Happiest Season (2020)

[Cranberry]

A.k.a. Clea Duvall's lesbian Christmas romcom, starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis! Released on Hulu today.

I liked this a lot more than I expected to. I'd been looking forward to it since I first learned it was being made, but the (US) trailer was not great and that tempered my expectations (the international trailer was better). Thankfully, all of the more obvious/broad humor was in the trailer, and most of the jokes in the movie were cleverer and funnier -- there were a lot of little asides and subtle reactions that made it feel real. Kristen Stewart was great as the closeted-against-her-will "roommate" who just couldn't deal with hetero nonsense, Dan Levy was amusing as her best friend (who also had a lovely speech about coming out), and Aubrey Plaza was fun as closeted gf Harper's ex (and Abby's new friend), Riley. The whole cast was great, though (unsurprisingly, as it was a pretty stacked cast). I have some minor nitpicks (forced outings are never my jam, Harper was downright unlikable at times, and Harper and Abby were separated for enough of the movie that many viewers started shipping Abby and Riley instead), but overall I think it's a worthy addition to the (very small) lesbian romcom canon.

[Megan]

I really enjoyed this but just like Meet the Parents and the Family Stone the poor outsider should run away from these awful people forever.

[AimingforYoko]

15 hours ago, Cranberry said:

many viewers started shipping Abby and Riley instead

Count me in that number, but I've always been in the bag for Aubrey Plaza.

[calliope1975]

15 hours ago, Cranberry said:

many viewers started shipping Abby and Riley instead

Harper was so irritating at times with her treatment of Abby, that, while I didn't ship them, if Abby and Riley had started making out in that bar, I probably would have been okay with it. 

 

[gpgurl50]

I was also liking Abby and Riley together.  I do think it was like Cranberry said.  Past the first scene, Harper was already trying to uninvite Abby for the holidays and keep secrets.  I would've like a few more moments where I could see why Abby and Harper are getting married.

 

It was cute overall.

Edited November 26, 2020 by gpgurl50

[Cranberry]

I liked that there was no cheating. Abby was jealous because Harper was spending time with her ex-boyfriend, and Harper was jealous because Abby was getting close to Harper's ex-girlfriend, but at no point did it seem like either of them were even thinking about cheating. Harper wanted to appear straight and Abby wanted someone to commiserate with/who she could be herself around, but that was it.

Riley was also a great character. There are so many ways she could have been written. She could have made a move on Abby to try to get back at Harper for her high school betrayal. She could have been rude to Harper after the White Elephant blowup. She could have just been a jerk in general. Instead, she was funny and supportive and cool.

I also liked that the parents weren't super homophobic and that when they learned the truth about Harper, they very quickly realized that having a daughter who was too scared to share her authentic self with them was a parenting fail.

I don't know if I could have forgiven Harper as quickly as Abby did at the end, and I sure as hell wouldn't have forgiven Sloane that quickly, but that kind of stuff is pretty standard in romcoms/family Christmas movies, so I'll let it go.

Currently 87% fresh from critics and 93% from fans on Rotten Tomatoes. Not bad!

 

[shantown]

14 hours ago, gpgurl50 said:

I was also liking Abby and Riley together.  I do think it was like Cranberry said.  Past the first scene, Harper was already trying to uninvite Abby for the holidays and keep secrets.  I would've like a few more moments where I could see why Abby and Harper are getting married.

This! Abby/Riley had less than 10 minutes of screentime together but in that time you saw how a relationship would make sense with them. From the first scene with Abby/Harper it was establishing that they were very different and didn't agree on things, and then from there they were either keeping secrets or apart from each other. Made it hard to root for them, even if Harper was in an unfortunate situation.

Dan Levy was wonderful in his role, and I thought Mary Holland as Jane was possibly the best part. She made the most of her time on screen, even when not speaking. 

[starri]

This just seems like The Family Stone if Claire Danes was Dan Levy.

And I'm here for it.

[Proclone]

On 11/25/2020 at 10:58 PM, gpgurl50 said:

I was also liking Abby and Riley together.  I do think it was like Cranberry said.  Past the first scene, Harper was already trying to uninvite Abby for the holidays and keep secrets.  I would've like a few more moments where I could see why Abby and Harper are getting married.

 

It was cute overall.

