Happiest Season, A Review
“Happiest Season” is a charming if overly derivative rom-com that definitively proves the almighty algorithm can recognize what Donald Trump and his ilk have spent the last four years steadfastly ignoring: that even the LGBTQ+ community deserves a little Yuletide pandering.
Starring Kristen Stewart—better known as Bella from the “Twilight” films—and Mackenzie Davis—recognizable from that one, really good episode of “Black Mirror” your coworkers tormented you about way back when, and also “Terminator: Dark Fate,” which came out only a year ago but you already forgot existed—“Happiest Season” is one part “Meet the Parents,” one part “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” and three parts Montezuma-brand tequila, because did you see what Rand Paul said on Twitter last night?
As in all the best cinematic romances—none of which spring readily to mind, but trust me, they exist—our central couple meets, falls in love, moves in together, and starts jointly filing their tax returns all during an opening credits montage. Subtitles hopefully if not entirely helpfully denote the passage of time, as though time, dates, or seasons have any meaning in these mid-coronavirus, quarantine days. In many ways, the characters’ experience of 2020 mirrors our own: seen only in sporadic splashes of chaos and color between violent and powerful blackouts, or, as the cineast would call them, “fades to black.” When is Donald Trump going to concede the election?
Overall, “Happiest Season” leaves the impression of an undoubtedly talented cast let down by a boring screenplay, not to mention a country full of liars, trolls, and insane bigots. Jesus, I can’t even anymore.
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