'Happiest Season' Review
PG-13: Some language
Runtime: 1 Hr and 41 Minutes
Production Companies: TriStar Pictures, Entertainment One, Temple Hill Entertainment
Distributor: Hulu
Director: Clea DuVall
Writer: Clea DuVall, Mary Holland
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Daniel Levy, Victor Garber, Mary Steenburgen
Release Date: November 25, 2020
Meeting your girlfriend's family for the first time can be tough. Planning to propose at her family's annual Christmas dinner — until you realize that they don't even know she's gay — is even harder. When Abby (Kristen Stewart) learns that Harper (Mackenzie Davis) has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew.
I’m not much of a Christmas movie person. I prefer Christmas specials over Christmas movies because, let’s be honest, a lot of those films are bad. Many Christmas movies are shockingly mediocre and/or soulless Hallmark movies (I’m still recovering from 2019’s Last Christmas). That being said, Happiest Season is one of those rare, original Christmas movies that warmed up this Grinch’s heart and helped it grow three sizes.
Clea DuVall’s delightful lesbian rom-com takes some of the most beloved and recognizable LGBTQ+ talents of today and lets them shine in a grounded, funny, and charming film that is sure to be a Christmas classic, especially for LGBTQ+ audiences. The premise is rather common within the holiday rom-com genre: a person meets their significant other’s parents for the first time during the holiday season. But in this case, it’s a woman whose partner hasn’t come out to her family yet. While the “coming out” narrative has been overdone, especially in 2020 where homosexuality is relatively commonplace in media, Happiest Season provides a refreshing perspective and a surprising amount of depth.
Part of the film’s charm involves Harper’s family. The Caldwells are rich, upper-class white royalty who are so respected in their town that they’re obsessed with their public appearances. They live in a massive house in the country and most of the family’s members — primarily the matriarch Tipper and the family middle sister Jane — have high-spirited personalities. Thankfully, they don’t project heteronormativity or any “good” Christian values. Instead, they’re so blindsided by their own yearly traditions and being an “ideal” family that they don’t suspect an ounce of gayness from their daughter or Abby. One of the Caldwell sisters, Sloane (Alison Brie), is married and has two children with a Black man and nobody ever brings up race.
As you spend time with the Caldwells, you get a better picture of why Harper hasn’t come out to her family. Her relationship with her father — who flaunts her as the prized golden child — is a huge part of the sibling rivalry she has with her sister Sloane. Granted, the gaslighting she puts Abby through is problematic, but you can’t necessarily blame her. You can see how that long-term psychological baggage from her upbringing kept her from being comfortable enough to come out to her family. The conflict between Abby and Harper never feels completely one-sided, which makes the film’s overall premise work. The Caldwells are a surprisingly likable — if not overbearingly wholesome — family who means well, but they are oblivious as fuck, which makes them seem passive and condescending.
For a Christmas movie, Happiest Season provides some of the best performances I’ve seen this year. Kristen Stewart has become a really talented performer and she delivers a fantastic performance as Abby. You sympathize and reside with her for the majority of the film. She goes through the wringer emotionally, but whenever she’s ready to tap out, Harper’s love reels her back in. Stewart is the neutral, awkward, straight-laced person to the weird personalities that surround her, which makes for several moments of witty humor. Her comedic sensibilities are great in this film, especially given the fact she’s working with experienced comedic actors like Mary Steenburgen, Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, and Mary Holland (also the film’s co-writer). I never thought I’d see the day where a scene between Kristen Stewart and Daniel Levy would make me laugh out loud and then get me teary-eyed, yet here we are.
As I said, the gaslighting Harper puts Abby through is, at times, rather vile. It’s not necessarily a problem with the movie itself, it's just something that personally bothers me because I really disliked Harper for a majority of Happiest Season. There’s a weird moment where Harper gives Abby mean glances because she befriends Harper’s ex-girlfriend, Riley, who becomes the only person Abby can emotionally confide in. Thankfully, the final 20 minutes of the film won my heart. I can’t even express how much the final act made me tear up. Damn you, Clea DuVall and Mary Holland! Your writing gut-punched me so many times that I couldn’t help but cry and scream in queer yuletide cheer.
Many movies this year were initially slated for a theatrical release, which, of course, ended up not happening. However, Happiest Season is one of the few films that made me miss theaters the most. In an alternate universe, this would’ve been a box office hit amongst general and LGBTQ+ audiences. I can picture this being a successful crowd-pleaser for lesbians, gays, or anyone in the LGBTQ+ community as they walk out of the theater feeling joyous, with a warm fuzziness in their heart, knowing this is their movie that will warrant multiple viewings through the holiday season. I’m glad it still got its great release via Hulu, but I can’t stop thinking about how well this would’ve done in a theater if it wasn’t for COVID. Oh well. It’s going to be easily accessible through the holidays and will forever be on the streaming platform.
At the end of the day, Happiest Season is a downright delightful lesbian rom-com that sparks nothing but holiday joy. Its sweet nature and romantic core is so infectious that it will leave you with a smile on your face and make your heart grow three times bigger.
