Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 762
RT slug: happiest_season
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/happiest_season
Release year: 2020
Runtime: 102 mins
Wide release date: —
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: 2020-11-25
Tomatometer final: 82%
Audience score final: —
Genres: Comedy, Holiday, LGBTQ+, Romance
Directors: Clea Duvall
Writers: Clea Duvall, Mary Holland
Producers: Isaac Klausner, Marty Bowen
MPAA rating: PG-13
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-06-15 17:18:35
Updated: 2026-06-15 17:18:35
A woman plans to propose to her girlfriend at her family's holiday gathering, only to discover that her partner has not come out to her conservative parents.
—
Canonical reviews: 214
Canonical fresh: 176
Canonical rotten: 38
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 82%
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-06-15 15:23:48
Snapshot Tomatometer: 82%
Snapshot review count: 214
Snapshot fresh count: 176
Snapshot rotten count: 38
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #1322 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Temple Hill Entertainment | production |
| TriStar Pictures | production |
| Hulu | streaming |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristen Stewart | Abby |
| 2 | Mackenzie Davis | Harper |
| 3 | Mary Steenburgen | Tipper |
| 4 | Victor Garber | Ted |
| 5 | Alison Brie | Sloane |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 778 | processed | — | 2026-06-15 17:18:35 | Processed successfully into movie_id=762 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1322 | 2026-06-15 10:23:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-15 15:23:48 | 82% | 214 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 214 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=214, fresh=176, rotten=38, tomatometer=82%. Net new reviews added=214, fresh=176, rotten=38. Current canonical totals=214 reviews, 176 fresh, 38 rotten, tomatometer=82% (82.243%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (214). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (82%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 173064 | Sarah Vincent | Sarah G Vincent Views | Fresh | — | 2024-12-31T00:03:31Z | 2024-12-31 00:03:31 | Even if you hate rom coms or find Christmas movies too saccharine, “Happiest Season” may be for you. It is an entertaining, engrossing, glossy film even if the wrong couple ends up together. |
| 173065 | Francesca Steele | iNews.co.uk | Fresh | 4/5 | 2024-12-10T01:12:48Z | 2024-12-10 01:12:48 | This film feels fresh, because with a sleight of hand, it moves queer romance from its usual home in serious drama to festive romcom. |
| 173066 | Dave Giannini | InSession Film | Fresh | — | 2024-02-20T22:50:12Z | 2024-02-20 22:50:12 | Happiest Season delivers everything you should expect. It is romantic, awkward, full of beautiful people, and offers several moments that are genuinely funny enough to make the audience more than chuckle. |
| 173067 | Paula Akpan | Time Out | Fresh | 3/5 | 2022-12-27T19:10:43Z | 2022-12-27 19:10:43 | Happiest Season is exciting, although perhaps less as a festive romcom than as a sign of things to come: stories that centre queer experiences. |
| 173068 | Michael Cuby | them. | Rotten | — | 2022-09-26T21:57:04Z | 2022-09-26 21:57:04 | By leaning on a rather trite “coming out” story, the otherwise hilarious movie fails to live up to its obvious potential. |
| 173069 | Lucy Diavolo | them. | Fresh | — | 2022-09-26T21:53:54Z | 2022-09-26 21:53:54 | Despite teasing us with tastes of transgression, the film is really about the struggle to assimilate. And for that, it could just be a feel-bad Christmas movie for the ages. |
| 173070 | Zoë Rose Bryant | Loud and Clear Reviews | Fresh | 4.5/5 | 2022-09-01T02:43:23Z | 2022-09-01 02:43:23 | Happiest Season is a riotous recontextualization of Christmas comedy clichés and conventions, thanks to its affecting LGBTQ+ authenticity and enormously entertaining ensemble. |
