Movie reviews: Hollywood and Indie, specializing in independent comedies, dramas, thrillers and romance.
Monday, December 2, 2024
Last ExMas: Movie Review
Uneven comedy gives way to a cute lesbian rom-com.
A story about lesbians and their exes. A joke about how all lesbians are exes partially forms the basis for this cute LGBTQ+ Christmas movie. Last ExMas starts 10 Christmases ago with Maggie (Elena Milo) and Jules (Shaeane Jimenez) in high school. It’s a New Years Eve party at Maggie’s house, she’s a social butterfly making sure she’s seen with all the popular kids, then sneaks Jules into the house and up to her room to make out.
2024
Directed by: Sarah Rotella
Screenplay by: Adrianna DiLonardo
Starring: Shaeane Jimenez, Elena Milo
This was the beginning of the end since they then got into a fight over where they’re going to college. Jules applied to culinary schools in New York and Chicago while Maggie is destined for the west coast, California, and Hollywood to be exact. She is determined to be a movie star. The characterizations of our two leads are really good at the beginning. Jules is much more of a tomboy, while Maggie is very feminine, she won prom queen and she likes cheerleaders and appearance is very important to her. She didn’t have to hide being gay, she had to hide Jules since she was so uncool.
It's now been 10 years since they were last home for Christmas and since they last saw each other. Maggie is now a struggling actress who did one national commercial and has a string of semi-high-profile exes. Jules is now Julianne and is a famous successful chef in New York who has never made time for a personal life. And now they hate each other. The movie would like to say that the town is too small for the both of them, but I don’t think it’s quite that well written.
The movie is framed with the on-going theme of town gossips. All of the supporting characters break the fourth wall to give us updates on Maggie and Julianne. While Maggie and Julianne supply the romance, all of the other supporting characters are supposed to supply the comedy, but a lot of it feels forced, some of the acting is unpolished, some of the acting is over-the-top. There are a few scenes that will make you laugh, but it’s not as overtly funny as it’s meant to be. The highlight however is a lesbian car chase scene with Maggie chasing one ex in an SUV, and another ex chasing her in a UHaul and the three of them go around in a cul-de-sac and arrive back where they started.
The characterizations at the beginning are good, especially when Maggie and Julianne are thrown together and have to re-hash their high school relationship. Julianne tells her that she always felt like she was hiding her, Maggie says she didn’t see it that way. Let’s say one of them was spot on, the other was inside her own pretty little head.
Last ExMas is a small, light weight movie that takes awhile to get going with the town gossips detracting from the main couple rather than providing the comedy they’re supposed to. The ending is more enjoyable and provides a pure queer rom-com.
Want a different Christmas movie or just more holiday-themed movies?Holiday Movies