 

Honestly I was also kind of rooting for Abby and Riley by the end...especially after the revelation of what Harper did to Riley in high school and her actively denying her relationship with Abby at the Christmas party in front of everyone.  That was just a just a bridge too far for me to still root for them to be a couple in the end.

On the one hand as a queer women, who was super closeted for quite some time for similar reasons to Harper, I totally got where she was coming from.  Her speech about not hiding Abby, but rather herself from her parents hit rather close to me...That being said she didn't do nearly enough to redeem herself by the end of the movie for the absolutely awful way she treated Abby, IMO.

In all honesty I didn't really like her character and I agree we didn't get enough of them as a happy couple to make me understand why Abby wanted to marry Harper.  Davis and Stewart did have chemistry and I did buy them as a couple, I just didn't really ever see why Harper would be Abby's favorite person.  She's not exactly a bad person (especially by romcom standards) but she seems very quick to ignore Abby in favor of old rather vapid seeming friends and her family.  They could have had her been a touch more likable in general, perhaps have her be the only one in the family that was nice to Jane.  I also don't think it helped that she was obviously the favorite daughter.  Seeing her parents nitpick on her life the way they did with her sisters would have gone a long way to make her more sympathetic as well and it would have been easier to understand her behavior.

And while I can see why they put the revelation that she wasn't out where they did for the joke, I also would have liked her better if she had admitted it much sooner (like before they were in the car on the way) to Abby and gave her more of an opportunity to not go. Between all that and knowing what she did to Riley...makes it very hard for me to root for her.  Also while her telling Abby that she was her family and she didn't care what her family thought anymore was sweet...It was also kind of empty.  Her father hadn't really spoken to her yet but at that point it seemed clear that her mother and sisters were going to support her.  She wasn't really risking anything.  If they had her admit her relationship with Abby in public at the party, that might have shown how she had grown from high school when she was too afraid to do that for Riley.  But having her bald face lie about her relationship in front of everyone, just put a sour taste in my mouth that couldn't be washed out by her telling her parents after that.  Even if they had simply had her deflect by shouting out her sister's secret that she was getting divorced, wouldn't have been as bad, but to say her sister was lying...

Riley on the other hand was funny, smart and seemed like a kind person.  She could have been shitty to Harper but she wasn't.  I really liked her and wouldn't have been upset if Abby and wound up with her.

That being said, I did actually enjoy the movie.  I think the ending did wrap up neatly a little too quickly.  I don't realistically see parents who bemoan someone's "lifestyle choices" being so quick to be apparently unfazed by their daughter cuddling with her girlfriend on their couch.  But I did like that Harper's parents weren't monsters, nor were they so over the top as to be unrealistic (this isn't Meet the Parents).  I also liked that there weren't really any villains.  Riley and the ex boyfriend (Colin?) could have easily been made to be the bad guys but both seemed to be quite nice.  I also really liked Stewart as Abby.  Both as a character and how Stewart portrayed her.

I know a lot of people where bothered by it being a coming out story and that didn't super bother me, especially since it gives the somewhat hopeful message in the end that even judgmental parents might be more accepting than you would think.  But I would love a good queer romantic comedy that didn't revolve around someone being closeted. Queer people do have other issues that can be used for drama besides just being in or out of the closet.

All in all it was a pretty cute movie, I'm just hoping that Harper does quite a bit to make up for her behavior that we just didn't get to see.

[starri]

Quote

 But having her bald face lie about her relationship in front of everyone, just put a sour taste in my mouth that couldn't be washed out by her telling her parents after that.  Even if they had simply had her deflect by shouting out her sister's secret that she was getting divorced, wouldn't have been as bad, but to say her sister was lying...

Abby just looked so destroyed after that.  

It didn't so much bug me that Abby forgave Harper (although I think she should have struggled with it more), but I almost feel like Harper did one final insult by dragging her back to that house.  I get that the Christmas movie conceit is that we establish that the family loves each other and is going to be okay, but there was just too much wrong to be fixed with mugs of cocoa.

Also, Sloane's children are monsters.  That is all.

[Proclone]

2 hours ago, starri said:

Abby just looked so destroyed after that.  

It didn't so much bug me that Abby forgave Harper (although I think she should have struggled with it more), but I almost feel like Harper did one final insult by dragging her back to that house.  I get that the Christmas movie conceit is that we establish that the family loves each other and is going to be okay, but there was just too much wrong to be fixed with mugs of cocoa.

Also, Sloane's children are monsters.  That is all.

