CHRISTMAS MITZVAH

Synopsis

Marita is generous and kindhearted. She welcomes Carlos's gay and transgender friends into her home after rejection by their own parents and treats them all as if they were her own children. These include Tyree, an African-American transgender drag queen with a love for flamboyant clothing and Jose Cuervo as well as Rachel, a former Orthodox Jew whose parents have kicked her to the curb after she refuses an arranged marriage because she is a lesbian.

Next to join Marita's extended family is Cody. Only 17, he arrives to live at Marita's house in a circuituous way. His friend, Lee, was beaten mercilessly on the train. Afterwards, Cody's parents disown him for being gay. Lives intersect as Carlos comforts Cody at his friend's deathbed and Marita becomes his case worker. She places him in a foster home which he soon leaves to live on the streets.

Helping to search for the missing under-age Cody is Aponi, a transgendered Native American "two spirit" and friend of Marita. Aponi owns a small gift/coffee shop where Rachel and then Cody work. The group locates Cody who comes to live at Marita's house.

Tyree undergoes a transformation, leading him to have serious doubts about his sexual orientation, when he goes home for his father's funeral. There he is subjected to Biblical brainwashing, spearheaded by his siblings' pastor.

When Tyree returns home he breaks up with Pepper, his former love interest, changes jobs to work as a bookkeeper and becomes distant from Marita and the others.

With everyone at her home thriving and happy, Marita announces that she has a boyfriend, Tony, with whom she works. Cody asks Marita if one of his friends can move in and share the basement with him but this never happens. At home alone, Tyree attempts suicide, burning down Marita's house in the process.

With nowhere to live, the displaced ones must find other accommodations. Meeting with the insurance agent, Marita is told that her home insurance was not adequate to cover the cost of total replacement of her house. Only Rachel's blessing of a large inheritance from her grandmother on Christmas Eve assures a happy ending for Marita and her extended family.