Stream It or Skip It: ‘Dashing in December’ on the Paramount Network, the Gay Cowboy Christmas Romance You’ve Been Waiting For

Paramount’s contribution to the gayest Christmas ever is Dashing in December, a Colorado Christmas romance between an uptight business man (Peter Porte) and his mom’s ranch hand (Juan Pablo Di Pace). The film comes from Jake Helgren, a writer/director with lots of Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies on his resume—but Paramount’s Dashing in December aims to be a bit bigger, a bit bolder than the movies you see on those other networks! Does it succeed?

DASHING IN DECEMBER: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: In true holiday movie fashion, Wyatt (Porte) is a New York City financial planner who looks like Superman in a business suit (not Clark Kent—Wyatt is not a pretend clutz!). Our leading man left his mom’s ranch in Colorado five years ago, right around the time his dad passed away. Is he running from his feelings? Absolutely not! And things are going great for him in NYC. Sure, he just broke up with boyfriend, but he’s up for a big promotion. He just has one thing he has to do over Christmas: visit his mom Deb (Andie MacDowell) at the family ranch in Colorado.

Back in Colorado, Deb anxiously awaits her son’s arrival. Why? Because she knows he’s a perfect match for her ranch hand Heath (Di Pace). Yes, Wyatt’s all business and Heath’s the down-to-earth type, but they have two very important things in common: they are both gay and they are both hot. However, Wyatt’s hotness gets obscured by his ulterior motive: he’s come home to see his mom, yeah, but he’s also there to convince her to sell the ranch! Can these two polar opposites get over their differences, save the ranch, and—most importantly—just hook up already? Considering the genre this movie falls squarely into, you can guess the answers to those questions.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Writer/director Jake Helgren nailed it when he described Dashing in December to Decider as “if Brokeback Mountain and Sweet Home Alabama and Hallmark all got together and had a love child.”

Performance Worth Watching: Andie MacDowell is just a dream every time she’s on screen—would you expect anything less? Deb’s inner strength always shines, even as MacDowell plays her character’s sadness and pain. Plus, we love to see iconic actresses play moms who are determined to find love for their gay sons. It’s therapeutic for the gays.

Memorable Dialogue: Wyatt on how he’s different from Heath: “The guy’s a horse whisperer. I seduce millionaires for all they’re worth.” How will these two ever find common ground?!

A Holiday Tradition: Wyatt’s family ranch has an annual Christmas carriage ride through the property that just isn’t as popular as it used to be. It was a big deal, though; Heath even went on the ride when he was a teen!

Does the Title Make Any Sense?: It’s a weird title. The use of both meanings of “dashing” is a solid—and relevant!—Christmas pun. These men are dashing, the carriage dashes through the snow, etc. But the “in December” part is, like, well, duh? You could add “in December” to the title of most other holiday romcoms. Christmas Tree Lane in December, Christmas on Wheels in December, The Princess Switch: Switched Again in December—the second half of this title feels more like a programming note. Really, just Dashing Through the Snow would’ve worked just fine! Because these two men? Honey, a blizzard can’t obscure how handsome they are.

Our Take: We can all breathe a sigh of relief, because the gays showed up and showed out this season. We are, as far as I am concerned, four for four with perfectly delightful holiday romcoms in 2020—which is four more than we’ve ever had before. And what makes it even better is that this quartet—Happiest Season, The Christmas House, The Christmas Setup, and Dashing in December—are all very different ornaments hung on one tinsel-covered tree.

Dashing in December separates itself from its basic cable peers (Lifetime’s Christmas Setup and Hallmark’s Christmas House) by being a bit more cinematic in its execution. The shots are bigger, the plot is trickier, the dialogue is realer, the cinematography is richer, and the tension is sexier. I’m not joking about the sexiness. Unlike its perfectly chaste Hallmark and Lifetime peers, Dashing in December gives us a shirtless bathroom barge-in scene that really gives viewers a look at Peter Porte, clad in the tiniest and tightest holiday boxer briefs we’ve seen on TV this season. Just like Kristen Stewart’s infinitely sexy suit moment in Clea DuVall’s Happiest Season, this is the moment when you know without a doubt that Dashing in December was directed by a gay man.

But there is way, way more going on in Dashing in December! For one thing, it differentiates itself from its Lifetime and Hallmark peers by spending a little more time on what it actually means to be gay in a small, rural town. These two had some struggles as teens, and are still a little hesitant about being their true selves out in public as adults. Wyatt and Heath actually forge a real, believable connection by sharing their coming out stories—and then the movie tears them apart with a problem that is way more complex than the usual goofy mixups we get in these movies. And when Wyatt remains adamant that the ranch must be sold because it’s a huge money pit, Peter Porte doesn’t hold back. He goes full Scrooge!

It’s also really eye-opening to see Juan Pablo Di Pace channel his effortless charm into a role that isn’t Fernando on Fuller House. Heath’s not a chaotic good whirlwind like Mr. Gibbler was. He’s a reserved, noble, almost quiet man who knows what he wants and knows that he doesn’t want his heart broken again. When he lets his guard down for Wyatt, your heart melts a little. And when Wyatt takes a dark turn, your heart breaks a little.

Dashing in December is definitely the most dramatic of the basic cable romcoms, but it’s still a delight. I mean, this movie includes a country line dancing scene set to Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine” and a Kacey Musgraves needle drop. This movie knows what it’s doing—and it spent the money to do it!

Our Call: STREAM IT. Come for the hard bods and stay for the heart.

Where to watch Dashing in December