| 173071 | Cris Kennedy | The Canberra Times (Australia) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2022-08-17T00:24:48Z | 2022-08-17 00:24:48 | The film is full of all the right messages we need to hear at this time of year, and during this year in particular. |
| 173072 | Victor Pineyro | Seventh Art Studio | Fresh | 7/10 | 2022-04-07T19:55:22Z | 2022-04-07 19:55:22 | "Happiest Season" takes from every Christmas movie out there, mainly Hallmark ones, while also providing a fresh take on awkward family dynamics and a beautiful connection between Davis and Stewart. Full review in Spanish |
| 173073 | David Reddish | Queerty | Fresh | 3/4 | 2022-03-20T20:42:22Z | 2022-03-20 20:42:22 | Loaded with gorgeous winter pageantry and fine performances all around, Happiest Season offers a fine way to usher in the yuletide spirit, with or without gay apparel. |
| 173074 | Brian Eggert | Deep Focus Review | Fresh | 3/4 | 2022-02-17T04:14:36Z | 2022-02-17 04:14:36 | By the time the movie brings everyone together for a family photo in front of the Christmas tree, and you're grinning like an idiot because the scene makes you unreasonably merry, you know that DuVall and her excellent cast have done something right. |
| 173075 | Witney Seibold | Critically Acclaimed Podcast | Fresh | — | 2021-09-13T19:40:45Z | 2021-09-13 19:40:45 | Balances between a heartfelt queer romance and a chintzy Christmas weepie, and somehow manages to stay upright without stumbling. |
| 173076 | Jason Shawhan | Nashville Scene | Fresh | — | 2021-09-10T01:31:15Z | 2021-09-10 01:31:15 | It's not safe to travel home for the holidays, so let this family's stress be the understudy for your own family drama, at least for this year. |
| 173077 | Ben Turner | The Pink Lens | Rotten | 3/5 | 2021-08-31T17:20:40Z | 2021-08-31 17:20:40 | It may be light on substance, but it hits the right feel-good notes to get you in the festive spirit. You'll just wish it was that little bit funnier and that Kristen Stewart smiled just a little bit more. |
| 173078 | Amanda the Jedi | Amanda the Jedi (Youtube) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2021-07-04T20:40:06Z | 2021-07-04 20:40:06 | I know it's not perfect but I adore this. Super fun performances all around, my heart felt full. More gay holiday movies please. |
| 173079 | Aviva Dove-Viebahn | Ms. Magazine | Rotten | — | 2021-06-24T21:11:08Z | 2021-06-24 21:11:08 | Peel back the veneer a little and the...reliance on the ever-ready open wounds that popular culture tends to lay bare in its portrayal of queer women seep to the surface. |
| 173080 | Ayeen Forootan | In Review Online | Rotten | — | 2021-06-05T18:10:11Z | 2021-06-05 18:10:11 | These frustrations exist to such an extent that it's difficult to appreciate the admittedly effective [actors], who can only do so much to try to save this insipid film. |
| 173081 | Hagan Osborne | FILMINK (Australia) | Fresh | 14/20 | 2021-03-25T21:21:18Z | 2021-03-25 21:21:18 | ...a well-meaning and progressive comedy... |
| 173082 | Cate Young | Jezebel | Fresh | 3/5 | 2021-02-27T05:50:27Z | 2021-02-27 05:50:27 | [T]he film misses the opportunity to queer the holiday romance genre itself, by shifting the expectations of the form and asserting that a happy ending need not be the conventional romantic one. |
| 173083 | Alison Willmore | New York Magazine/Vulture | Fresh | — | 2021-02-21T16:00:09Z | 2021-02-21 16:00:09 | Proving a conservative format can change is well and good, but there's also something to be said for just leaving it behind. |
| 173084 | Richard Roeper | Chicago Sun-Times | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2021-02-21T16:00:08Z | 2021-02-21 16:00:08 | It's the movie equivalent of one of those specialty caffeinated holiday drinks like a Toasted White Chocolate Mocha or a Chestnut Praline Latte - a guilty pleasure filled with sweetness and warmth, but also an abundance of empty calories. |
| 173087 | Grant Hermanns | ComingSoon.net | Fresh | 10/10 | 2021-02-21T15:50:07Z | 2021-02-21 15:50:07 | When I tell you that Happiest Season is the quintessential holiday rom-com sure to be revisited for decades to come, please believe me as I don't deliver that lightly. |
