Do you want to know one of the most insane things that I have ever
read? That in 2020 alone, Hallmark released forty new Christmas movies. Forty.
In one year. I am ninety percent sure that I couldn’t name twenty Christmas
movies period without including films that aren’t really Christmas
movies (Die Hard, for instance) and by cheating (go ahead an add a
random noun to the phrase “The Christmas…” a movie with that name already
exists somewhere, even if you’ve never heard of it). The vast majority of these
are akin to comfort food; nice to indulge in every once in a while (especially
during the holidays), but also lacking substance and, more often than not, full
of cheese. Thankfully, Happiest Season on Hulu has the cast
and the charm to elevate what could have easily been “just another Christmas”
movie into something mildly nutritious.
The
plot is far from complicated; Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis play Abby and
Harper, a couple who, while visiting Harper’s family for the holidays, must
deal with the hijinks and genuine problems that arise from Harper’s fear and
inability to come out to her ultra conservative parents. It feels like a plot
that should have happened a long time ago (and didn’t necessarily have to
happen during Christmas), yet it doesn’t feel terribly original all the same.
Perhaps it’s because the “introducing the significant other to the wacky
family” plot has been done to death already, or maybe it’s because people
returning to their hometown for Christmas in general is such a well-worn staple
of holiday movies? Who knows. The dialogue is also not great at times;
characters occasionally throw background information into conversations where
it doesn’t really belong, for instance, and there were a few word choices here
and there that raised my eyebrows. But whenever the script has a slight sag,
the cast, which also includes impressive names such as Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy,
and Alison Brie, more than adequately props it up and keeps any flaws from
being too noticeable.
And
these saggy moments are, in reality, pretty rare. I honestly only noticed the
above problems once or twice, and the rest of the time everything was just fine
and dandy. There is a lot of charm in Happiest Season, and everyone
involved seems to have brought their A-game. There are no clear standouts in a
cast as good as this, although I must say that Mary Holland (who also co-wrote
the script) as Harper’s offbeat sister Jane and Dan Levy as Abby’s loyal best
friend (and fish murderer) John were easily the most fun. It is, all in all, a
very well put-together Christmas movie that would have been just as comfortable
on the big screen as it is on the small one.
A
cheery good time with a couple of good messages and a few more laughs… I guess
that’s all anyone can ask of their holiday comfort food. Eat up.
Happiest
Season is now available on Hulu.
This
review was first published in The Keizertimes on December 25th, 2020. Visit at http://keizertimes.com/
Hindsight: People need to stop with the "is Die Hard a Christmas movie" arguments. I'm sick of them. Every year. Every freaking year. Also, "eat up?" That's a bit cheesy (ha... "cheesy." Because of the food analogies).
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