by Shane Conto
Who is ready for the holiday season? Some may have been ready to go since the day after Halloween. Others might be angry as they want to wait until after Thanksgiving. No matter which kind of person you are, we can all agree on one thing. Aren’t families so much fun? Hulu latest holiday themed flick, Happiest Season, really captures the vibes of that question. Just imagine…two young women are experiencing a loving and passionate relationship. Why not take it to the next level? Time to meet the family! But what if…they don’t know their daughter is a lesbian?
Sounds like a great holiday movie premise to me!
Actress, Clea Duvall, takes her talents behind the camera with this film as she wrote the screenplay as well as directed the film. Duvall does a solid job behind the camera in the director’s chair. The film doesn’t have anything in particular that stands out from a directorial standpoint as the visuals look very workman-like. But the film definitely has an energy about it as the audience moves along at an engaging pace. As an actor herself, you can tell Duvall worked well with her cast with each of the actors really shining in their role. That just might be Duvall’s biggest achievement as a director with Happiest Season.
One of the freshest aspects of Happiest Season would have to be the inclusive twist on the traditional “meeting the parents” holiday affair.
A person’s sexuality is definitely a fixture at the core of the film and finding love. Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis have impressive chemistry together and what seems to be a loving relationship. The twist that Davis’ parents do not know about her sexuality let alone that she is in a relationship with Stewart is the driving force of the narrative. Her conservative family who is all about keeping up appearances would seemingly not react well to this reveal. Even with this at the center of the plot, there are so many threads that might be overwhelming to the audience. Each of the three daughters have their own dynamics within the family and their own issues with their parents. You have multiple exes for Davis to deal with including Aubrey Plaza (one of the secrets in Davis’ past).
The plot can certainly get muddled along the way.
But the messaging of the film is key. Even when erratic behavior feels a bit unearned for some of the characters, the messaging is always clear that you should live your life and love who you love. The film’s shining moments come from Dan Levy (who plays Stewart’s funny yet staunchly loyal friend) who hammers home the film’s message in a passionate and moving speech.
The most consistently fantastic aspect of the film is this impressive cast.
Stewart is genuine and empathetic throughout as I felt for her every step of the way (despite some increasingly frustrating plot points in the story). Davis gives a strong performance as well even if she is saddled with some poor writing to her character at the center of the film. She does make up for it with a passionate delivery of her feelings at the film’s climax. Levy is fantastic comic relief but also surprises with his meaningful turn as mentioned before. The rest of the cast delivers no matter the level of depth of their character. One particular performance that stands out is Mary Holland as one of the sisters. She provides a level of energy that lights up the screen as she is the quirkiest and most interesting of the characters.
With the holidays coming up quick, should you and your family swing over to Hulu and check out Happiest Season?
I think that will depend on your level of acceptance of cliched holiday family films. Can you take some cliched plot points as well as some frustrating moments for the sake of the story? If you can, I think you will have a lot of fun with this particular film. This one even surprised me with how much I cared by the end.
Grade: B-