The latest film by writer, director, and actor Alexandra Swarens offers a slow-burn, “will they or won’t they,” friends-to-lovers romance with The Holiday Club. Starring Swarens and Mak Shealy, the film takes viewers to small-town Ohio, where two women bond over disastrous holidays.
Bailey (Swarens) is a kind bakery owner whose girlfriend shows little interest in her flour-sprinkled passion. Sam (Shealy) is a new-in-town tech worker struggling to connect with anyone other than her older coworker. When the two women meet over a particularly cursed Valentine’s Day, it sparks a friendship—and eventually, something much more.
The Holiday Club is the latest entry in Swarens’ mini-empire of lesbian romance films. A triple threat, Swarens has been creating her own successful queer content since 2016’s LA Web Series. She followed it with feature-length, queer-centric films including City of Trees, Spring, Looking for Her, and Over Easy.
Swarens has a knack for creating easygoing, slow-burn romances that often highlight the lives of small-town lesbians and queer people. The Holiday Club is no exception. While the stakes are often high, the easy chemistry between Swarens and Shealy keeps the film at a steady pace. Sometimes, the pace feels a little too steady and could use a gentle push, but the connection between the characters is worth the wait. As each new holiday passes, we watch the gravitational pull between Sam and Bailey grow and can’t help but root for their success.
While technically not a Christmas film, The Holiday Club makes for a sweetly romantic watch, perfect for cuddling on the couch with hot chocolate.
As of earlier this year, Swarens’ catalog of films is available through Tello Films, a streaming service for LGBTQ+ women’s content. The Holiday Club is available to rent or buy now. Tello also has a collection of queer women-focused holiday romances to keep you going through the winter.