| 173086 | Samuel Spencer | Newsweek | Rotten | — | 2021-02-21T15:50:07Z | 2021-02-21 15:50:07 | With Happiest Season, the LGBTQ+ community may have reached cinematic quality in one key aspect. Now it too has its own average-to-bad romcom of the sort that the straight community has been churning out for decades. |
| 173085 | Emily St. James | Vox | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2021-02-21T15:50:07Z | 2021-02-21 15:50:07 | Is the movie full of every cliché in the book? Yes. But because it takes place during my beloved Christmas season, and because it's got Davis at its center, I went with it. |
| 173088 | Ty Burr | Boston Globe | Rotten | 2/4 | 2021-02-21T15:40:07Z | 2021-02-21 15:40:07 | Watching "Happiest Season" is like opening the wrong present on Christmas morning: You're a little bummed out and it's too late to put it back in the box. |
| 173090 | Emily Wheeler | Emily Wheeler Movie Ops | Fresh | — | 2021-02-21T15:40:06Z | 2021-02-21 15:40:06 | A fun but very calculated confection. |
| 173089 | Tim Grierson | Screen International | Rotten | — | 2021-02-21T15:40:06Z | 2021-02-21 15:40:06 | All too frequently the actresses seem smarter than the material, forced to navigate preposterous twists and increasingly silly plot complications. |
| 173091 | Eric Marchen | Rogers TV | Fresh | B | 2021-02-17T17:20:21Z | 2021-02-17 17:20:21 | It's a feel-good movie to put you in the holiday spirit and that really does make for the happiest season. |
| 173092 | Shikhar Verma | High on Films | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-02-16T15:20:07Z | 2021-02-16 15:20:07 | Happiest Season doesn't add much to the already stoked holiday season romances and just paddles along with a conventional narrative without doing much to overtake the notions. |
| 173093 | Dan Schindel | Hyperallergic | Fresh | — | 2021-02-08T19:20:30Z | 2021-02-08 19:20:30 | An extremely pleasant movie, and an excellent pick for a lazy afternoon holiday watch. |
| 173094 | Eddie Harrison | film-authority.com | Fresh | 4/5 | 2021-02-08T12:10:10Z | 2021-02-08 12:10:10 | ...a bright, witty, engaging family comedy that should have been a counter-programming hit circa Xmas 2020... |
| 173095 | Jesse Hassenger | NME (New Musical Express) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2021-02-05T20:10:35Z | 2021-02-05 20:10:35 | There's a constant tension between the movie's desire to embrace cliches and to deepen them. |
| 173096 | Alex Bentley | CultureMap | Fresh | — | 2021-02-04T17:00:34Z | 2021-02-04 17:00:34 | The supporting cast elevates every scene they're in, distracting from the less successful main plot. |
| 173097 | Nicole Ackman | Next Best Picture | Fresh | 8/10 | 2021-02-01T05:00:25Z | 2021-02-01 05:00:25 | With a bleach-blond Kristen Stewart and Christmas music galore, it sets itself apart from other Christmas movies by featuring a romance between two women. |
| 173098 | Fletcher Powell | KMUW - Wichita Public Radio | Fresh | — | 2021-01-27T19:00:13Z | 2021-01-27 19:00:13 | It's totally just fine. It's fine! It's fine. |
| 173099 | Orla Smith | The Film Stage | Fresh | B | 2021-01-25T16:30:12Z | 2021-01-25 16:30:12 | Great rom-coms can circumvent flaws if they deliver on the joy, the cosiness, and the chemistry, and DuVall's film offers a generous helping of all three. |
| 173100 | Alexandra MacAaron | Women's Voices for Change | Rotten | 5/10 | 2021-01-22T18:00:33Z | 2021-01-22 18:00:33 | Really wanted to like 'Happiest Season.' On the one hand, there should be more inclusive titles in every genre, including holiday. On the other hand, inclusivity alone doesn't make a film great or even all that good. |
| 173101 | Deirdre Crimmins | C-Ville (VA) | Fresh | — | 2021-01-20T19:20:23Z | 2021-01-20 19:20:23 | Happiest Season is a solid addition to the legions of heteronormative Christmas movies. Had Harper been a more engaging character or if it focused on what sets it apart from other holiday films, it might have been a great one. |
