THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
If you ever wonder what is the most difficult timing for people to confront their families of their sexuality, it is around the holiday season. I personally believe that it is difficult to reveal this to the people that love you the most who you really are because it puts them to the test on if they'll love you no matter what. One movie that shows the difficult process of doing so on the most wonderful time of the year is 2020's Happiest Season.
PLOT
The film focuses on the couple Abby and Harper who have been dating for a year. Abby has lost her love of Christmas since her parents passed away, so Harper invites her to see her family for the holidays, not wanting her to be alone. However, she hasn't came out to them yet. This upsets Abby because this means she lied of doing so in the prior summer. It even ruins a plan of her own as she wanted to propose to her in front of her family. Harper doesn't want her sexuality to affect her father's mayor campaign, but she promises to tell him and the family after Christmas. Meaning that the couple must pretend to be straight roommates for the next five days. Upon arrival, they meet the parents Ted and Tipper, along with sisters Sloane the eldest and Jane the youngest. Abby is quickly uncomfortable as she feels like an outsider due to Harper's story addressing her as an orphan, along with encountering her exes Connor and Riley. She is beginning to doubt knowing the woman she loves as she sees her trying to meet her parents' expectations and her competitive relationship with Sloane. The only person she can really talk to is her friend John, who is also gay. Her image is at risk when Sloane's children put an unpaid necklace in her bag at the mall. Now mistaken as a shoplifter, the family doesn't want her attending at other events. Feeling like an outsider, she hangs out with Riley, who confirms that Harper's been denying her sexuality since childhood as she outed Riley in high school, avoiding to have her relationship with her revealed. At the annual Christmas eve party, John arrives to pick her up. Abby confronts Harper for the last time, hating that she feels hidden. Harper explains that she's not trying to as she's only hiding herself because she doesn't want to lose either her or her family. Just as they make up, Sloane spots them together and intends to tell the family. Harper can only delay it for the moment as they fight and ruin the party. With the attention on them, Sloane shares Harper's secret but when she denies it, it breaks Abby's heart and it makes her leave with John. John does explain how her coming out has nothing to do with their love. Realizing that she hurt her like she did to Riley, Harper tries to officially come out but Abby thinks it's too late. Sloane also admits that she and her husband Eric (Burl Moseley) are getting a divorce. Harper even tracks Abby down, confessing that she's ready to build a life and truly loves her, in which she forgives. They go back to the family house and on Christmas morning, Ted apologizes to all of his daughters for making them feel as if they had to be perfect. He even turns down an offer by a donor who would only support him if Harper kept quiet of her personal life. A year later, Jane has written a fantasy novel, Ted wins a mayoral election and Harper gets engaged with Abby. The film ends with the family going to the theater and the newly engaged couple smile at each other lovingly.
THOUGHTS
At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch this movie but when the ads played on a loop whenever I was on Youtube or watching something else on Hulu, I caved. Watching it for the first time, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It is hard to keep track on Hulu's filmography but based on this one and other I've seen so far, they're doing pretty good. Director Clea DuVall succeeded in making a fun movie for the holidays, while also making it a personal one. As I said before, coming out to your family is never easy because you're never sure how it goes. This movie gives a great example on how doing so may not be perfect as you plan it to be. So in this case, I am glad we got a positive interpretation of it. I also enjoyed the song ‘Make You Mine’ by Tegan and Sara because it gave that feeling of they joy people find when falling in love during the holidays. Even though this I enjoyed this film, there were moments in the story that bother me. First off, there were many things to question on whether or not to like Harper. I got a defense for all but one of her actions: Why did she lie to Abby about not coming out to her parents in the summer? If Abby had known then, she would be prepared for what would play out. I even couldn't take it serious when I saw a Josh Hartnett poster in Harper's room. I get she likely crushed on the actor before realizing she was gay but why the hell hadn't she taken it down? It's pointless to keep posters of things you're not into. Also, where