Happiest Season
HULUThe 2020 holidays are not going to be anyone’s “happiest season”, but that won’t stop Hulu and actress-turned-director Clea DuVall from trying to bring a little festive cheer into everyone’s upended lives with Happiest Season. The by-the-numbers rom-com is nothing special or surprising, but its guaranteed to strike an emotional chord that may be a comfort to viewers feeling adrift this holiday season.
Abby (a relatable Kristen Stewart) is invited to spend Christmas with her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and her family. Only thing is, Harper hasn’t come out to her family and her parents don’t know about her relationship with Abby (they think she’s a roommate). All of the tropes that come with this storyline are here. The fussy, conservative parents who want “perfect” children (the father, Victor Garber, even happens to be running for mayor); the ironic double entendres (“Abby, why are you in the closet?”); and the late-night sneaking into separate rooms that inevitably leads to a close call with the family.
Happiest Season is exactly what it seems like and every beat is predictable, but it’s hard not to be slightly charmed by a cast this good and a script with this much heart. Rounding out the simply glorious ensemble are Aubrey Plaza as one of Harper’s exes, Alison Brie and Mary Holland as her sisters, Mary Steenburgen as her mother, and Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy as Abby’s friend, John. All of these actors, and more, make game contributions to Happiest Season’s fun, but the highlights have to be Plaza, Holland, and Levy. Plaza makes for one of the most likable characters, Holland, who also co-wrote the screenplay with DuVall, provides many of the film’s funniest moments, and Levy completely steals every scene he’s in, especially one in which the proudly gay character pretends to be straight.
The humor isn’t going to break any molds, but it’s more than serviceable. DuVall and Holland’s script isn’t sharp or particularly witty but relies on the actors’ comedic sensibilities to make up for the obviousness and familiarity of the jokes. Their timing is mostly impeccable, and DuVall is smart enough of a director to let the actors take center stage. Her direction is standard, and even feels like a Hallmark Christmas movie at times with its red, green, and gold color palette. But that doesn’t detract from the charm of the film overall, in fact, it may add a comforting sense of nostalgia.
Hallmark movies are notorious for their heterosexual casts and heteronormative storylines, and Happiest Season gladly puts LGBTQ+ characters and values front and center. DuVall, Stewart, Plaza, Levy, and Garber are all queer themselves, and the film embraces homosexuality with open arms. It isn’t done in a preachy way, but rather a casual one, and that makes it all the more powerful. In one sense, the film’s conventionality helps it in this department. It’s an above-average rom-com, but with gay characters. This is one of the film’s strengths, and probably is the area in which it has the highest chance of making an impact on audiences.
The film’s big heart and earnest emotions might just win over even the most Scrooge-like viewers and those who don’t lap up the spirit of the holiday season. Happiest Season never deviates from the holiday rom-com formula, except for its casting of LGBTQ+ characters, but is nevertheless a solid reminder of why the formula works in the first place. Why fix something that isn’t broken? DuVall and her fantastic cast don’t take the genre to the next level, but they do reinvigorate it with some much-needed diversity. Just in time for what’s sure to be one of the worst holiday seasons of all time. This will not be the world’s “happiest season”, but Happiest Season might just make it a little more tolerable.
