Happiest Season

[Moribunderast]

Have been looking forward to this film for a while due to it being co-written by the hilarious Mary Holland and, having just watched it, I was not let down. It's a Christmas film and rom-com so it comes with all the tropes one would expect but I found it very funny throughout and quite sweet at times. Clea DuVall directs and assembled a great cast: Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Sarayu Blue, Daniel Levy, Mary Steenburgen - even Kristen Stewart is good in it. As I say, I'm a huge fan of Mary Holland and she steals every scene she's in.

Premise is simple: Mackenzie Davis invites girlfriend Kristen Stewart to her family get-together for Christmas but, GASP, Mackenzie has not told her parents she's gay and has instead lied that Kristen is her room-mate. Hijinks ensue, relationships are tested, lessons are learned, some characters are wacky, etc. It's very much a standard rom-com in it's arc but I just thought the cast and some of the jokes really elevated it. I laughed constantly and felt properly uplifted after watching.

[beanheadmcginty]

This should be posted in the terrible film posters thread

[Moribunderast]

This should be posted in the terrible film posters thread

It is VERY glossy. Makes it look like a bad Hallmark film.

[BlodwynPig]

Looks like Zooey D.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Despite recommendation I'm never watching this film ok cheers

[mjwilson]

- even Kristen Stewart is good in it.

Wtf with these cheap shots at Stewart

[Fr.Bigley]

Wtf with these cheap shots at Stewart

He's awful, can't act and smells bad. And he looks like a girl.

[Moribunderast]

I need to learn when I feel good about a film not to mention it here.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I really appreciate when you do, I'd been umming and ahhhing about downloading this but definitely plan to watch it soon now.

[Bad Ambassador]

Watched this yesterday, liked it. Stewart is very good.

[BlodwynPig]

The plot was a bit tired. But its a Christmas film. Stewart was fantastic, elevated the film. The guy who played John was great too. Very slight otherwise, but for a film I wouldn't normally watch I enjoyed it.

[13 schoolyards]

I had an extended conversation right before seeing this with a friend where we went back and forth on why the photo of the family on the poster was so shit and we decided the only explanation was that there was absolutely no chance for them to take a group photo on the set at any stage during filming. Then we saw the film and the longest running joke in the whole thing is them repeatedly getting everyone together to take Chrissmassy photos of the whole family. So clearly it was a firm marketing choice to use a badly cobbled together photo that in no way suggests anyone in this film spends any time at all with anyone else.

[BlodwynPig]

None of the people on the poster appear in the film, apart from Stewart

[EOLAN]

Sounds like a recommendation I would happily take on board as well; but the poster does look terrible. Having watched recently a lot of films from Empire Top 100 list I really feel like I could do with a break from egotistical men and big testerone full shoot-ups. Begging for some female centric comedy after all that; and love Mary Holland too.

[Famous Mortimer]

I had an extended conversation right before seeing this with a friend where we went back and forth on why the photo of the family on the poster was so shit and we decided the only explanation was that there was absolutely no chance for them to take a group photo on the set at any stage during filming. Then we saw the film and the longest running joke in the whole thing is them repeatedly getting everyone together to take Chrissmassy photos of the whole family. So clearly it was a firm marketing choice to use a badly cobbled together photo that in no way suggests anyone in this film spends any time at all with anyone else.

I feel like the photoshop people must have the best union in Hollywood. Even when they could just use a still from the movie, and indeed it would be preferable, we still get heads inexpertly placed on bodies with no-one looking in the right direction or even like they're responding to the same thing.

[Gulftastic]

Very enjoyable stuff.

I agree that Stewart was great.

I did roll my eyes at how she was dressed at the Xmas party. They were supposed to think she was straight, right?

[Moribunderast]

Wtf with these cheap shots at Stewart

I like Stewart, I just can rarely tell if she's a good actress or if she's just been in some films I liked. Adventureland, Personal Shopper, Certain Women and Underwater - all films I enjoyed to varying degrees but I couldn't honestly say if I thought she was anything more than adequate in them. She is very good in Happiest Season, though.

It's funny, I'm seeing comments elsewhere that people

Spoiler alert

hated Mackenzie Davis' character and wanted Stewart to end up with Aubrey Plaza. While Davis is a bit unthinkingly cruel at points, we do at least see at the start of the film how good their relationship is so we have a bit of context for why Stewart is putting up with this stress.

[close]

Anyway, I just hope the film does well enough to open up more writing gigs and featured roles for Mary Holland.

[BlodwynPig]

Stewart was selfless cuteness overload at the beginning.

[El Unicornio, mang]

I really liked this, particularly Stewart. Definitely will be adding it to my regular Xmas viewing list.

[BlodwynPig]

Would be a good sequel with the focus on John. Really warm character.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Watched this yesterday, really enjoyed it. The only real negative was

Spoiler alert

Alison Brie's one dimensional clan of shits

[close]

who seemed to only exist to jolt the story along quickly instead of letting things play out naturally.