| 173102 | Jennifer Heaton | Alternative Lens | Fresh | 8/10 | 2021-01-15T02:50:32Z | 2021-01-15 02:50:32 | Though Happiest Season isn't quite the gay Christmas classic all the Ls, Gs, Bs, Ts and beyond deserve, it's regardless a heart-warming and hilarious step in the right direction. |
| 173103 | Cole Smithey | ColeSmithey.com | Fresh | A | 2021-01-07T19:40:12Z | 2021-01-07 19:40:12 | Move over "Home For The Holidays" (Jodie Foster's 1995 holiday favorite); there's finally a better family holiday movie for audiences to rally around. |
| 173104 | Martha K. Baker | KDHX (St. Louis) | Fresh | — | 2021-01-05T20:00:28Z | 2021-01-05 20:00:28 | Well directed by Clea Duvall. |
| 173105 | Audrey Fox | We Live Entertainment | Fresh | — | 2021-01-03T18:00:07Z | 2021-01-03 18:00:07 | The perfect balm for the holiday blues. |
| 173106 | Jason Best | Marie Claire | Fresh | — | 2020-12-29T11:40:08Z | 2020-12-29 11:40:08 | There are corny bits, for sure, but they only seem to make the movie more charming. |
| 173107 | Carla Hay | Culture Mix | Fresh | — | 2020-12-23T07:00:05Z | 2020-12-23 07:00:05 | Happiest Season isn't an exceptionally well-made romantic comedy, but it has enough charm and entertaining performances to please viewers who like sentimentality with some slapstick. |
| 173108 | Anwen Crawford | The Monthly (Australia) | Rotten | — | 2020-12-18T22:50:43Z | 2020-12-18 22:50:43 | Who among a queer viewership will want to watch a comedy in which the leading queer characters spend all their time making each other truly miserable? |
| 173109 | Ian Thomas Malone | ianthomasmalone.com | Rotten | — | 2020-12-17T21:10:20Z | 2020-12-17 21:10:20 | Happiest Season is a sloppy, regressive mess full of one-note characters. This film sends all the wrong messages about tolerance in the year 2020. |
| 173110 | Jen Zoratti | Winnipeg Free Press | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2020-12-17T02:00:14Z | 2020-12-17 02:00:14 | For a new movie, Happiest Season feels strangely classic, in that it feels like a movie that should have been made a long time ago. |
| 173111 | Anni Glissman | Mediaversity Reviews | Fresh | B- | 2020-12-15T17:10:14Z | 2020-12-15 17:10:14 | "Unlike many other movies, Happiest Season gets the little things about the queer experience right." |
| 173112 | Stephen Silver | Splice Today | Fresh | 3/5 | 2020-12-13T15:10:19Z | 2020-12-13 15:10:19 | Has an enjoyable cast with likable actors. But it's also really strange, and anachronistic and full of little plot details that don't add up. |
| 173113 | David Nusair | Reel Film Reviews | Rotten | 2/4 | 2020-12-09T11:00:05Z | 2020-12-09 11:00:05 | ...squanders an assortment of personable performances... |
| 173114 | David Bax | Battleship Pretension | Fresh | — | 2020-12-08T23:00:10Z | 2020-12-08 23:00:10 | Happiest Season is so generous, so funny and so deeply felt that it is destined for a regular place in the culture's December movie rotation, especially for those who love a good happy-cry. |
| 173115 | Wenlei Ma | News.com.au | Fresh | 4/5 | 2020-12-08T05:10:28Z | 2020-12-08 05:10:28 | There's nothing guilty about this pleasure. |
| 173116 | Scott Nye | Battleship Pretension | Fresh | — | 2020-12-08T01:20:16Z | 2020-12-08 01:20:16 | I especially liked, too, the way Mackenzie Davis adapted to each space, almost physically transforming herself in a way that suggested her character was unconscious of it. |
| 173117 | Lauren Veneziani | WBAL-TV (Baltimore) | Fresh | 4.5/5 | 2020-12-07T22:40:32Z | 2020-12-07 22:40:32 | Clea DuVall's romantic comedy is one that I will now watch every holiday season. Dan Levy's monologue to Kristen Stewart made me sob. |
| 173118 | Leigh Paatsch | Herald Sun (Australia) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2020-12-06T17:40:10Z | 2020-12-06 17:40:10 | With the exception of one key element of its premise, you are right to assume you have seen and heard all of this before. Doesn't mean you won't respond positively to Happiest Season, however. Far from it. |
| 173119 | Scott Mendelson | Forbes | Rotten | 5/10 | 2020-12-05T16:00:15Z | 2020-12-05 16:00:15 | A desire to provide underrepresented demographics with their fairy tale rom-com happy ending ignores whether the core couple even belongs together. |
