"Christmas on Repeat": "Groundhog Day" romcom with Matthew Lawrence, Peter Pan, a bodybuilder, and some other stuff

 

Link to the n*de dudes

After successfully finding a gay romance tucked into the final scene of Falling for Christmas, I decided to check out some other recent Christmas movies to see if a gay character snuck in under the noses of the homophobes.  First up,  Christmas on Repeat, because it features one of those day-keeps-repeating plotlines, and Matthew Lawrence (sigh), one of the trio of muscle-hunk brothers who brightened the 2000s.  

Scene 1: Andrea has fallen asleep at the office again, because she's a workaholic, but not to worry, her assistant got presents for her husband and kids, and arranged for bonuses for the office staff.  On her way out, her boss, Nick (Matthew Lawrence, sigh) stops her: they have to shoot a commercial tomorrow, and the guy in charge of the account is taking Christmas off, so... No fair!  Why don't you do it?

She calls her husband, John (Gary Poux), to say she's on the way home.  He is upset, because that means she will want to cook breakfast, and she's an awful cook.  Wait, how is she going to fall in love with Nick?  Maybe she's just the conduit, and Nick will be the one who falls in love.

Also, the "not being home for Christmas" thing, which he has heard before.

Scene 2: She stops to buy some groceries -- the supermarket parking lot is empty on Christmas Eve?  And the donation-collecting Santa Claus knows her name.  Creepy.  He points out that there will be a shooting star tomorrow night with "off the charts" magic.

Scene 3: At home, she greets her teenage children. Lexi, who looks like a 30-year old supermodel, has a new dance routine -- this is depressing, as Andrea and her husband used to dance, before she got too busy. 

And Matt (JJ Whyte) decided not to stay overnight with his friend Ryder.  Tell me more about your "friend," dude.

Back story: Lexi is from Andrea's first marriage, Matt from this one.  I guess they want to explain why Lexi is so melanin-deprived.  Or they could have found a 30-year old African-American supermodel.

Scene 4: Andrea works on her laptop until late, and goes to bed after Hubbie is already asleep.  Don't worry, I won't say anything about the BBC she's missing out on.

Scene 5: Here are the things she does wrong on Christmas day:

1. She doesn't recognize her son Matt's friends

2. She is unaware that he has stopped being interested in basketball

3. She tries to make pancakes, but sets the kitchen on fire.  Not being able to cook is apparently a major sin in this world.  Maybe this movie is pushing the nuclear family myth, where Dad works and Mom stays home to cook. 

4. She doesn't stop the "Clean, Green, and Prestine" actress and director Paul (Terry Woodberry) from sniping and quitting.  

Director Paul yells at the actress, she quits, and then he quits.  And gets heterosexualized by mentioning his wife.  Darn.  

5. Next she's stopped by a cop  for speeding in a residential zone. I expected a whole hauled-into-jail thing, but she just goes home.  

6. They sit down to the horrible gifts that her assistant picked out.

7. Nick calls to yell at her about the shoot falling apart, and demands that she show up for a new shoot tomorrow, the Day After Christmas.

8. She stays up so late that hubbie is already asleep. 

Scene 6: After multiple repeats, Andrea finally gets everything right.

1. She gets to know her son's friend Ryder (Nolan Almeida, seen here as Peter Pan).

2. She becomes an expert basketball player, and rekindles her son's love of the sport.

3. She learns to cook so she can fill her patriarchal gender-polarized life role.

4. The photo shoot goes perfectly.

5. She helps the cop (Joe Rosetta) with his personal problems.  Why not just drive the speed limit?

6. They sit down to the perfect gifts that she bought.  On Christmas day?

7. She tells Nick that she's not available until after New Year's Day, so she can spend time with her family.

8. She goes to bed early enough to...um... satisfy her husband.

Beefcake: None.

Gay Characters:  None.  Nick mentions a wife.  Her son doesn't mention an interest in girls, but the basketball thing is probably meant to heterosexualize him.

Matthew Lawrence: The posters make him Andrea's suitor, or at least a main character, but he appears in only a few scenes, yelling at her on the telephone.

My Grade: C.  It would be lower, except for the muscles of Joe Rosetta and the BBCs.  

See also: Meet Me Next Christmas: A drag show, a queer cousin, Pentatonix, and a dancer

Marcus Adair: finance major, stuntman, Jabari warrior, model

Falling for Christmas: Lindsay Lohan's boyfriend gets a boyfriend in a Christmas romcom