Clea DuVall | Happiest Season / 2020

politics, money, and christmas

by Douglas Messerli

 

Clea DuVall and Mary Holland (screenplay), Clea DuVall (director) Happiest Season / 2020

 

     In Happiest Season Abby Holland (Kristen Stewart) and Harper Caldwell (Mackenzie Davis) are girlfriends who are close to celebrating their first year together. As required in these films Abby is the one who is allergic to the Christmas season, particularly since her parents have died; so, naturally just to cheer her up, Harper invites her to celebrate the holiday with her family in her hometown, which might allow her the perfect opportunity to introduce her to her parents and, just maybe, propose to her on Christmas morning. So far the plot lines up with the standard heterosexual-normative patterns of the genre. But since they’re lesbians, there has to be a rub: Harper admits to Abby that she hasn’t actually “come out” to her parents, particularly since her father is running for mayor of the city. She promises that she will reveal her secret just after Christmas, begging Abby to pretend to act like her straight roommate through the holiday festivities.

     We now know what the required “complications” are in this film, particularly when Abby is introduced to Harper’s father (Victor Garber), her “unusual” sister Jane (Mary Holland), and her tightly wound mother, Tipper (Mary Steenburgen), to say nothing of her lover’s highly competitive older sister, Sloane (Alison Brie).

      All sorts of situations conspire to make Abby begin to wonder whether Harper is the perfect companion she has imagined her to be, particularly when she discovers from Harper’s high school girlfriend, Riley, that she has long denied her sexuality. When Abby is mistakenly perceived as a shoplifter, pushing her away from the social events involving Harper’s political-minded father, it’s almost enough to make her wonder whether she was back in high school, when certain young suspicious woman like Abby were excluded from the popular and fashionable girls’ events.

      But Abby has her own past in this town, and is almost relieved when her old friend John (Dan Levy) arrives to pick her up for a night of personal celebration. Harper begs Abby to stay at home and the two girls are about to make up and kiss when Sloane catches sight of what’s going on and threatens to expose them to the family. She has her own secret, however. Her husband Eric and she are preparing to divorce.

      When the two sisters fight at the Christmas party, Sloane reveals to the family and their guests that her younger sister is a lesbian, which Harper immediately denies.

       Heartbroken for the denial of her love, Abby takes up John’s offer as they share their experiences of growing up queer. Abby has been lovingly accepted by her parents, while John’s father forced him out of his own house. Love and openly admitting that love are two different things, John advises. There is always a loving friend helping to keep things on track in these holiday scenarios.

      Finally realizing that her earlier fear of rejection had hurt her friend Riley and may now lead her to lose Abby, Harper finally admits the truth to her parents, inspiring Sloane to share her secret about her impending divorce. Harper apologizes to Abby and confesses that she truly does wish to spend her life with her. Accordingly, Abby forgives Harper and the two kiss. And Harper’s family, after a possible new threat to the girls’ happiness, truly accept the situation, taking a Caldwell family picture that includes Abby.

      An unnecessary coda scrolls one year into the future when the two girls are engaged, the youngest sister has become a novelist, and Harper’s father has won his mayoral election. This new Christmas the family attends It's a Wonderful Life, proving, apparently, that despite all the doubts and fears one has, life is beautiful.*

 

*The beloved Capra film is also a subtheme in The Christmas Setup, which is truly appropriate for that film since the way I read the film is that argues that all you need to survive is money provided by a few equally poor friends. For the hero of the film, it’s not really in the spirit of Christmas giving since he’s the recipient in this case, even though we know that he’s been the benefactor for most of his life. Still, sorry to say, money is at the center of this work.

 

Los Angeles, December 24, 2020

Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog and World Cinema Review (December 2020).