Desperate to avoid his family’s judgment about his perpetual single status, Peter (Michael Urie) convinces his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) to join him for the holidays and pretend that they’re now in a relationship. But when Peter’s mum Carole (Kathy Najimy) plans to set him up with her spin instructor James (Luke Macfarlane), the plan goes awry.

Single All The Way is a wonderful Christmas romcom that has all the best tropes; friends to lovers, meddling family, sharing a bed, and more! Obviously, it’s clear that Peter and Nick are meant to be together but their trepidation is understandable (because who wants to ruin a great friendship?!) and the two of them need an extra push from some loving family members.

Like Peter’s family, you’re rooting for the two of them but then there’s blind date James. He’s attractive and nice and just generally a really good, fun guy that seems to genuinely like Peter. He’s not painted as wrong for Peter or a terrible choice in comparison to Nick. In fact James and Peter go on some fun dates and they like each other, making you almost as torn as Peter is as he struggles to figure out what his heart truly wants. It helps that James is played by Luke Macfarlane who is often a leading man in Hallmark movies so it’s hard not to find him charming and likeable.

The whole cast is fab but a special mention has to go to Jennifer Coolidge who plays Peter’s Aunt Sandy. She’s just full of drama as her main focus is the winter show she organises every year and she has some of the best lines. She’s funny and just the epitome of that slightly eccentric relative that is at these family gatherings.

It’s kind of easy to compare Single All The Way to last years gay Christmas film, Happiest Season. But whereas Happiest Season had a closeted lesbian take her girlfriend pretending to be just her roommate home for Christmas and comes with all the fear of homophobia and rejection from the family, Single All The Way is out and proud. Peter’s whole family loves him (and they really like Nick too) and even though Peter and Nick are from LA where it’s clear they have many friends who are gay, coming to a small town in New Hampshire for Christmas neither of them ever express any discomfort or fear of any random person’s reaction. There’s even jokes about how Peter’s mum set him up with James as they’re they only gay guys in town. Homophobia is just not a thing in Single All The Way and that allows it to be a wonderful cliché Christmas romcom like all the heterosexual Christmas romcoms that have come before it.

Single All The Way is just so much fun, is sweet and full of love like a big Christmassy hug. Is it strictly “good” enough for a 5-star rating? Probably not. But I thoroughly enjoyed myself, it made me laugh and it makes all the tropes work in a way that I just couldn’t be mad at them. 5/5.