This holiday, come out and meet the family.
[“Happiest Season” is the second film of my “5 Queer Holiday Films for 2022” post. To read the next review, “The Christmas House”, click HERE. To read the previous review, “The Bitch Who Stole Christmas“, click HERE.]
Initially planned to be released in theatres before finding a new home with Hulu, Clea DuVall‘s film “Happiest Season” brings a refreshing vantage point to queer representation in Christmas movies. While there had been lesbian holiday films and shorts previously, many never reached mainstream audiences. Thankfully, “Happiest Season” broke through that barrier and thrust a lesbian romance & coming-out story smack dab in the middle of the typical chaotic family Christmas drama. And with a stellar cast, including Kristen Stewart, Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber, and Dan Levy, it was destined to become a great hit! But in the end, I found it just “meh”. And it seems that critics are equally mixed on their ratings. So what happened? Well, let’s break down where I had issues with the film.
Synopsis of “Happiest Season”
Abby Holland (Kristen Stewart) and Harper Caldwell (Mackenzie Davis) are a couple who have been dating nearly a year. Abby dislikes Christmas since her parents passed away a few year earlier, so Harper spontaneously invites Abby to celebrate the holidays with her family in her hometown of Pittsburgh. Abby sees this as the perfect opportunity to introduce herself to Harper’s parents and propose to her on Christmas morning. However, on their way to the Caldwells’ house, Harper reveals she lied to Abby about coming out to her parents; fearing doing so would interfere with her father’s campaign for mayor, she doesn’t want to come out to her family until after Christmas. She asks Abby to pretend to be her straight roommate for the holiday, to which Abby reluctantly agrees.
At the Caldwells’ house, Abby meets Harper’s father, Ted (Victor Garber), her perfectionist mother, Tipper (Mary Steenburgen), and her wacky younger sister, Jane (Mary Holland). The family welcomes Abby as Harper’s “orphan friend” who has nowhere else to go for Christmas. Abby quickly becomes uncomfortable, especially when she meets Harper’s exes, boyfriend Connor (Jake McDorman) and girlfriend Riley (Aubrey Plaza). During the visit, she begins questioning how much she knows about her girlfriend when she sees Ted and Tipper’s high expectations and Harper’s competitive relationship with her older sister, Sloane (Alison Brie).
Meanwhile, Ted is trying to impress a possible donor from the city council to contribute to his campaign, which Abby unwillingly jeopardizes when Sloane’s children put an unpaid necklace into her bag at the mall and she is caught with it. Believing she is a shoplifter, Ted and Tipper think it might be better if they keep Abby away from upcoming social events. From this point, Abby feels even more like an outsider. She also learns from Riley that Harper denied her sexuality ever since she was a high school freshman during their romantic time together, which makes Abby more worried about the future of their relationship.
At the Caldwells’ annual Christmas Eve party, Abby, having grown tired of her current situation, is relieved when her friend John (Dan Levy) arrives unannounced to pick her up. Harper privately begs Abby to stay and as they are about to kiss, they are caught by Sloane who prepares to expose their relationship to the family. However, it turns out, Sloane has a secret of her own: she and her husband, Eric (Burl Moseley), are getting a divorce. The sisters get into a public fight, ruining the party. Sloane reveals in front of the guests that Harper is a lesbian and in a relationship with Abby….. which Harper denies immediately. Heartbroken by this, Abby leaves the house. John follows Abby outside, where the two talk about their stories of coming out to their respective families: Abby’s parents were loving and accepting, while John’s bigoted and homophobic father threw him out of the house and publicly disowned him forever. John reminds her that coming out can be terrifying for gay people, but has nothing to do with Harper’s love for her.
After realizing that her fear of rejection by her parents caused her to hurt Riley and will cause her to lose Abby, Harper finally tells the truth to her parents, confirming that she is a lesbian. Predictably, both Ted and Tipper do not react well to this news. This inspires Sloane to reveal her own secret that she and her husband are getting divorced, and even Jane tells her parents how neglected she felt throughout the years. Harper goes after Abby to apologize, confessing that she truly loves her and wants to build a life with her. Touched by her words, Abby forgives her and they share a long and passionate kiss.
Ted apologizes to his daughters for making them feel they always had to be perfect. Then he gets a phone call from the donor he’s been trying to impress, who will support him only if Harper stays quiet about her personal life. Ted rejects the offer. The Caldwells then take a family picture, with Abby included this time.
One year later, Abby and Harper are now engaged, Jane has become a bestselling author with her fantasy novel, ‘The Shadow Dreamers’, and Ted has won the mayoral election. On Christmas Eve, the family goes to the local retro cinema to watch ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. As the movie starts, Abby and Harper smile at each other lovingly.
