Happiest Season 🎁 makes the yuletide gay
Happy Monday! Welcome back. I hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend. To celebrate the start of the holiday season, today’s recommendation is a new entry in the holiday rom-com canon.
Today’s movie is Clea Duvall’s new holiday romantic comedy-drama Happiest Season starring a slew of underrated actors including Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy, Mary Holland, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen. Here’s what it’s about:
Abby (Stewart) plans to propose at her long-term girlfriend Harper’s (Davis) family holiday party. However, her plan is stuffed in a closet when she learns that Harper hasn’t come out to her conservative family. Forced to pose as an orphaned friend, Abby tries to hold it together until Harper finally comes out. [Trailer]
Why you should watch it: “I’m gay.” Why are those two words so difficult for so many of us queer people to say? Happiest Season aims to find an answer to that question while simultaneously delivering an entertaining holiday comedy filled with the nutty characters we all love—and love to hate.
The movie is filled with hilarious misunderstandings, more than one coming out pun, and a running joke about dead fish. However, at its core, it’s a character driven dramedy that’s so rooted in the queer experience that, to be frank, is going to be a bit divisive. Whether you’re satisfied by the end, I’m not sure, it’s up to you. But the journey there is a jolly holiday treat.
🍷 Pair it with: The Big Sick, The First Wives Club
A Chadwick Boseman tribute
If you streamed Black Panther on Disney+ this weekend, you might have noticed a special edition of the iconic Marvel opening credits. In honor of Chadwick Boseman’s birthday, who passed away this past summer after a battle with cancer, the film features a special tribute to the star. You can check it out below or, of course, stream the film on Disney+.
I hope you have a lovely week and an incredible start to December.
See you Thursday —
Karl