| 173120 | Leah Johnson | Cosmopolitan | Rotten | — | 2020-12-05T00:10:39Z | 2020-12-05 00:10:39 | That's precisely where Happiest Season struggles-in its attempt to pour itself into the container of the classic, heterosexual romantic comedy, beat for traumatic beat. |
| 173121 | Courtney Lanning | Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | Fresh | — | 2020-12-05T00:00:36Z | 2020-12-05 00:00:36 | Even with all of that negativity factored in, this movie still had its funny and touching moments. It is a good movie overall. |
| 173122 | Jessica Baxter | Hammer to Nail | Fresh | — | 2020-12-04T21:50:34Z | 2020-12-04 21:50:34 | DuVall shares screenwriting credit with fellow Veep alum, Mary Holland. The script is sharp as a tack, and chock full of quotable lines. |
| 173123 | Sara Michelle Fetters | MovieFreak.com | Fresh | 3/4 | 2020-12-04T16:50:31Z | 2020-12-04 16:50:31 | This heartwarming trifle is agreeably paced, and while the movie evaporates into the ether before the end credits have even concluded, a hearty smile still lingered on my face long after it was over. |
| 173124 | Andrew Kendall | Stabroek News | Rotten | — | 2020-12-04T06:30:22Z | 2020-12-04 06:30:22 | Even within the parameters of superficiality that come with holiday-romances, Happiest Season feels devoid of anything incisive. Rather than being light and buoyant, it feels incredibly false. |
| 173125 | Sean P. Means | The Movie Cricket | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2020-12-04T03:10:42Z | 2020-12-04 03:10:42 | "Happiest Season" deserves to join the pantheon of Christmas romantic comedies, because it's fun, witty, and as sweet as gingerbread. |
| 173126 | Kate Rodger | Newshub (NZ) | Fresh | 4.5/5 | 2020-12-03T23:20:39Z | 2020-12-03 23:20:39 | Genuinely laugh-out-loud and just genuinely genuine full-stop, this festive love story is exactly the kind of Christmas everyone deserves. |
| 173127 | Luke Goodsell | ABC News (Australia) | Fresh | — | 2020-12-03T23:20:38Z | 2020-12-03 23:20:38 | If the movie's resolution seems a bit easy, then it's one couched in hope and acceptance - and the idea that a queer audience deserves a seasonal fantasy every bit as fireplace-warm as the regularly-scheduled holiday fare. |
| 173128 | Rich Cline | Shadows on the Wall | Fresh | 4/5 | 2020-12-03T23:10:37Z | 2020-12-03 23:10:37 | Even with the requirements of the genre's formula, there are some deeper things going on here that elevate this film far above the usual fluff. |
| 173129 | Tom Meek | Cambridge Day | Fresh | 3/4 | 2020-12-03T22:50:36Z | 2020-12-03 22:50:36 | Happiest Season delivers all the holiday madness in entertaining form with a few different sides and trimmings to make the rewrap feel fittingly anew. |
| 173130 | Daniel M. Kimmel | North Shore Movies | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2020-12-03T22:50:34Z | 2020-12-03 22:50:34 | The cast is wonderful, especially Stewart and Holland, although fans of Levy will enjoy his campy turn as well. |
| 173131 | Rob Hunter | Film School Rejects | Fresh | — | 2020-12-03T22:20:38Z | 2020-12-03 22:20:38 | Is it progress? Yes. Is it ultimately forgettable on the comedy front? Sure. Is it worth 100 minutes of your time at the tail-end of this hellish year? Absolutely. |
| 173132 | Terry Mesnard | Queer.Horror.Movies. | Fresh | 3/5 | 2020-12-03T17:30:23Z | 2020-12-03 17:30:23 | I definitely want more queer stories where coming out is not the raison d'être for the script, but seeing a queer story with queer people in front and behind the camera warmed my heart. |
| 173133 | Joey Keogh | Vague Visages | Fresh | — | 2020-12-03T16:50:21Z | 2020-12-03 16:50:21 | Happiest Season isn't the goofy, laugh-a-minute caper much of its marketing material is promoting. It's actually something a lot more interesting; a chewy, spiky, emotionally complex story that's difficult to pin down and equally tough to shake. |
| 173134 | Sarah Marrs | Lainey Gossip | Fresh | — | 2020-12-03T15:50:20Z | 2020-12-03 15:50:20 | Happiest Season is charming, funny, and pretty much everything you can ask for from a holiday rom-com. |
