Rob Williams has devoted his career to producing indie gay romcoms. Shared Rooms was his stab at the Love Actually formula. Three gay couples meet on Christmas to discuss adoption, art and hook up culture respectively. The tropes of bad gay films are here: corny jokes, wild tonal shifts and an intrusive soundtrack. The performers are cast for their nude scenes rather than their acting skills. There are more penises than you’ll find in any queer Hallmark romcom. Eventually the stories intertwine. One late plot twist pushes things from mundane to high camp territory.
Let’s review in this spoiler filled recap
Ho Ho Ho
Prologue: Los Angeles, December 25
NARRATOR: Some gay men spend Christmas with their chosen families. Others hook up with randos.
Storyline One: Parenthood
MARRIED GUY 1: I hate kids.
MARRIED GUY 2: I’m so glad we don’t have kids.
NEPHEW (who looks like Michael Cera): Hi guncles. My parents kicked me out for being gay. Can I stay here?
MARRIED GUY 2: “It’s a boy!”
Storyline Two: And They Were Roommates!
SHY ROOMMATE: I’m home early.
AirBNB GUY: Hi.
FLIRTY ROOMMATE: I rented your room. You can share a bed with me. I sleep nude.
SHY ROOMMATE: That will be awkward since I’m in love with you.
Storyline Three: Nudity
ARTIST: (naked.) You look better than your profile pic. Let’s do this.
AUTHOR: Sure. (strips naked.)
(Afterwards they lounge about naked.)
AUTHOR: Why does my phone keep ringing? Why do we hide our penises in some scenes and not in others? And why do the two roommates only show their butts?
ARTIST: Nudity clauses are complicated. What’s your novel about?
AUTHOR: How my dying “father” confessed that he’d kidnapped me as a child.
Finale: New Years’ Party
FULL CAST: Surprise! We all know each other!
MARRIED GUY 1: He’s no houseboy! He’s my nephew!
MARRIED GUY 2: We can’t afford private school and we’re not sending him to some filthy public school. We’re going to homeschool him!
FLIRTY ROOMMATE: I didn’t realize you liked me too. Let’s hook up.
SHY ROOMMATE: Okay!
AirBNB GUY: I came to town looking for my brother who was kidnapped as a child. A detective found his number, but he never answers his phone.
ARTIST: Here he is.
AUTHOR: WTF!?
THE END
Also, It’s Christmas
Shared Rooms is awkward. The performers are amateurs. The wealthy white characters make classist remarks. The 17-year-old nephew is objectified in creepy ways. And then there’s that kidnapping plot. But after a string of sterile queer holiday films, it’s nice to revisit a horny farce. The picture runs a brisk 75 minutes and is currently streaming on TUBI.
You can find more of my reviews on The Avocado, Letterboxd and Serializd. My podcast, Rainbow Colored Glasses, can be found here.