A New York Christmas Wedding Parent Guide

Old fights cast long shadows. Over the Christmas holidays, teenaged Jennifer Ortiz (Camilla Harden) had a blazing fight with her best friend, Gabrielle Vernaci (Natasha Goodman). Hurt and bitter, Jennifer determines to never be vulnerable again.

Twenty years later, Jennifer (now played by Nia Fairweather) is engaged to David Wilks (Otoja Abit), heir to a Fortune 500 company. When his controlling mother (Tyra Ferrell) insists on a high society Christmas Eve wedding, Jennifer bolts. With Gabby and her father both dead, she can’t bear the thought of another holiday, let alone this one, without them. As she goes for a run to clear her head, she comes across an unusual young man named Azrael who tells her she’ll wake up the next morning with endless possibilities and answers to her questions.

The next morning Jennifer wakes up in Gabby’s bed.

A New York Christmas Wedding is basically an LGBTQ variation on the classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Azrael is Jennifer’s guardian angel and he has sent her to an alternate reality where her father (David Anzuelo) and Gabby (Adriana DeMeo) are both alive and she and Gabby are planning their wedding. Jennifer has the chance to re-evaluate her life and decide who she wants to be.

This film feels like a weapon that’s been fired after the war was won. With the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v Hodges decision in 2015, same sex marriage became legal across the United States. The only issue still on the table is the choice of churches to agree or refuse to perform weddings and that’s part of the plot. As Gabby insists their lifelong parish priest perform the ceremony, Father Kelly (Chris Noth) grapples with his church’s teachings, comments from Pope Francis, and his own evolving beliefs.

Whether or not you will enjoy this movie will depend to a significant extent on your beliefs about homosexuality and same sex marriage. Parents with traditional attitudes towards sex may be offended by the movie’s storyline and the inclusion of an angel who acts like the stereotypical “gay best friend”. Parents who hold contemporary attitudes towards these issues will likely see the movie as a plus for gay representation in cinema. That said, anyone thinking of showing the movie to teens should be aware that there is plenty of discussion around sexual topics, including some extreme vulgarity from an ex-boyfriend. There is also a bedroom scene which involves passionate kissing and making out between two women clad in underwear.

Whatever your opinions on same sex marriages might be, that doesn’t alter the fact that this movie isn’t fun to watch. Both lead actresses are uninspiring. Nia Fairweather seems more stunned than conflicted and Adriana DeMeo barks most of her lines like a tense drill sergeant. Their relationship also has issues that make me question the “happily ever after” vibe. Gabby is bossy and makes decisions without consulting Jennifer, who prefers to retreat rather than engage. Perhaps she should take Azrael’s advice to heart, with emphasis on the final part: Love deeply, trust your heart, and be brave.