Que souffle la romance

Single All The Way is Netflix's first gay holiday rom-com, and it is absolutely delightful. While the storyline is predictable (i.e., fake relationships and friends to lovers tropes are well-trodden in the Christmas movie genre), the film is (effortlessly) engaging and entertaining nonetheless. What makes it stand out thus far this season (among this year's dozens of Christmas movies) is the warmth and joy it portrays through the story, through the dialogue, and through an ensemble cast that you will no doubt fall in love with. The story follows Peter (played by Michael Urie) who is keen to avoid his family's judgment about his eternal single status, and bad choices in men, this Christmas. Thus, Peter convinces his best friend Nick (played by Philemon Chambers) to join him for the holiday as his best friend turned boyfriend. And so, the two head to small-town New Hampshire this Christmas where our romance begins, as we watch these two discover, with some help from Peter's matchmaking family, the true love they have for each other. While it is obvious how this story will turn out, Single All The Way is entertaining, and at times, very funny. The dialogue is warm and sincere on the one hand, and cute and funny on the other. Indeed, the writer does a good job of mixing these two elements in a creative and engrossing way. What makes this all work on-screen, of course, is the acting. Urie and Chamber's performances were brilliant. They engaged me, that is, their performances pulled me. Chamber's, in particular, had a kind and gentle vibe to his performance, which I found appealing. The two also had fantastic chemistry on-screen with some touching and heartfelt scenes. It was hard not to root for these two. Offering plenty of comedy throughout the film was the supporting cast. Simply put: they were fun to watch. For example, Jennifer Coolidge (as Aunt Carol) is comical in her usual fashion. And Schitt's Creek's Jennifer Robertson plays the kooky sister, an amusing performance. I can't forget Luke Macfarlane (a Christmas movie regular), whose performance (as James, Peter's blind date) is fun and charming. The film has its fair share of holiday jinks and festive cheer from an amusing Christmas pageant and a choreographed Brittney song dance to hunky Santas and amusing and creative Christmas songs. All in all, Single All the Way is a feel-good Christmas movie, boasting an impressive cast that will no doubt have you smiling and laughing along the way. It is a nice new addition to Netflix's Christmas movie line-up this season. Highly recommend.

It's cheesy and a cliché, like Christmas rom-coms are supposed to be, but it's good cheesy. It's sweet, heartwarming and highly enjoyable. The story is easily predictable but also an entertaining feel-good one. All in all, it's a warm cozy movie with beautiful vibes that are perfect for the holidays.

Single All the Way is a feel-good film. Nothing hurts here, no joke goes below the belt, the pace is right, you just have to like the incredibly likeable family and the actors anyway. Philemon Chambers as Nick is so cute that I couldn't look away. After 10 minutes, you know what's going on in this story, but that's not bad at all. Sometimes you just need that sugar-coating and a bit of claptrap, even if you know that it misses the mark just as much as James Bond.

Is this the best movie.....NO! Is it corny and cheesy.....YES! Is it worth a watch? Yes. No only a decade ago would you ever get a movie with well known actors playing a normalised homossexual relationship and this needs to be acknowledged! For so many decades the christmas movie genre has been filled with heteronormal plot and actors and this is one of the Omg few movies where the plot isn't about coming out and drama but above love and families being family! Wanting the best for each other and being somewhat bland! I guess the only problem with this movie is that it's too mature and grown up and doesn't rely on shock to produce a story. If you like wholesome holiday movie this is the one for your!

7/10 - overall really cute, reference-filled Christmas flick for the girls, gays, and theys, but all I want for Christmas is for Michael Urie to get an acting coach before the inevitable sequel.