Review: Happiest Season
Friday, November 27, 2020 at 9:16PM by Eurocheese
Yes, it’s that time. Even in this, the strangest year of most of our lives, there’s something comforting about knowing that holiday season always rolls around and we can put on our favorite holiday songs and movies to keep us company. Clea DuVall’s new film Happiest Season not only understands that we need this escape, but manages to find humor in a season that can also be high pressure and exasperating for those who don’t adore it.
Abby (Kristen Stewart) is one of these people. While her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) seems over the moon for the holiday, it’s always been a tough time for her, connected to the loss of her parents. In a romantic moment, Harper impulsively invites Abby back to meet her family for Christmas. Abby jumps on the opportunity, and doesn’t pick up on Harper’s hesitance the next day… or her nervous vibe as they head out on the trip…
And as the trailer shows us, there is plenty of reason to be nervous. Not only has Harper lied about coming out to her family, she asks Abby to lie about being her roommate as well as being straight. By this time, we already know Abby brought an engagement ring with her, planning to ask for Harper’s father permission to marry her. Harper is practically walking Abby into a trap, but the script is smart enough to find notes of humor in the awkward set up. Abby reluctantly agrees to play her part, and as the viewer already knows, this is bound to be a disaster.
Your average TV movie might settle for this as enough plot points, but part of the fun of this film is despite following the Christmas formula we might expect, it throws in all kinds of hilarious turns. Mary Steenburgen and Victor Garber are wonderful as Harper’s uptight parents, currently in the middle of a political campaign where they need to tout the appearance of a perfect family. Then there’s Mary Holland (who co-wrote the film) as Harper’s sister Jane, who is desperate for her parents’ attention, and older sister Sloane (Allison Brie), who redefines sibling rivalry whenever Harper’s in the room. Abby barely recognizes Harper around all these people, and begins to realize this “vacation” is not going to look anything like what she expected.
The entire cast is firing on all comedic cylinders, and things only get more complicated as two of Harper’s exes come on the scene (charming Jake McDorman and a knockout performance from Aubrey Plaza). Dan Levy also provides brilliant comedic relief as Abby’s confidant, cracking up the audience every time he shows up on screen and asking what the film is asking – how well does she really know her girlfriend? Part of the fun of the film is not knowing what comes next, so I won’t spoil the details but I will say the entire cast seems to be having a great time. Everything builds towards a comedic climax, and in my opinion they land it perfectly. I was expecting the film to be a nice sit, but this will be going on my list of Christmas movies to revisit every year.
Have you watched Happiest Season on Hulu yet?
Reader Comments (17)
O realmente crises até the end. Jane was perfext for.mw
I am drunk and my portuguese teclado autocorrected for me, Sorry
Gosh, I really REALLY wanted to love this. The cast is BONKERS and ridiculously talented and we NEED more gay/lesbian holiday movies. Please, give me more!
But this movie felt... off. I still ended up liking it in general, but the tone felt slightly all over the place. I think the movie tried to do a lot of /serious/ stuff wrapped in a warm, fluffy Christmas romcom and both sides grated on the other instead of complementing. That said, Levy/Plaza are MVPs.
My husband and Inrealy enjoyed this one! I’m excited to see it again next year and I’ll tell ya- I am easily kind of annoyed by Plaza but her performance run this is wonderful. I’m very excited on how her career unfolds. Stewart is also wonderful and I always love watching Davis. You are right on this review I was always guessing what would happen next each turn. A lot
Of fun and a great film to watch with an Xmas tree up!
Please, Good, make Jake McDorman happen! 🙏
Please, God, make Jake McDorman happen! 🙏
The wig...Why?
Loved this movie, though it toed a very fine line between wanting KStew to end up with Mackenzie Davis and actually shipping KStew and Aubrey Plaza. Aubrey was very connected to KStew in their scenes together and she added a sparkly wry aspect to the proceedings - great supporting actressing!
I love drunk don! Don’t apologize lol
I find Stewart a boring actress.. Have not seen this one, but just managed to get through Underwater. Ugh!!!
Haven't seen it yet, but I'm fascinated by the all-over-the-place reactions, from "it's a new classic" to "now that it's out we can all agree it's terrible". Hummm.
I have mixed feelings. Just came away feeling the parents/ family were
just too mean to have anyone want to be a part of.
I.... did not like this. But i'm happy someone did :)
An ugly movie about horrible people.
@Jamie - Yes! That family was horrible. Even if Kristen Stewart's character was *just* their daughter's friend, they were pretty indefensibly callous. Stewart needed to run away (or at least give her g/f and her family AT LEAST a year to get themselves sorted).
I'm surprised how many people dislike this. I thought it was lovely and I laughed a lot. But I did think that supporting players (Levy, Holland, Plaza) were much more interesting and funny and moving than 2 leads.
Just posted this on Nathaniel's "20:20" post because I agree with his take, but thought I'd share here too:
Watched "HAPPIEST SEASON" last night and totally agree with Nathaniel. It was tonally all over the place. The editing was clumsy (like that dull ice skating race between sisters -- which could have been more entertaining with a better edit). And like Nathaniel said, the characters were under-developed and not worth cheering for. I think the movie committed that fatal flaw of rom coms where the relationship is put to the test... it didn't give us enough up front to make us love the central couple and thus root for the relationship when it's in trouble. Man, I really wanted them to break up! Plus can we just question the central premise here?? It felt like something from 15-20 years ago. I'm not saying there isn't still huge risk for some people in coming out, but (a) the "coming out" plot of queer films is really tired and (b) let's be honest about the fact that in upscale "Pittsburgh" having a queer kid just wouldn't be a liability for most people.
Bright spots: Aubrey Plaza was a total delight (refreshingly not playing "Aubrey Plaza") and my personal hero among the characters. Dan Levy just played it in his usual way but nailed some great moments. And IMHO Mary Steenburgen wins MVP of the movie by delivering her (sometimes tired) lines with aplomb and totally understanding how to make her unlikable character someone who still deserves our empathy.