Directed By Clea Duvall

Starring – Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Mary Steenburgen

The Plot – 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 (Stewart) learns that Harper (Davis) has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew.

Rated PG-13 for some adult language

POSITIVES

– Different perspective. As to where the idea of significant others meeting parents on Christmas is an anything but original idea, the choice by Duvall here to channel it within an LGBTQ approach is one that is especially refreshing, and overall insightful to bridging the gap of understanding. Duvall, a lesbian filmmaker herself, has said that she wrote this script so she could see her own real life experiences play out on film, and it’s in that representation where we spot the rarity of originality taking shape in an ages old subgenre, complete with relatability when you come to understand that sexual preference doesn’t change anything about these women as characters. They have ambitions, feelings, and experiences just as anyone else does, and when Duvall stitches it all together, it makes for a feel good narrative that not only proves how far film has come within the many dynamics of romantics, but also how far our world has come as cementing them as equals.

– Effective humor. Much of “Happiest Season” was a delight for me, and that’s because of the fiery register for gags that somehow grew stronger the longer the film progressed. I say that because a few of the jokes span throughout the entirety of the film, and hit even harder when you consider the lunacy that is associated within their repetition. The material itself is very lighthearted without ever challenging its rating, or feeling restrained by such a designation, and the timely deposits from an electric group of eclectic personalities succeeds in the elevating the material tenfold for the biggest reactions possible. It’s a savory sting of sardonic spills that compliments the movie’s sweet sentimentality, and makes this an appropriate recommend for any age group in the family watching at home.

– Smooth pacing. There isn’t a single thing that I would change about the scenes included in this 96 minute Christmas romper that flew before my eyes. In fact, I would argue more time is needed for other essential characterization, but I will get to that later. A lot of its indulgence is a credit to Duvall’s capabilities as a screenwriter, in that she’s constantly changing the dynamic between her two protagonists to reflect the impact of everything taking shape. Long before this, however, she introduces us to Abby and Harper, and documents the chemistry between them that makes them so complimentary to one another. From there, Harper’s backstory is further illustrated in coming to understand her family’s deceptive appearance, and what role that further plays into her suffocation within her self-discovery. It makes this a very easy, lightweight, and inevitably one-sit engagement that continuously keeps your attention, and moves with the consistency in speed as that of a holiday weekend away with loved ones.

– Family trysts. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the script to me was this overwhelming sense of irony saddled within this family dynamic that portrayed themselves as something they’re not. This is especially ironic considering this is everything that Harper is dealing with in bringing her girlfriend home to meet her family, and revealing an orientation that she has kept from them her entire life. It’s all about being something that someone else wants them to be, in this case Harper’s politically driven father, that subconsciously rips each of them apart at the seams, but coincidentally makes them all the more closer because each sibling in this trio of sisters is hiding something from the others that has clouded their lives, and made a mountain out of a mole hill because of the lack of honesty that has historically evaded them. It slowly peels back one layer at a time on each of them, and builds to an inevitable confrontation where they’re forced to confront everything they’ve known to this point, offering a cathartic finale with all of the feels.

– Sugary cinematography. For my money, Duvall is a far better director than a writer. That’s not an insult to the latter, but rather a re-affirming compliment to the former, as seen in her artistic integrity throughout the film that continuously conveys this cheerful holiday in every frame shot. The lighting scheme balances a subtly effective compromise, in and out of the home, that occasionally uses Christmas light reflection and soft color correction to play towards the elegant comforts within an upper class household. In addition to this, the exceptional framing that includes background Christmas decor and various holiday imagery plays into a holiday state of mind that constantly keeps the setting articulated throughout all of the mayhem, and drives through a theme in subgenre that you can see just as much as you can feel.

– Meaningful message. There’s many ways you can shape everything entailed in the film, but from my experiences it’s about being comfortable in your own skin, and how such a decision can only lead to true happiness. What’s especially unique about this objective is its meaning varies substantially between every member of this family, who each find themselves wrestling with the thoughts of playing into the other’s idea of a perfect family. You would expect a Christmas movie to fight back against the poignancy of discontent, but the reality of a movie evoking such a keen sense of importance in a real world social spectrum plays beautifully in our sense of acceptance, and gives access into another side that could be suffering because of our selfishness to access and adapt to the boundaries of love being redefined with every passing generation.

– Brilliant cast. There are no shortage of beneficial performances, particularly in that of Stewart and Davis, whose impeccable chemistry vividly illustrates the love and lapse in their ever-changing dynamic. For Stewart, it’s a refreshing awakening within the realm of comedy that really establishes her comedic timing, and brings forth a pleasantly new side to the actress that we definitely need more of. However, the real scene stealer here is that of Dan Levy, who as Stewart’s energetically gay best friend begins as a comic muscle inheriting some of the film’s best lines, but then evolves into the voice of reason in a trivial third act. This plays big on the articulation of gay characters that I previously mentioned, in that Duvall values him as so much more than just another character who spouts bizarre lines for the sake of laughs. She sees him as the key link of hope to Abby’s dwindling sanity, and Levy’s persistent charm is up to the task of inserting some key observations to compliment his laughs aplenty.

NEGATIVES

– Underwhelming characterization. While the performances of some Grade-A veterans definitely help fill the gaps of disappointment left from underutilization in the script, the movement of the characters can’t escape this inconsistent spin of actions and interactions that never attained consistency in logic. From the word go, when Abby and Harper set foot into this house, the former is treated terribly for no reason what so ever. If the family’s feelings towards her began as warm and devolved into crass due to a series of incidents, that would be fine, but it’s unnecessarily grim from the second Abby is introduced to them, and escapes believability because it has reached the extent of its extreme at only ten minutes into the film. On top of this, many of the characters in this family are entirely one-dimensional, and are summarized in a single punchline or trait. Alison Brie’s rival sister Sloane is one who definitely comes to mind, earning consistency only in the constant bitchiness she exudes to everyone, family or non, she comes into contact with. It’s a group of characters who are only this way because the movie requires them to be, and can’t earn a single second of screen time to offer something contradictory.

– On the nose. This is one that I will never understand, because there are tender moments of nuanced emotion earned cleverly between a look or an interruption, but then there are those obviously intended moments so forced and spoon-fed that leave a permanent stain in everything moving forward. One such scene involves Stewart’s Abby running into a closet when her sneaking around in the night is nearly caught by Harper’s precocious mother. The metaphor is obviously forced here to where a blind man could interpret it correctly, but it’s made all the worse when a scene later Abby argues with Harper, “Your lie has me in the closet”. Even for clever or quirkiness, this is the lowest hanging of fruit when it comes to material, and in addition to a few other deliveries feels like a contradicting voice from a 90’s movie that is every bit insulting on intelligence as it is outdated on ideals.

– Redundancy. Even for a fresh idea of inserting gay characters to a Christmas narrative, the movie’s screenplay can’t escape a series of formulaic instances and subgenre cliches that makes this an easily predictable offering. Even from just viewing the movie’s trailer, you can probably piece together how everyone and everything is going to go, and you would more than likely be entirely correct. In my experience, there was only one surprise throughout the entirety of the picture, and it only offered a temporary blip of impact on the bigger picture of the movie’s creativity. This easily identifiable screenplay feels like a hybrid of “Meet the Parents” and “The Family Stone”, right down to the very movements of the characters and consequences that arise, and even though it turns some new avenues of expression with the orientation’s of its protagonists, it can’t fully commit to the ride because it’s too afraid to increase the turbulence.

My Grade: 7/10 or B