Paramount delivers a heartwarming original holiday movie in “Dashing in December” which finds two people falling in love while trying to save the family ranch. Several Christmas Movies have premiered this year that have given way to more diverse stories with Hallmark and Lifetime each dishing out their first LGBTQ holiday movies with “The Christmas Setup” starring a real-life couple and “The Christmas House” by Robert Buckley.
“Dashing in December” stars Peter Porte, Juan Pablo di Pace (“Fuller House”), Andie MacDowell, Caroline Harris, and Carlos Sanz. Jake Helgren is the writer and director of the movie.
“Dashing in December” is an authentic and earnest Christmas treat with the perfect cast that brings to life a romantic, heartfelt, and feel-good movie. The Christmas movie has drama, humor, and heart, all woven together to create a warm blanket of emotions to wrap around you and leave an impression that lasts beyond the holiday season well into the new year. The movie finds Wyatt (Peter Porte) overworking and overly serious in his business job before making the decision to return home to his mother's ranch where he hasn't been since his father's death.
The reunion between him and his mother (Andie MacDowell) has an immediate undertone of tension but his return home brings him back together with his school best friend Blake (Caroline Harris).
He doesn't receive the warm welcome he expected when he meets the handsome ranch worker Heath (Juan Pablo di Pace) who immediately butts heads with him over selling the ranch which is also Heath's home. The two don't get off to the best start, but as the two slowly start to open up with each other, they realize something more happening between them. The Christmas movie contains several romantic moments such as a line-dancing scene that features music from Cody Belew and a classic Shania Twain song that will make you want to get up and dance.
The romance is genuine and endearing with emotional moments that will make you fall in love with this couple and root for every moment between them. The chemistry between actors is sweet and genuine, naturally grown over the course of the movie. Not that the movie isn't without its drama, for the walls each of the characters has up creates a huge fight and conflict. But have no fear for as with every Christmas movie "Dashing in December" leads to happily ever after which finds Wyatt successfully thinking of a way to save the ranch and even make Heath a partner (in more ways than one).
'Dashing in December' is a must-watch movie
In an interview with ET Canada, Juan Pablo di Pace shared that “Dashing in December” started out as a more traditional holiday movie until Paramount decided to push the envelope.
di Pace is most-known for his unforgettable role as Fernando in "Fuller House" with undeniable eccentricity with Andrea Barber. The actor was part of one of the most popular couples on the Netflix original with the last season delving into more than DJ's complicated love life. The actor went onto share about how the network chose to create a Christmas movie that was more honest and earnest in the story of these two men falling in love and how complicated it can be between two very different kinds of people. Peter Porte teased in the same interview that he and Jake Helgren have done many Christmas movies before so they know the formula. The actor went on to say that it was Paramount who wanted them to keep pushing to expand the story to what it became.
Peter Porte continued that not much talk went into the connection between him and di Pace beforehand which he contributed to the fact that it feels more natural when the characters first meet and are at odds. Juan Pablo di Pace opened up with ET Canada about how watching “Dashing in December” for the first time made him emotional because seeing himself in an intimate moment (even just a hug) with another man was what he described as being cathartic and lovely to see.
Believing in love again on 'Dashing in December'
Juan Pablo di Pace shared with Out that he's never been able to feel as free as he did making “Dashing in December" and went onto explain how the movie was very therapeutic for him and opened a whole can of worms.
The actor continued in the interview by saying as an actor he's used to leaving a part of himself on the shelf, but “Dashing in December” softened him. Di Pace shared that he teared up at the softer moments between the characters because it was the first time he saw himself onscreen being affectionate with a man and teased that this was the reason why the movie had such an effect on him. The actor shared that romantic comedies make you question if you're happy with where you are in life and that if you're in a bad place then they can make you believe in love again. "Dashing in December" definitely succeeds in creating this effect as the love story between Wyatt and Heath is real and complicated, showing two people with strong personalities fall in love.
The actor went onto say how he wished to see more rom-coms and holiday movies told using LGBTQ+ stories that go deeper into all these voices that aren't being represented.
In an interview with Digital Journal, Juan Pablo di Pace shared that this was a very special movie for all of them and on so many levels. The actor continued that this an LGBTQ story with normal people that fall in love and spoke about how proud he was about how it turned out. Di Pace also spoke fondly of working with Andie MacDowell, describing her as generous, giving, a sweetheart, and a good person to be around. The actor will also be releasing a single sometime in January.
Cody Belew song in 'Dashing in December'
Cody Belew is a singer-songwriter that sees a huge milestone for him in getting a Christmas song in “Dashing in December." Another song of his is featured on the CW show “Roswell, New Mexico.” The singer shared with American Songwriter about this amazing opportunity by discussing how it wasn't too long ago when LGBTQ storylines were seen in obscure B movies or in supporting-recurring roles or were damaged characters.
The singer-songwriter went onto say that happy endings weren't always easy to get and that being able to discuss a movie like “Dashing in December” with characters like who Juan Pablo di Pace and Peter Porte portray is beyond good news.
It all started with Instagram for Cody Belew when Jake Helgren reached out to him to say how much he enjoyed his music and how he had just discovered it. The next thing he knew Helgren was asking for an upbeat song like “Any Man of Mine” by Shania Twain for the line dancing scene. Belew is looking forward to the upcoming year and is currently working on what he described as a slow drip of singles. The interview also found Belew dishing about what he learned from his time on “The Voice” which was for him to always know who he was as an artist. Check out “Dashing in December” on the Paramount App.