Happiest Season (2020)

When it comes to cinema releases, the beginning of December can only mean one thing: holiday movies. And this film does not disappoint. Treated once again to a private cinema screening of a film about which I knew next to nothing going in, I discovered this hidden gem of holiday movies, a film with an incredible balance of comedy and drama, sure to take its audience through a roller-coaster ride of emotions.

Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis) have been a couple for several months. Christmas is coming, and Harper wants Abby to come with her to meet her family.

However, Abby has no interest in celebrating Christmas, since losing her parents during the holidays ten years ago. But Harper is insistent; her family will make Christmas a time to celebrate for Abby again.

And so, leaving her many pets with best friend John (Daniel Levy), Abby agrees to Harper’s plan. Little does she know that Harper is still yet to come out to her parents, and Christmas doesn’t seem like a good time to do it, either.

Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and Abby (Kristen Stewart).

Harper’s father, Ted (Victor Garber), is about to begin his campaign for Mayor, and anything that would rock the boat at this point is most definitely to be avoided. Her mother, Tipper (Mary Steenburgen) is incredibly conservative, and news like this could potentially destroy her.

So, Harper and Abby must pretend to be nothing but “roommates”, making the next week virtually unbearable for Abby at least.

Harper seems to be fine with this charade; she has her two sisters Sloane (Alison Brie) and Jane (Mary Holland) as a buffer between her and her parents. And to top it all off, Tipper is trying to get Harper back together with her high-school boyfriend Connor (Jake McDorman).

I’ll leave the plot there, you can discover it for yourself; I don’t need to spoil it any more.

Ted (Victor Garber) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis).

The screenplay – by director Clea DuVall & Mary Holland (who, as you will recall, also plays Harper’s sister Jane) – is quite an achievement, balancing, as I mentioned earlier, comedy and drama exceptionally well. Yes, the film is primarily a comedy, and there are indeed plenty of laughs throughout. But the film also has some really good themes within it about being true to yourself, and about the coming-out process, which is anything but a cookie-cutter experience; it is different for each and every person who has had to go through it, and even different every time you do it.

Watching this film – and perhaps even more so due to Daniel Levy being in the cast – feels like watching the final season of Schitt’s Creek in a lot of ways, most of them good ways.

Yes, on the one hand, the film feels like many other holiday films; a fair amount of storyline comes from the events that surround this time of year, especially in North America. But the added tension of the strained relationship between Abby and Harper, as they both try to hide their true selves, gives the film an added dimension and unique truth that is missing from other films in this space.

And when you throw in another of Harper’s ex-partners, Riley (Aubrey Plaza), who has also struck up a friendship – or at least passing acquaintance – with Abby, you know the stage is set for some major drama at that point in the film that will inevitably come.

John (Daniel Levy) and Connor (Jake McDorman).

The performances of the cast are superb throughout, but I want to make particular mention of the two leads, Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis. Not only is their relationship incredibly believable, but the growing split between them as the film progresses is absolutely heart-breaking. Again, I don’t want to spoil the film for you, but you must have guessed there would be difficulties, given the difficult situation in which they both find themselves.

Another note on the cast: those of you who keep up with all the gossip out of Hollywood (not that this is what my reviews are about, mind you) will have noticed the unique position of this film in terms of its casting. Several members of the cast – if you don’t know which ones, I’m not going to out them, that’s not my place – are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and no doubt took their roles because they believed the film had and has something unique to say to not only the LGBTQIA+ community, but to those outside the community by way of education and understanding.

However, it is – in my opinion – Daniel Levy, and more specifically, his character, that makes this film what it is. It is his character that has a lot of the best lines, and features in many of the film’s best scenes.

I would advise any interested party to see this film on the big screen, purely for the reason that it means you would see it sooner, rather than having to wait for a DVD release.

8 1/2 out of 10.