws herself into scenes where Wanda is totally strung out and desperate and, while I find the performance to be over-embellished and ‘a bit much’, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for it, so what the hell do I know?
Williamson also gives a deep, layered performance as Wanda’s seemingly sinister dealer/boyfriend Silas who, though definitely a bit of a gangster, truly wants to do right by this makeshift family. It’s an interesting film where none of the characters are simple one-dimensional ‘types’ and everyone is capable of change.
The plot takes some surprising and interesting turns, climaxing with a tragic event on Christmas Eve. As I’ve said, it’s incredibly melodramatic and more than a little cheesy but still incredibly watchable . You can’t argue with a film that has Marsellus Wallace in a dress, punching muthas out. However, it’s also a film that, unlike the other films I’ve watched so far, doesn’t shy away from showing just how hard many gay transvestites and transsexuals have it, especially in rougher areas. There’s liberal use of homophobic slurs throughout, even by people who think they’re being friendly to Heart. It’s a shocking reminder that society still has a long way to go in adjusting attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people.
This one gives me a lot to think about. Christmas can be a wonderful time, but also the loneliest if you don’t have anyone to love. Apparently Holiday Heart was not originally intended as a Christmas movie but has, in the years since its release, been embraced as one by both the American gay and black communities. I also find it refreshing and fascinating that, following the early death of his partner, we never see Heart express any sort of romantic desire for anyone from that point on. He’s also a dedicated choir-singing Christian and his sexual orientation is never shown as defining or affecting his relationship with God or the church. Heart is affectionately portrayed as a simple, warm, loving but heart-broken man trying to fill the hole in his soul with something, anything to make the pain subside and who just happens to be gay. Despite its faults, this remains a powerful, profound film that deserves to be seen.
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