Day 6 - Happiest Season

 

Happiest Season

Starring:  Kristen Stuart, Mackenzie Davis, Dan Levy, Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber, Allison Brea, and Aubrey Plaza

Director: Clea DuVall

Screenplay: Clea DuVall, Mary Holland

Streaming: Hulu

Spoilers: I can’t promise none, but I will give it the ole college try

 

 

Every now and then you watch a movie that you think is a throw away, just something to pass the afternoon, and it ends up blowing you away.  The Happiest Season was that for me.  It left me streaming tears and my cheer meter going through the roof!  Hell, I could have probably made reindeer fly after watching it.

 

 

I liked the cast, well most of them, ok I won’t take any shots at Kristen Stewart for being in those ridiculous vampire movies.  Vampires are scary and evil not pretty and still in high school after hundreds of years.  I also must admit the three movies I have seen her in now I have liked her:  Zathura, Equals, and now this. (They say she was in Jumpers, but I have no recollection of her in that).  So, ok I guess I like the cast of Kristen Stuart, Mackenzie Davis, Dan Levy, Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber, Allison Brea, and Aubrey Plaza.  It was a great mix and there was plenty of movie to go around for all of them.  

 

 

At some point I guess I am going to have to come to terms with the fact that I like romantic comedies/dramas.  That isn’t something I am really ready to do right now.  Although, it should be clear by now dear reader that I am a sucker for them.  You give me a few laughs, along with some good old-fashioned family drama and I feel right at home. 

 

 

The idea for this movie struck a chord with me right away because the synopsis basically spelled out the Christmas Movie formula for us.  Which read: A holiday romantic comedy that captures the range of emotions tied to wanting your family's acceptance, being true to yourself, and trying not to ruin Christmas.  Now I think we can all admit at one time or another we have all been there, or at least I know I have.

 

 

In a Holiday Movie twist the movie finds out star couple of (Mackenzie Davis and Kristen Stuart) already a couple.  Of course, Stuart doesn’t love Christmas and the Mackenzie does.  So, we start to see that we are going down a journey of trying one trying to find their holiday spirit.  However, almost home Mackenzie’s character drops a bomb shell on her lover Stuart.  Her parents do not know she is gay, that they are a couple, and they just happen to be ultra conservative.    Just for shits and giggles to make things more complicated the Dad is running for mayor of the town and they have to be on their best behavior during the holiday.  Well, shit… Is this not the type of Christmas Chaos any lover of the Holiday Movies starts to drool down the front of themselves over?  I know I did.  So now we find out that this is less about Christmas Spirit and more about trying not to betray yourself to the very core of ones being. 

 

 

I am not sure what spoke to me so much about this movie.  Perhaps it was growing up in a home with super high expectations on each one of the children.  Could have been growing up in a super Republican household.  Could have been the sibling rivalry and the constant want to impress your parents and the need to raise your stalk over that of a sibling.  It could have been the fact that so much of my life I have worked a job and chased a career just to prove to my family I was worthy.  That I wasn’t lazy.  Putting on the false face of a businessman when my passion always lied on another playing field.  Wanting and needing to be a creative, however, getting up every day and betraying myself by working a job that constantly is choking at my very soul.  Even worse being fucking great at that job and being paid a lot of money to do it.  Wow, I didn’t see that coming.  I guess I connected a lot more to this plot than I originally thought.  The things that we do for our family acceptance.  Probably things we didn’t need to do.  I am going to put a pin in that, forward this to my therapist and tell her we should have a talk about it though, might explain a few things.   I just got to say you have to love a movie that makes you think and makes you feel.  That is the great thing about someone’s art you take away from it what you need.   Now that we clearly know what connected me to this movie, we should move right along.

 

 

The three sisters in the movie Brie, Mackenzie, and Jane (played my Mary Holland) have an intense and at times antagonistic relationship.  The three girls try very hard to please their parents and be important to them in their own way.  Each one trying to be on the top of that podium.  The parents seem to fumble through the movie being clueless that they are basically holding a Hunger Games for their children’s love.  I have often wonder if parents know they are doing this or not.  Part of me think they are clueless and to self-absorbed to realize what they are doing.  The other part just thinks parents can be dicks.  The siblings torment is the perfect. 

 

                                                                 

The family drama moves the relationship of Stuart and Mackenzie to the background of Mackenzie’s mind.  She is so busy trying to be the perfect daughter that she starts to destroy her own relationship.  A couple of MacKenzie’s ex’s show up:  one boy and one girl.  Once this happens, we get into our Holiday Movie sweet spot and all hell breaks loose.  I think that is what I like the most about these movies is when the hell breaks loose.  Family fights start happening.  People get hurt.  It seems like lives will be ruined.  The viewer has to hang onto the hope and the magic that comes with the season to see if we will have the happy ending, we all want.    Will Christmas be ruined?  Since I totally loved this movie and think we are looking at a 9 our 10 on the Holiday Cheer meter, I think you really need to watch and find out.  I thought it was a special movie, with a great twist and take on the Holiday Movie formula.