were Abby's pets when John was allegedly housesitting? We see fish but I don't hear a dog's bark or a cat's meow, so you might as well call it housesitting. My last gripe is with Sloane's kids. I can scream my lungs out on how unreal it'd be for kids born in the 2010s to use a Gameboy over an iPad. This movie is set in the late 2010s, I've seen kids use iPads when they're being charged, so a Gameboy is bullshit. And lastly, how the hell is a mall so empty where neither a mall cop or another shopper notice them put the necklace in Abby's purse, during the week of Christmas? I know they apologize in the end but if someone had spotted them, Abby wouldn't be mistaken as a shoplifter. Ignore these flaws, and then you'll still be enjoying this movie. Back to the goods, I think what will make this movie highly watchable is the diverse cast. I’ve been pretty hard on Kristen Stewart because of how she’s disappointed me when it comes to blockbusters such as Twilight, and Snow White and the Huntsman. Ironically, she’s been impressing me with smaller films in comparison, making this one no exception. Here, she succeeds in making Abby one that has happiness but disappears when having to hide it. Seeing her try to hide her emotions has to be the biggest challenge of the whole performance. She makes her relatable where trying to keep your other half happy when she wasn’t. Just from the fake smiles, you know she wasn’t comfortable with her surroundings, despite wanting to be. I respect not seein the proposal because despite being a super romantic moment, it would’ve felt misplaced after what transpired. So seeing the ring in the time lapse was good enough for me. For Mackenzie Davis, you’ll likely hate her as Harper, based on her decisions. She gives a lot of red flags that she doesn’t deserve Abby. You’ll be screaming over and over about it, but have you been in her shoes? She does a good job showing the struggle of wanting to be herself but is afraid of the shockwave, which is why she’s been in the closet for so long. Her actions are done out of fear, which is why they are far from smart. What matters with this story is that Abby gets her deserved happiness so when Harper sees that she messed up and tells her she’s ready to be herself, that’s all she needed. Yes it does feel too late but in a Christmas movie, you can’t help but go for that happy ending. Dan Levy is the life of the party that’ll make me watch this movie every year. He is just as funny as he was in Schitt’s Creek. His phone calls with Abby are the best scenes for me. However, his icing on the cake is when he gets personal and shares his bad experience on coming out, reminding us that not everyone has the best experience on this topic. Aubrey Plaza has been on a roll with dramatic roles and it’s no exception with her given time as Riley. Like Stewart, all her fake smiles are showing her pain. No one deserves to be outed like she did so you quickly feel bad when hearing it. I know people think she should’ve been with Abby by the end because of how quick they bonded over Harper. But I don’t think that’s necessary because I believe she just needed comfort over what happened, as Abby ironically seems to be the only one she ever told about. And when Harper finally apologized, she felt whole again. Maybe it would’ve been an interesting way to end the story, but I’m against it because I fear it would be out of place as well. Another funny bone to this movie was Mary Holland as Jane. She is awesome because if her positive energy and not hiding it. Seeing her stand up to her sisters for feeling weak was awesome because siblings should be loving each other rather than leaving each other out. Alison Brie caught me off guard making Sloane as stone cold as possible and it worked. She’s normally playing likable roles in shows such as Community and GLOW, so seeing her play someone so dull and over competitive felt fresh to see from her. It is hard to forgive her for outing her sister because I don’t think your divorce with your husband should be an excuse to do something so cruel. But when she says felt the same fear of losing their love, I assume that’s where we’re supposed to. And lastly, I think that Victor Garber and Mary Steenburgen felt like a real couple in their given time as Ted and Tipper respectively. Tipper is the mom trying so hard to be cool with social media while Ted is on who is on edge and finally lets it go when realizing he was too hard on his kids. Both actors show how the love of parents affect their children in life. That message is on point as they accept the flaws of their children overnight. If Tipper’s Instagram account was real, I’d follow it in a heartbeat because those pics that were shown in the credits were pretty heartwarming. In short, Happiest Season is the fresh air needed for the sub-genre of Christmas movies. So if you got Hulu and love the said genre, than I hope this one will be up your alley.
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