A Holiday Movie with Gay Dads and a Gender-Bending Boy

Yes, there is a movie about same-sex parents that will give you that warm, fuzzy holiday feeling. It’s from a few years back, but don’t let that stop you.

Breakfast with Scot, a 2007 film by director Laurie Lynd, is about a gay couple whose lives are transformed when they suddenly find themselves caring for a child. The protagonists are two gay men living in Toronto: Sam (Ben Shenkman), a lawyer, and his partner Eric (Tom Cavanaugh), a deeply closeted sportscaster and former NHL hockey player. The boy, Scot (Noah Bernett), is the son of Sam’s brother’s recently deceased girlfriend (but not the son of the brother). The brother has jetted off to South America, leaving Scot in the care of Child Services, who decide he would be better off with Eric and Sam.

“Adults parenting unexpectedly” is a common enough movie theme, but Breakfast with Scot gives it a twist by making the adults gay and having Scot turn out to be a gender-bending 11-year-old who likes to wear makeup and sing show tunes. This means the closeted Eric must confront his own internalized homophobia while also learning to parent. The denouement, at Christmastime, is as sweet and funny as any sitcom holiday special—more lighthearted than profound, but perhaps a better medium for the message because of it.

Notably, the film received the official sanction of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Maple Leafs—the first time a professional sports league allowed an LGBTQ-themed film to use its uniforms and logos.

Here’s my full review and interview with Lynd, from when the film came to the U.S. in 2008. The movie is PG-13—there’s some language, and we see some of Eric’s hockey aggression—but I think it would be fine for most older elementary children and up. It doesn’t appear to be available for streaming anywhere, alas. Netflix has the DVD, however, and you can always check your local library or purchase a copy.

Happy watching!

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