The Not-So-Good
Where do I begin? Unfortunately, breaking down “Happiest Season” is a bit of a challenge because many of the elements that don’t work in one scene actually work in others. But the biggest issue that I had with this queer holiday film is actually the script itself. So let’s get right to it: Harper treated Abby like crap, and she should’ve just left her. I think we all can understand and even relate to not being ready to come out to our family, and perhaps having to go back in the closet for holiday gatherings. Yet within this film’s script, not only does Harper lie to Abby about having came out to her parents months earlier, but then she sides with her folks over the incident at the mall and when everything finally comes out about Harper – she actually denies being a lesbian and in love with Abby!
Yes, I can understand that in order to have a truly happy romantic ending, the couple has to go through some trials and rocky patches. But really? There’s discord – and then there’s the tsunami that struck in “Happiest Season”! What makes it even worse is the sad fact that Abby and Aubrey had more believable onscreen chemistry than Harper showed for Abby. Now, I will confess that when the film starts, the romance between Harper and Aubry is rather believable. But as the film progresses, I could relate much more with her gay best friend, John – because everything he says makes sense.
Unfortunately the script has other issues beyonds my distaste and disbelief at the fact they still ended up together. The dialogue is simply difficult to believe at times. I wasn’t quite sure what was off, but some came across as cold & lack-lustre, while at other times I even had to question whether it was the script or the actually actress delivering the lines that was unbelievable. And some scenes were actually painful to watch. The interrogation at the mall made me cringe between the script and the overacting, not to mention the fact that none of that was realistic. Or how about the massive all out girl fight going on upstairs during a Christmas party where doors are slamming, tables are being knocked over – and not a single person downstairs in the living room heard a thing. The house might be a mansion – but it’s not THAT big!
Tying into issues with the poor script is the actual acting of some of the cast. “Happiest Season” stars quite a few big named actors & actresses. Yet the actual characters they portrayed on screen wasn’t always so believable at times. I absolutely love Victor Garber does – but every scene he was in, that’s all I could see; Victor Garber himself, not the patriarch of the family, a bit over the top at times. I’m on the fence about Kristen Stewart: I still see Bella Swan a tad, but think that’s more because she hasn’t done that much since to separate her from that old role. Others were merely bland, frankly not even worth mentioning.
Lastly and perhaps because I cannot believe that Abby took Harper back after everything, I found issue with the actual ending of “Happiest Season”. It was a nice wrap up to all the drama during the film itself – but was it really needed? It felt more like an epilogue trying to say “we want you to forget about how messy and dramatic everything was up to this point… so here’s a cheesy Hallmark moment!” While the Instagram feed pics during the credits was cute, it was equally unnecessary.
The Good
For all of the bashing that I have done with this queer Christmas film, there are still some great things that can. be found in “Happiest Season.” To begin – it’s a mainstream lesbian holiday film! That itself is quite an accomplishment and cannot be understated. And let’s not overlook the fabulous drag performances of Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme! Not only was their scene in the gay bar needed amid all the drama at the time, but it was quite jovial and fun as well. And despite all of my issues with the script, I was actually pleased that everyone in the Caldwell family had something they were hiding. For all of the pretence they each gave off, nobody was perfect. And it wasn’t until everything was revealed that they finally listened to each other and bonded together as a family.
But actually, the savior of the film is the amazing talent of Dan Levy as the gay best friend, John. Written & acted with plenty of superficial gay cliches, Dan brought a lot of the comedy and light-heartedness into what is otherwise a very heavy drama. And just like the perfect sidekick, he’s right there to save Abby when everything falls apart. However perhaps the most heartfelt moment of the entire film is actually between John and Abby, right after Harper denies being a lesbian and in a relationship with Abby. Paraphrasing cannot do it justice, so forgive me while I quote that specific moment:
Everybody’s story is different. There’s your version and my version, and everything in between. But the one thing all of those stories have in common is that moment right before you say those words. When your heart is racing and you don’t know what’s coming next. That moment’s really terrifying! And once you say those words, you can’t un-say them. A chapter has ended, and a new one’s begun. You have to be ready for that. You can’t do it for anyone else.
John, “Happiest Season”
Just because Harper isn’t ready doesn’t mean she never will be, and it doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you.
Those words are honest yet it’s quite a powerful message, one that needed to be captured in a feature film. I just with the rest of the script was just as well written. Of course it’s their honest talk that makes Abby rethink about ending it with Harper, or at least to give her and her family a second chance. My feelings towards their relationship in the end aside, it’s quite a cathartic moment and is the point where the film makes a u-turn from drama back towards rom-com.
