It's time to make the yuletide gay!
Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Massey have teamed up yet again for a gay holiday rom-com, but this time around, they're being their true authentic selves.
Fans of the handsome hubbies have seen them play queer characters in Hallmark and Lifetime films, but the couple decided to take their new film The Holiday Exchange into their own hands.
"[This film] is a little bit of a twist on The Holiday, which is one of my personal favorites. It turns out, selling a gay Christmas movie can be really tricky. The holiday market is somehow just reserved for straight people and straight storylines and that's really frustrating," Frey says.
Although LGBTQ+ representation has certainly improved throughout the years, there's a level of realness that's often missing or suppressed in mainstream films.
"I wanted to speak truly to the gay experience. This was a really empowering venture for us to do it our way. We weren't making this film for Lifetime. This was not something for Hallmark. It was just important for us to make sure that another gay holiday-themed film was coming out this year," Frey explains.
Hallmark and Lifetime movies are also known for being quite cheesy, so Frey and Massey wanted to showcase real LGBTQ+ love in this movie, which includes more spicy content that's typically never seen on the conservative networks.
"Some of the dialogue might be a little bit spicy. There might be a couple scenes where Taylor is in a certain level of undress, which everyone enjoyed at the screening," Massey jokes.
"And that was modest! The kisses... they're real kisses," Frey adds. "There's a lot of kissing and it's real. There's drool and there's sloppiness. No shame on Hallmark or Lifetime, but it's a peck and that's enough. I don't want to play by those rules anymore."
Sadly, The Holiday Exchange serves as one of the only new LGBTQ+ films to premiere during the holiday season this year, which is a drastic dip in queer representation.
Frey wants to make sure young gay people still have something to watch so they can feel seen and hopefully feel less alone.
"If I had seen this as a boy, that would have made a huge difference for me in a Mormon household. It just was not available to me, so if this seeps into a house or two that might need it, that would be a job well done," Frey says.
The Holiday Exchange is streaming now on Peacock, Prime Video, and Tubi. To see the full interview with Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Massey, check out the video at the top of the page.
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