“Happiest Season” is currently streaming on Hulu alongside the “Animaniacs” revival. It received positive reviews from critics and streamers alike. Rumors speculate a sequel is in the works.
Now that Christmas is right around the corner, I’ve decided to give this movie a try after watching Dan Levy’s award winning series “Schitts Creek.”
This review doesn’t contain no SPOILERS. Feel free to check out my non-spoiler article. Keep in mind, this review is pretty short, because this ain’t a big budget three hour plus epic like “The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.” Is Happiest Season a legit Christmas movie? Let’s find out.
Happy & Sad Elements
Happy: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Aubrey Plaza, Allison Brie, Mary Steenbergen & Dan Levy all did decent job for their respective performances. It’s good for Kristen not to sound like a Bella Swan from the “Twilight” series or the Megan Fox syndrome when it comes to performing like a fembot lacking emotional weight.
Character Actress, Clea DuVall (The Faculty, Argo) did a good job directing. She also wrote the script.
According to Clea, the movie is a semi-autobiographical story about her real life experiences as a lesbian visiting her girlfriend’s conservative family during Christmas. Kristen Stewart’s character Abby is based on Clea.
Jokes got me laughing except that one mall scene that should’ve been removed in the final cut. Dan’s involvement deserves an Extra Point for making me laugh so hard.
Cinematography never had a bad case of excessive Shaky Cam.
Chemistry between Abby & Harper felt organic.
The film’s central message is about acceptance. Putting your differences aside and have a good time with one another regardless of sexuality.
Like “The Family Stone,” (one of my favorite Christmas movies) an LGBT couple plays a key role. As a supportive of the LGBT community, I approve raising those type of characters that the audience can relate to. If I were you, please show some tolerance.
Abby’s backstory felt interesting alongside Dan Levy’s character, John.
Although Dan is silly both on & off camera, he’s got some hidden depths capable of pulling off a dramatic speech.
If you have sensitive side, the ending will make you cry in a happy way. I’m gonna come clean, I didn’t cry. It takes a legit dramatic moment to shed a couple of tears. The only movies that made me cry are “Logan,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Interstellar” and last but not least, “Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows.” It’s very rare for me to cry when I watch a movie.
Sad: An interrogation scene at the mall seems out of place as if it belongs from “College Humor” video of Pete Holmes’ Batman parody titled, “Badman.” Afterwards, the movie resumes back pretending it never happened.
Product Placement (Pee Pee for short) featuring brands such as Instagram & Love Gas Station. I’ll let this flaw slide, because I couldn’t find any other brand to shove down my throat.
The Final Verdict: A-
Happiest Season is somewhat a surprisingly feel good Christmas movie. Well what do you know, another good movie in 2020 besides “Tenet,” “Bill & Ted Face The Music,” “Birds Of Prey,” “Scoob” & Impractical Jokers: The Movie.”
If you’re looking for something to watch during the holiday season, I highly recommend this film on Hulu. If a sequel is in the works, count me in, because we need more LGBT couples in holiday related films. Here’s a reminder, show some tolerance to anybody who’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender. Learn to put aside your differences and have a happy holiday. Don’t be a selfish bigoted pendejo (guess what that means in Spanish) like Isaiah Washington or Brett Ratner. One more thing, fuck Ben Shapiro.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 