A young woman's plans to propose to her girlfriend while at her family's annual holiday party are upended when she discovers her partner hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents.
Right off the bat, I’m willing to give “Happiest Season” credit for doing something that appears to be very difficult for many rom-coms nowadays to do: having fun. Given the subject matter of this movie, discussing the difficulty of being attracted to the same sex and the fear that comes with eventually forcing yourself to come out to your parents and siblings, this movie could’ve easily took a nosedive into darkness induced audience apathy and evolved into a rather depressing but noteworthy story regarding the acceptance, denial and utter hell that comes with struggling to be proud of or to gain love.
But alas, the film is peppered with surprisingly hearty humor throughout, festered with little to no cinematography or editing errors, sprinkled in with just the right amount of pacing and leniency regarding MOST of its characters, simplistic but fluid production design, a vibrant holiday romantic cheery atmosphere conveyed brilliantly by its musical score, relatively well-acted performances to boot with Dan Levy taking the lions den of the laughs and heart-tugs and if any of that doesn’t convince you, the last 30 minutes where almost everything comes around full center and the emotion curdles into a waterfall definitely will. I think it’s safe to say I enjoyed this movie a little more than I probably should’ve. Yes, the film is formulaic and yes, it’s pestered with cliches you’ve seen a million times before with very familiar tropes and symbolism that’s on the nose but like @victoriaroseblog once told me, “some cliches become popular because they actually work”.
Full disclosure: I don’t mind that because it’s kinda true. Arguably, we do need cliches every once in a while but if you do use them, the least you can do is add something unique or fresh on top of the structure to mask the fact that you’re using them....and this film had managed to do exactly that, thanks once again to the charming cast and the chemistry they share. Also yes, Harper and her family may come across as a tad bit unlikable (which did annoy me a little bit) but once I realized that this storyline is meant tackle every awkwardness, stress, and terrible pain that follows when one decides to live in a lie and then actually do exactly that, I was actually kinda floored when the ending did come around. There is no simple solution, no quick fix and this makes the climax feel that much more earned. This is the “Love, Simon” of 2020; lowest hurdle ever cleared but what can you do.
