"Happiest Season" is a true christmas treat stocked with laughs, heart, clichés and a pretty bold story
“Happiest Season” Film Review
80/100 “sweet”
By Quinn Marcus
2020 is a handful, I think we can all agree on that. I’m slightly annoyed at the people who say 2021 is going to be better with giddy optimism when chances are, it’s going to be very similar. We’ll all remember this year, I can tell you that, and in these dark times there is one film that came to fill our hearts with joy, and that is Happiest Season. I was not having a very good Sunday evening; I wasn’t even having a solid weekend. Turns out, staying inside is really damn boring. Normally, I’d be geeking out about the latest film I saw at the cinema, but no! Instead I’m at home, doing what exactly? Yeah, pretty much nothing, well, at least nothing particularly interesting. The point is, I needed this movie, I required a joyous, heartwarming rom-com that didn’t remind me of all the bad in the world, and I got just what I wanted. Romantic Comedies have never been my favorite genre, until now, my highest rated was Notting Hill, only at an 83/100. Happiest Season came so close to becoming the next rom-com king but didn’t quite make it. What I hope to accomplish in this review is to make you see this movie, which I’m just realizing is the point of most reviews, but still.
Happiest Season kicks off with our lead protagonists, Harper and Abby, who decide to go to Harper’s family home for Christmas. The only problem is, Harper hasn’t told her parents that she’s gay, and hasn’t come out about her relationship with Abby, out of pure trust, they go, acting as roommates instead of lovers. Another problem, Harper’s family is pretty weird, which causes Abby and Harper to grow apart in a cataclysmic series of events involving theft, awkward dinner’s and the fear to express one’s true self.
I view Christmas films, especially Christmas rom-coms as an escape from all things negative in my life. What better time to do that than in 2020, am I right? (Sadness, just sadness) Happiest Season is the perfect, brief dose of joy that we desperately need right now. However, it isn’t by any means a remarkable film. Let’s start with the flaws, shall we? The film isn’t unlike anything we’ve seen before. It’s a very formulaic movie that somewhat relies on old genre clichés to satisfy the audience. It draws a lot of inspiration from films such as Meet the Parents, so much so that my mom 20 minutes in asked “why is this so much like Meet the Parents?” The only thing that separates it from films like this is its slightly twisted story that benefits greatly from Abby and Harper’s character situation. Anyway, back to the clichés, the main characters will conveniently meet on the street so big scenes can happen, and it doesn’t do it very subtly. Instead of gently easing the characters into the quality scenes it has, it kind of gives them a harsh push into scenes that end up feeling pretty familiar. Not all of the comedy always lands, sadly leading to some unintentionally awkward and cringeworthy moments. This is not a laugh-out-loud film, so don’t expect to see one, expect to be entertained and amused.
Alright, now we get to my favorite part, the positives, say it with me: “THE POSITIVES,” ah, that feels good…Oh, you actually want to hear them, okay then. This is Clea DuVall’s second directed feature film, and she seems to have found her footing in the comedy genre rather quickly. She really got the mood just right, this felt like a classic Christmas film, and despite being rife with clichés, DuVall retained a unique spirit. Her writing was fantastic as well, while not always hilarious, her supporting characters were legendary, which was good because the two leads are pretty stoic and serious throughout. She also managed to get the tonal shifts perfectly right, it didn’t force you into feeling sentimental, it didn’t force you to be happy, it was just pleasant. She also took a pretty big risk with her concept, and I have to give her kudos for handling it amazingly well.
The cinematography wasn’t special, but it was sweet and simple, the color scheme is extremely Christmasy, for obvious reasons. Everything including the set pieces felt like it was set up, which may or may not be a problem for some people. A lot of people are going to say ‘oh, this was totally staged, and didn’t feel real,’ and style-wise, I don’t disagree. However, at its core Happiest Season has so many wonderful, tender moments that enhanced its overall tone. There’s a scene where John (Daniel Levy), and Abby (Kristen Stewart) are ready to leave Harper’s family's Christmas party, and the film takes a couple of minutes to pause so both characters can share a heartfelt conversation. It was these small pieces of Happiest Season that made me love it even more. There’s also a message of acceptance, and being true to yourself that really ties in quite well. There’s a whole lot of great comedy, but also a substantial amount of authenticity.
Kristen Stewart leads this fabulous ensemble as Abby, she and Mackenzie Davis (Harper) carried the emotional weight of the film. And I have to say, both pull it off so well, and have extraordinary chemistry with one another. What’s funny about each of the performances, especially the family, was that they feel like real people, people you would meet in real life. This may be due to the awesome script, or it may be because of the cast, either way, everything just clicked. Daniel Levy was easily the standout for me. He is the most hysterical person in the film and hauled around the best jokes. There’s this whole thing about his character tracking everybody, and it’s a joke you would think to get old pretty fast, but it’s just too good. The rest of the cast including Victor Garber, Mary Steenburgen, Alison Brie, and Mary Holland all did a phenomenal job portraying their jubilant roles.
The final verdict is: Happiest Season will swiftly take you out of the doom and gloom of 2020, providing a generally funny, heartwarming rom-com that despite it’s flaws, will give you a jolly good time…$PLURGE IT!