When Christin Baker and Kathryn Trammell set out to create “Season of Love”, they called it the “first ever Holiday romantic comedy for LGBTQ+ women.” Now, I won’t contest them on that – but it’s surprisingly still a recent addition to the queer holiday film oeuvre since it’s premier in 2019. But as Tello Film’s first sapphic holiday film, this lesbian holiday romcom has stood the test of time and remains a great addition to the queer holiday film genre. Let’s break down why!
Synopsis of “Season Of Love”
It’s Christmas-time and the lives of six women are about to converge in the build up to New Years. However, things are not all that rosey. Lou’s life is chaotic. Between loud upstairs neighbors, problems with getting her venue ready for a New year’s Eve event, and an urgent need to find a welder, she’s barely keeping things together. Meanwhile, Iris’ dream wedding has fallen apart when here fiancé Theo leaves abruptly, resulting in uncertainty and loneliness. Her best friend Mardou is right beside her, checking up on Iris and helping her through the fallout. Lastly, Janey is ready to move forward in her relationship with her girlfriend Sue, even while Sue’s mother is worried about the impact she’s had in holding her back.
Things slowly start to merge together in interesting ways. It turns out that Lou’s “problematic” and “loud” neighbors are Kenna and Charlie – two gay best friends living together. Except the obnoxious sex turns out to be when Charlie has boys over, and Kenna has ignored Lou because she’s actually deaf and simply did not hear. Oh – and they are the welders that Lou has hired to help prepare her venue! Despite the awkward start, they all quickly move past it all and get to work. Lou, who has a crush on Kenna, even begins to learn basic sign language to better communicate with Kenna as they grow closer. All the while Mardou continues to be the anchor for Iris as she begins to restart her life after the breakup. But interestingly enough, this only brings the two closer to each other. In our third realm, we learn that Sue is not only an accomplished guitarist, but she has a lovely voice. However she’s anxious about anyone listening to her sing.
Everything seems to be going smoothly, as each pair’s relationship builds and grows closer. Lou brings Kenna and Charlie to Iris’ Christmas dinner party where Kenna and Charlie share their first kiss. Friendships start to overlap and merge, while romantic undercurrents develop into something more between Iris and Mardou. Not quite yet drawn into the entire picture, Janey makes the decision to post a video of Sue singing online – without Sue’s consent. Despite her good intentions, Sue was blindsided when the video goes viral enough that people start to recognize her and the pressure to perform becomes overwhelming and threatens her relationship with Janey.
The holiday tensions hit their peak and each couple’s romance takes a bit of a stumble. Theo reappears, complicating Mardou’s feelings enough that she pulls back to let Iris be with Theo again. Sue ends her relationship with Janey feeling betrayed, but her mom helps her realize that she has a true talent with her voice. With the help of Mardou, who is a talent agent, Sue signs on to a contract. Her first performance is the New Year’s Eve event at Lou’s new brewery. As the night unfolds, the truth comes out. Iris and Theo agreed that they were better off as friends, because Iris is in love with Mardou. Sue overcomes her anxiety and performs a beautiful song that is well received by all. Afterwards, Janey shows up and they have a honest talk about trust and forgiveness. But Sue has found her voice and admits she loves Janey. They get back together. As the clock strikes midnight, all three couples countdown and share a New Year’s Eve kiss.
The Not-So-Good
Don’t get me wrong, I loved “Season of Love”! However, there were a few minor issues I had that I felt the need to knock down my overall rating of this sapphic holiday film. My first issue was that it took a long time before I could finally keep track of each of the six women at the heart of this film. By trying to keep each of their stories separate enough at the start, I found it difficult to keep track of who’s story I was watching at first.
This was exacerbated by a rather choppy editing style that bounced from one woman to the next, giving me a short snippet – and then moving on to another. Sue and Janey’s part of the story was the most impacted, and the addition of others in this storyline did not help. However, things slowly started to connect and by about halfway through I was back on track with each respective storyline – and how they all began to intertwine.
Lastly, and as many have pointed out, the premise felt very similar to another holiday classic: “Love Actually”. So much that critics even referred to “Season of Love” as the lesbian version! Now while this is not entirely a bad things, because there is a beauty in multiple separate storylines merging together in a way that makes us go “Ahah! That’s how they know each other!” But it felt a tad not as original as I would have hoped for what was lauded as the first lesbian holiday film for queer women.
The Good
For the few irks I had with the film, there are many things about “Season of Love” that I really enjoy! Sure, there are the typical cheesy one-liners and setups that holiday romcoms are rife with. But you know what? I actually ENJOY those bits! Writer Kathryn Trammell actually weaves these tropes in in a way that is not overbearing resulting in moments that make you smile, rather than cringe at the cheesiness.
I also enjoyed the fact that it’s not all cheery happiness. There’s a bit of drama and conflict intertwined in each couple’s relationships. Some are a bit more of a roadblock than the others, but it shows a growth for each woman as they determine who they are and how their life connects with their respective love interest or partner. And while I don’t think it was intentional, the inclusion of a deaf character mimicked one of my favorite gay holiday films: The Perfect Wedding”. There’s just something about the realm of communication hurdles when someone is hearing deficit, yet a loving relationship grows regardless! LOVED it!
