Every year, Tello Films releases a new sapphic holiday film. For 2025, that’s “The Christmas Writer”. While there are some similar tropes, this year’s selection has gone with perhaps a newer storyline than many other holiday films. After the loss of her mother, who loved the holidays, best-selling lesbian holiday writer Noel is struggling to come up with a new novel idea. Naturally, everyone from her grandmother to her agent are trying to help out – by helping Noel find romance over the holidays! But does this sapphic holiday film follow through? Is it worth watching along with Tello Film’s other sapphic holiday film offerings? Let’s dig in to find out!
Synopsis of “The Christmas Writer”
A bestselling lesbian Christmas author, Noel finds herself paralyzed by grief and writer’s block after losing her mother (her holiday muse) and enduring a sudden breakup. Under pressure from her agent and with holiday festivities just a sad reminder, Noel retreats to her quaint hometown of Pinewood in search of new inspiration. When she crosses paths with Callie—a charming, single mom who now owns the local bookstore—Noel stubbornly resists the attraction, despite the best efforts of her meddling friends and grandmother. However, sparks continue to fly! Surprised to find her inspiration in the form of unexpected love, Noel must now decide between holding onto her glam, big city life or embracing a love story that even she couldn’t have written.
The Not-So-Good
Overall, I have few issues with “The Christmas Writer”, which is a bit refreshing compared to some of Tello Film’s other holiday films! The biggest note I kept making regarded some puzzling timing & awkward flow between scenes. Or occasionally, the lack of a flow.
For example, during their first meet-cute, Callie is ready to ask Noel a question but Noel interrupts with answers to the ones she’s used to getting. But we never actually learn if any of those were the question that Callie was about to ask. But worse – that scene abruptly ends afterwards. We don’t get to know how their first meet ended. Did it end on a good note, like planning a second date? Or was it cut short because of a phone call?
In the end, we don’t actually know! And I found it a bit odd that it wasn’t actually their first meet. Their first actual meet was the year before when Callie stopped by for a photo during Noel’s book signing. Except we didn’t even know that it was an important moment. And unfortunately, this habit of cutting off the end of scenes continues… their second date just cut offs after a wonderfully beautiful moment between Callie and Noel.
And I must confess that while I fully realize that the story needs an actual antagonist, but the agent and her assistant are obnoxious and pushy! Showing up at the bookstore to check in on Noel’s progress was really weird. But the snooping around Noel’s belongings and stealing Callie’s manuscript while mistaking it for Noels work should be enough for Noel to fire her agent on the spot! It quickly became clear that the only reason they’re so pushy is because the writers needed something to try and break up Callie and Noel.
Even for a holiday romcom in a niche that’s full of overused tropes, it felt like a bit of a cop-out. Was there really no better way to create an obstacle between Callie and Noel in the eleventh hour? While I’ll admit that the other antagonist element is a bit weak, as it’s simply the fact that Noel is only visiting and will go back to the city after the holidays. But for about half of holiday romcoms, that’s more than enough to create issue for our love birds to overcome. And five minutes later, it’s obviously something they easily overcame.
Unfortunately it’s during this moment where I felt the acting slip a bit into the over-acting territory. And it was a moment when some shaky hand-held camera work interrupted the tense moment when Noel was trying to make up with Callie. But again, these are moments that stood out amid an otherwise enjoyable film.
The Good
One of the things I really enjoyed in “The Christmas Writer” is the cute interactions and meets between Callie and Noel! When Noel stops by Callie’s bookstore, they actually take the time to start getting to know each other. And the second meet during the meet and idea-share where we discover Callie has a daughter is equally cute. They have another moment to bond and share more about their respective lives. Even if Noel ends up blurting out too much info after wrongly presuming Callie was asking her out on a date.
Another charming bit of storytelling is that Callie is an avid fan of Noel’s books, revealing that they were what helped Callie get sober after her daughter came along. While it’s a bit cheesy and utterly fitting for a holiday romcom, I couldn’t help but smile as I watched that moment unfold on their “not-a-date” date. And it kept going as Callie revealed that she’s a bit of an amateur writer herself!
But perhaps the aspect I enjoyed the most was how natural the budding romance between Callie and Noel progressed. If we remove the editing issues of scenes being chopped off too early, the relationship between Callie and Noel happens over time. Every time they meet or spend time together, you can feel their connection growing. It’s not rushed, nor forced as so often is the case with holiday romcoms. Even during the few interrupted moments, such as when Pepper calls out and interrupts what would’ve been their first kiss, their romance is a cute & heartfelt. And their actual first kiss – utterly cute!