 

Sloane's children were monsters, but when you consider that there parents are separated and they're not allowed to talk about it...their behavior makes much more sense.  They seemed like much more normal kids in the end montage.  To be honest everyone in that family needed intensive therapy...except oddly enough, Jane, who might have been a little strange but as she said, at least knew herself.

I would have preferred a time skip where Abby and Harper were separated for bit allowing Harper to deal with her issues on her own, and then have them come back together.  I also buy that Abby forgave Harper because that seems in character, but it doesn't mean it was healthy.  Like I said I just really didn't like Harper and how she treated Abby.  Even if Abby was a just platonic friend Abby had invited home with her, she still treated her terribly by any standard.  She ignored her and left her alone at parties. She ditched her to hang out with old friends (even a token, "Oh we can go if you want," and having Abby tell her to stay in that scene, would have made her more likable).  Sent Abby off with her sister, that even Harper doesn't get along with and her niece and nephew that were misbehaved.  She didn't really stick up for Abby when she was accused of stealing...I get that it was a romcom and things like that are staples, but maybe we should all expect and deserve better from both straight and queer romcoms.  Let's see healthy relationships that overcome obstacles.

And maybe I'm overthinking a silly romantic movie, but I really liked Abby as a character and in the end...I felt like she was in a relationship with someone who just didn't deserve her.  She seems to be a loving supportive girlfriend to Harper at every turn and we never really get to see that reciprocated.  I can't help but think that was probably indicative of their relationship as a whole, and being with Harper's family just turned a dynamic that was already there up to eleven. Harper also has a long history of treating her partners badly, obviously Riley, but it's also implied she didn't treat Connor well either.  She was never honest with him, even when he asked her to be and she continued to flirt with him, for appearance sake. Basically Abby deserves much better than Harper.

 

[peachmangosteen]

I thought I’d like this a lot more than I did but I still enjoyed it mostly. I was about to give it 2 1/2 stars on Letterboxd but the super cliche and cheesy ending made me give it a 3 lol.

I have a bit of a weird aversion to the actress that played Harper so that made her even worse than she actually was to me and she was plenty shitty anyway. 

I have never actually seen Kristen Stewart in anything but I know a lot of people seem to hate her as an actress so I didn’t know what to expect. I thought she was fantastic. Also, she’s inexplicably hot to me lol.

Jane, John, and Riley were all awesome. The actress that played Jane apparently wrote the movie so that’s cool.

[Cranberry]

Clea Duvall directed the movie and wrote the story, and she and Mary Holland (Jane) co-wrote the screenplay. I loved Jane, too. Her painting was good! I knew it'd end up destroyed and I was disappointed to be correct.

[DearEvette]

I finally watched this after hearing good things about it from friends on various social media.  I am a sucker for big family holiday movies with lots of comedic-soapy-drama and house porn.  In the end it was a pleasant couple of hours but it isn't a movie that I'd re-visit. 

I really enjoyed individual characters.  John (Dan Levy) and  Riley (Aubry Plaza) were stand outs of course.  And I loved Jane (Mary Holland).  The actress had the best comedic timing and expressions and even in the background she was doing very Jane things.  Honestly she and Dan Levy were the only ones who brought real rom-com energy.

Everyone else ranged from rage inducing to cliche.  I get that Sloane and her husband were separated but the two actors never had any scene chemistry even as embattled exes.  I usually adore Alison Brie but she was robotic here, except in her rivalry with Harper. And she super pissed me off for outing Harper.  That was not cool!  Overall until the end where everything miraculously same up roses, I thought there was a real undertone of meanness between her and Harper.

And I know Mary Steenburgen can do comedy well but there were places when the broader pieces of the comedy felt belabored.  Yes, Tipper's penchant for knocking on Abby's door and then barging in before being given permission was supposed to read as funny and you knew it was supposed to raise tension because at some point it would happen when Abby and Harper were in a compromising position and thus cause a near miss (which, predictably it did) but rather than amused me it annoyed me.  Who does that?  You invite someone barge into their bedroom and hang out there and treat them like they aren't there?

But really the biggest problem for me was the Abby-Harper dynamic.  Harper pissed me off so much that by the time you got to the "I'm not hiding you I am hiding me" speech it didn't matter.  I thought she was all kinds of trash.  It is one thing to take your own time coming out of the closet but she did Abby a big disservice by making Abby cosplay as straight as well.   Not to mention how she did Riley dirty as well.  Also i just wanted to face punch her the whole movie.

