Earlier this month Hulu released a Christmas movie, Happiest Season in time for the holiday season. The movie stars Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber and features Dan Levy and Aubrey Plaza. What is remarkable about this holiday film is that it features a same sex story as the main plot, which is a first.
Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis) are a couple and Harper has invited Abby home to meet her parents for Christmas, the only catch being that Harper isn’t to her family. The family lives in a quaint town where Ted (Victor Garber) is running for election as a conservative senator.
Tipper (Mary Steenburgen) is your typical housewife, running around wanting everything perfect for Christmas. She also has an interesting side hustle working an Instagram account for her husband, hoping to help win him the upcoming election, displaying their perfect family life. Except like all families nobody is perfect and coming together for the holidays is always a recipe for disaster!
Directed Clea DuVall, this is a merry romp for the holiday season. It is a charming tale about love, acceptance, being honest to yourself and most importantly living your authentic life, but let’s not forget because it’s Christmas, trying to not ruin the holiday!
Also written by Clea DuVall, the story is unique as it is the first time a Christmas story revolves around a same sex couple, mind you a number of other networks have since released a many same sex themed Christmas stories this year.
But at the heart of Happiest Season it is about coming out to your family and hoping for acceptance. Seeing the couple struggle with concealing their love for one another in the parent’s house, but just wanting to be out and true about the feelings for one another is heartbreaking, as it is still an issue many LGBTQIA+ individuals face when visiting their families for the holiday season.
Can we talk about Kristen Stewart? She goes from strength to strength with her choice in roles. She is amazing as Abby, a young woman in love, who doesn’t have any family, but wishes to spend the holidays with her girlfriend, not realizing Harper isn’t out to her family and the antic to the ensue trying to go back in the closet for the holidays.
Mary Steenburgen as Tipper is a lot of fun. We all know someone that is obsessed with the perfect Christmas, whether it be a relative or friend, it is their goal to make everything perfect, or at least appear that way.
Nice surprise is Dan Levy as John, Abby’s close friend. Dan Levy at his best when dripping with sarcasm and in Happiest Season his dialogue does not fail, he will make you laugh in every scene.
The Happiest Season was a nice surprise for a holiday film. Sure they all can be a little cheesy and melodramatic, but this festive film does seem to have a little less cheese than most. The movie does pull at the heart strings and highlights how difficult it can be for some LGBTQIA+ people who go home each year and can’t be their true selves from the fear of being rejected by their family and not being accepted.
The Happiest Season is definitely a film for the whole family and will make you smile with Christmas cheer.
