My wife and I feel lucky to be raising our daughter in an age where society seems to be generally more tolerant and accepting of persons of different colour, religion, race and sexual identity. It can be a bit of a confusing minefield trying to keep up with everything you should and shouldn’t say, but all in all, it feels like the human race is hopefully evolving to a place where we no longer give people a hard time for things they really had little choice in determining for themselves. It feels like a really cool sign of the times that the last decade or so has finally delivered a host of Christmas films made by, for and about LGBTQ people. Naturally, this move has pissed off a lot of people, but for me that can only be a good thing. If the very idea of a Christmas love story about persons with a gender identity or sexual preference different from your own gets you hot under the collar, then my sincere hope is that you stop to question why that is. Hopefully, you’ll then realise that there’s nothing to be mad about - love is love and it’s a beautiful thing, baby.
So, it’s with great joy and, yes, a lot of pride that I start this part of my festive adventure by watching the impressive Happiest Season, an unbelievably cute tale of lesbian Christmas romance from 2020 with a mega-starry cast directed by actor-turned director Clea Duvall. This one is a real treat, shows DuVall is a real directing force and is the only festive film I can think of that actually saw the inside of a cinema and dares to feature a same-sex female couple as the romantic leads.
It also feels very fitting that I watch this one the morning after Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page) has been in the news, announcing he’s successfully completed ‘top surgery’ - the procedure to remove breast or chest tissue, which is a huge step towards helping trans people affirm their identity. It must be a proud day for Elliot and a huge statement to the world for a well-known Oscar-nominated actor to take this step. It feels pretty cool that more minds are being opened up and that our children are being raised in a world where such things are rapidly becoming normalised and no longer considered taboo. Good for you, Elliot.
This is also the day that I have scores of people booked in to come and view my house - and the boiler’s only bloody gone and broken down. It’s been a morning of hardcore stress, stress, stress and though I eventually manage to get the boiler working again (go me!) I am definitely ready to watch something fluffy, comforting, lovey-dovey and feel-good. Fortunately, that’s Happiest Season all over, a film that’s sweet, light and feels like a nice, warm festive embrace.
Kristen Stewart is great as poor Abby who, after being together for over a year, is forced to pretend to be girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis)’s “orphaned roommate” to explain her presence at a family Christmas gathering after Harper drops the bombshell that she never actually came out to her parents. Whoops. This is all very awkward, as Abby was literally just about to propose. Yikes.
So, Abby has to reluctantly go along with this humiliating charade - it’s heartbreaking to see her sidelined during family photos and made to sleep in a separate bed in the basement. She’s treated like a hanger-on rather than with the proper respect that the partner of a family member would and naturally she begins to question if Harper is her ‘one’ after all.
DuVall’s movie has a fun crew of actors on board, with Mary Holland the surprise MVP as Harper’s goofy, younger sister Jane who tries very hard to be nice to everyone but always seems just a little bit…off? Alison Brie has a ball playing a bitch as older sister Sloane who is ultra-competitive and loves to rub her perceived success as a mother and self-employed business woman in her sisters’ faces. It’s an uncomfortable situation a lot of people will doubtlessly recognise - coming home for Christmas and having all of your accomplishments over-analysed and compared to your siblings. Of course, as is the case in most films like this, everyone’s lives are not as happy as they first outwardly appear.
It’s one of those films where awkward discomfort is piled on at every turn, with the couple bumping into a series of Harper’s exes - both male and female - making it increasingly tough for Abby to keep her cool and play along. Harper’s so obsessed with pleasing her mayoral candidate father (Victor Garber) that she doesn’t notice she’s being a cow to her girlfriend who’s being a total trouper about all this.
Aubrey Plaza is ace as Riley, Harper’s first love who forms an unexpected bond with Abby - they’ve both been through the same denial crap with Harper and suffered badly. The film’s standout scene features the two of them just letting their hair down and getting to be themselves over a drink in a gay bar as a flamboyant drag act belts out the Christmas tunes. The film reminds us that it must be maddening for homosexual people in this day and age to still feel the need to hide their true selves, skulking around in the shadows. The sense of relief at letting it all hang out in this scene is quite palpable.
Dan Levy is great support as John, a very cliched but hilarious “gay best friend” character who Abby confides in and receives essential moral support from over the phone. He’s a confidante and an anchor to her real life, a person she can really be herself with while trapped in a situation where love finds her living a lie.
It’s great to see such a feel-good, endearing ‘coming out’ movie that treats lesbian characters with total love and respect, at Christmas no less. Harper might seem like a bit of a monster from the way I’ve described this, but the beauty of this movie is that she really doesn’t come across that way too often. DuVall’s film recognises that coming out is a deeply personal struggle for everyone that has to go through this and it’s hard to judge Harper for leaving it so late. This story acknowledges that though homosexual people are quite rightly treated with way more respect and understanding than they might have been even 20 years ago, it’s still damn hard to come out to your family and only gets harder the longer you leave it.
Of course, everything comes to a head at the big “White Buffalo” Christmas do, with characters saying and doing some pretty surprising things. Though I feel that, ultimately, the movie ties everything up a little too neatly in an overly cutesy ending, I can’t deny that this was an excellent, satisfying film. It doesn’t feel bold or shocking or daring - it just feels warm, festive and right.
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