Last ExMas – Movie Review

LAST EXMAS is a 2024 Lesbian Christmas Movie out on VOD. It’s definitely the kind of feel-good LGBTQ Holiday movie I was hoping for. It reminded me of Happiest Season but without anyone being closeted. Read our full Last ExMas movie review here!

LAST EXMAS is a new Lesbian Christmas Movie for 2024. It’s out on VOD now and I can definitely recommend watching it. Not only because you should always (yes, always!) support these LGBTQ movies if you want more of them, but because it’s good.

WANT MORE LGBTQ HOLIDAY MOVIES?

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This is a sweet LGBTQ Holiday movie of the classic Christmas variety. Almost stereotypical and I am so here for it. Especially as the main characters actually get enough background that you care for and about them. The runtime is just around 90 minutes, so it’s no small feat to make us care and tell a good Christmas love story.

Continue reading our Last ExMas movie review below. Find it out On Digital from December 3, 2024.

A classic (but queer) Christmas movie

In Last ExMas, we follow Maggie Pierce (Elena Milo) and Julianne Alba (Shaeane Jimenez) as they return to their small town for Christmas. The two are ex-girlfriends who had a pretty bitter break-up during their final year in High School. This resulted in them going in geographically opposite directions and not speaking for a good decade.

Now, they’re both back where they fell in love and it’s obvious to everyone that the love never died. Will they admit this to themselves and rekindle the spark while both are in their hometown for the holidays? Are these two truly meant to be or could it be that small-town charm and magic of the season?!

Well, this is a Christmas movie and a lesbian Christmas movie to boot, so it’s pretty formulaic. And I, for one, am very happy about that. I want happy endings for my gay ladies all year round but especially in my Christmas movies.

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What I really enjoyed about this new queer Christmas movie was the fact that it’s a classic Christmas movie with a lesbian love story. We’re talking friends (and ex-girlfriends) from high school who return for Christmas in their small town 10 years later.

Each has been living in very big cities (New York and Los Angeles, respectively) and now they’re returning to their roots. And their first love. Awww!

Lesbian drama without too much drama

For this new Lesbian Christmas movie, the title of Last ExMas focuses on the “ex”-element of the story. Honestly, I was worried that this LGBTQ Christmas movie would be full of lesbian drama. I mean, I know we all recognize that there’s drama and then there’s lesbian drama.

We can seriously talk things to death and carry grudges like it’s our superpower.

Of course, this is a lesbian Christmas movie, so the drama isn’t too bad. Also, unlike Happiest Season (which I admittedly love), no one in this movie is closeted. Everyone in their small town knows they’re both gay. There is another issue about one of them not wanting to admit that they were together, but that’s an image (not a gay) issue.

Now, the two ex-girlfriends, Maggie and Julianne (or just “Jules”) will have to try and figure out how to get to a happy ending. All while dealing with the gossiping town – everyone knows everything that happens instantly – and even a ghost of exes past.

The character of Vivian (a very recent ex of Maggie’s) has a cute recurring gag where she keeps calling Jules by the wrong name. It’s silly, but what can I say?! I’m a sucker for cute and silly things.

Especially during the Holiday season.

Watch Last ExMas on VOD now!

The director of Last ExMas is Sarah Rotella, who also directed the 2016 LGBTQ movie Almost Adults. That one starred Natasha Negovanlis and Elise Bauman AKA the stars of the iconic digital series Carmilla. The writer of this new lesbian Christmas movie is Adrianna DiLonardo, who also wrote the Almost Adults movie.

So, the filmmaker duo of this new LGBTQ holiday movie is reuniting the director and screenwriter of Almost Adults. That almost feels like a little love story in its own right.

Or maybe I’m just projecting from having watched Anatomy of a Love Seen. Probably because I thought I saw iconic lesbian filmmaker Marina Rice Bader in Last ExMas. I didn’t as I found out it was Christina Paoletta. Sometimes my version of the Chart of lesbian filmmakers and actors gets a little overactive.

In any case, I also want to mention that I loved all the actors in this movie.

I’ve mentioned Happiest Season as a comparison earlier. In the vein of that, I want to mention actor Raven Maducdoc as Lola. She pretty much plays the same kind of character as Dan Levy – with assistance from Jasmine Ward as Maggie’s younger sister Frankie. Both are wonderful and ensure the light and happy tone is prevalent throughout.

Director: Sarah Rotella
Writer: Adrianna DiLonardo
Stars: Shaeane Jimenez, Elena Milo, Raven Maducdoc, Jasmine Ward, Julia Ettlinger, Cristina Paoletta, Vishnu Nirvana, Larry Smith

Official plot:

Maggie and Julianne are ex-girlfriends who unexpectedly rekindle the spark during a hometown visit for the holidays. Are they meant to be? They’ll have to navigate their feelings, the gossiping town, and ghosts of exes past to find out.