And I admit I am no Kristen Stewart fan but I thought she was good in this.  The character beats of hating Christmas and being alone and missing her family and her sometimes awkward-sometimes longing looks at the family (as toxic as they were) were very well done and poignant.  But I do have a quibble, the shoplifting thing should have come off funnier that it did.  KStew just can't really do comedy, imo.  LOL. 

While the ending was all nice, I really wish Abby had made Harper really work for it.  I agree with the sentiment upthread that it would have been better if there had been a break up then a  time jump so Abby could have processed things in her own time.  Or better yet, Abby run off with Riley.

Even if I did not really love this, it is so nice to see more LGBTQ+ persons as the main players in the dysfunctional family Christmas Rom-Com pantheon.

[Cranberry]

‘Happiest Season’ Director Clea DuVall on the Film’s Historic Success, Sequel Hopes, and Aubrey Plaza: ‘She’s a Babe!’

"Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, the movie had the best viewership for any original film on the service in its opening weekend, and attracted more new subscribers than any other previous feature title.

...according to Hulu, it was the company’s most-talked about original film ever on Twitter, and was overall the most-tweeted about movie during the holiday weekend, trending three times."

[Featherhat]

Team Abbey/Riley for me, although I knew it wouldn't happen from the start. 

Coming out is a process, not a one and done thing, I know that but if you're not out to your parents and have no intention of coming out then maybe don't invite her to Christmas, even if you feel sorry for her. Stay with her where you live, spend the holidays apart or come out. Don't try to have it all the ways. At least tell her before you're both on the way there. 

The no lock on the door thing was an obvious set up for shenanigans and it really gave me anxiety every time they were alone together there and the kids that kept barging in. 

But I've said this before and I agree with others up thread, it's so nice to see LGBT couples, cliches and tropes get mixed with awkward/toxic/sentimental family holiday tropes. I'll watch a lot of bad movies for that and this was by no means a bad movie, just had some really annoying parts.  

[Sakura12]

I enjoyed this. It was better than most romantic comedies. I loved the cast. 

I do agree that Harper was pretty awful to Abby. The not being out part is her story but she didn't have to keep ditching Abby, who doesn't know anybody and is only there for her. 

I'm another that liked Abby and Riley and wanted to see more of them. She was actually having fun with her and we barely saw that with Abby and Harper. 

I didn't even recognize Mackenzie Davis in the trailers. I'm also used to seeing her with short blonde hair. 

I did like that Jane was weird for her family but she wasn't afraid to be herself, even when others tried to tell her not to be. I kind of wanted her sisters to acknowledge that more. Especially since she apparently knows computers, paints and was writing a fantasy novel. 

[Spartan Girl]

Watched this tonight and I have nothing to add other than Harper is the worst and and Abby and Riley should have hooked up.

But I guess the LGTBQ community should have their own "person gets crapped on while meeting their future in-laws" movies too.

[festivus]

Hmm... Was this movie supposed to be about Jane? Because she was the only one in that family I liked. No one else had any personality so I think it made sense when they said they'd given up on her when she was a kid. She was free to be herself. My heart broke for her when her painting was destroyed. Luckily for the rest of them, she's an AWESOME person and still stood up for her horrible sisters. 

I did like Kristen Stewart in this and I think she does have personality, it's just that Bella was a lump and I think that role would have been hard for anyone. I'm not gonna lie though, I was distracted by her horrible hair all through the movie.

[SlovakPrincess]

Such a cute movie, but it's very hard not to root for Abby and Riley to end up together, because Riley is so kind to Abby (and of course Plaza looks gorgeous in her scenes).  I have empathy for Harper, but she's so thoughtless to Abby for a long stretch of the movie and I'm not sure she completely makes up for it by the end.  

Jane is going to end up being the happiest, most successful member of that family, and that is how it should be.  

I love that John comes to be with Abby.

This movie made me really like Kristen Stewart - she's great in it!

Edited December 24, 2022 by SlovakPrincess

[SlovakPrincess]

On 12/13/2020 at 10:13 PM, Spartan Girl said:

But I guess the LGTBQ community should have their own "person gets crapped on while meeting their future in-laws" movies too.

Ha!  Good point.  Although I found this movie way more tolerable than, say, Meet the Parents, because at least Abbey had Riley befriending her and John came to literally rescue her.