| 173135 | Kristy Puchko | Pajiba | Fresh | — | 2020-12-03T15:30:19Z | 2020-12-03 15:30:19 | Happiest Season is an utter delight. |
| 173136 | MaryAnn Johanson | Flick Filosopher | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2020-12-02T22:02:35Z | 2020-12-02 22:02:35 | Finds something fresh and gently feminist in the tropes and claptrap of an overbaked genre. Stewart and Davis have terrific chemistry, and the supporting cast of modern legends of funny is to die for. |
| 173137 | Austin Burke | Austin Burke/Flick Fan Nation | Fresh | 7/10 | 2020-12-02T20:30:38Z | 2020-12-02 20:30:38 | Happiest Season feels familiar at times, but the chemistry and relationships allow it to flourish. |
| 173138 | Philippa Snow | New Statesman | Fresh | — | 2020-12-02T19:50:34Z | 2020-12-02 19:50:34 | It cleverly turns a few of the enduring clichés of the genre on their heads and adds new jeopardy by spinning queerer touches |
| 173139 | Monique Jones | Common Sense Media | Fresh | 4/5 | 2020-12-02T05:10:10Z | 2020-12-02 05:10:10 | Sweet holiday romcom about coming out; drinking, language. |
| 173140 | Susan Granger | SSG Syndicate | Rotten | 5/10 | 2020-12-01T23:10:28Z | 2020-12-01 23:10:28 | This frosty, formulaic, lesbian update on "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" doesn't have a shred of believability. Dan Levy of "Schitt's Creek" is its only saving grace. |
| 173141 | Esther Zuckerman | Thrillist | Fresh | — | 2020-12-01T20:10:34Z | 2020-12-01 20:10:34 | It's a frequently very funny movie that gives off warm and twinkly holiday vibes while also retaining a hefty amount of bite. |
| 173142 | Kate Sánchez | But Why Tho? | Fresh | 8/10 | 2020-12-01T18:30:51Z | 2020-12-01 18:30:51 | Happiest Season isn't about the holidays, it's about the stress they can cause... |
| 173143 | Russ Frushtick | Polygon | Fresh | — | 2020-12-01T17:30:35Z | 2020-12-01 17:30:35 | Holiday movies follow pretty set formulas that don't allow for a ton of deviation, but this one managed to elevate itself thanks to a really terrific cast with great chemistry. |
| 173144 | Karl Delossantos | Smash Cut Reviews | Fresh | 3/5 | 2020-12-01T05:00:16Z | 2020-12-01 05:00:16 | "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 delivering an entertaining holiday comedy filled with the nutty characters we all love-and love to hate. |
| 173145 | Clarisse Loughrey | Independent (UK) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2020-12-01T01:00:17Z | 2020-12-01 01:00:17 | It's the performances, each funny and grounded in their own way, that make Happiest Season feel like such a gift. |
| 173146 | James Croot | The Post NZ | Fresh | 4.5/5 | 2020-12-01T00:30:15Z | 2020-12-01 00:30:15 | Smart, sassy, sensitive and sensationally good. |
| 173147 | Chris Stuckmann | ChrisStuckmann.com | Fresh | B+ | 2020-11-30T23:40:15Z | 2020-11-30 23:40:15 | If you have the right talent assembled in your movie (and that comes down to casting), it's going to work, and this movie is cast wonderfully. |
| 173148 | Kristian M. Lin | Fort Worth Weekly | Fresh | — | 2020-11-30T23:40:12Z | 2020-11-30 23:40:12 | Queering such a hoary and traditionalist genre is a radical move that only works if Happiest Season is actually funny. I'm delighted to say that in this barren year for comedy films, this is one of the funniest things I've seen. |
| 173149 | Jake Wilson | The Age (Australia) | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2020-11-30T23:10:13Z | 2020-11-30 23:10:13 | Happiest Season sets itself the challenge of acknowledging pain and conflict while somehow finding its way to a unifying happy end. But the sentiment here never feels earned, especially as much of the writing is broad to the point of crudity. |
| 173150 | Rob Owen | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | Fresh | — | 2020-11-30T22:10:18Z | 2020-11-30 22:10:18 | Packed with a recognizable roster of supporting actors, Happiest Season is more blandly heartwarming than it is a generator of big belly laughs (this isn't Christmas Vacation), a decent enough diversion. |
| 173151 | Anne Brodie | What She Said | Fresh | — | 2020-11-30T21:10:21Z | 2020-11-30 21:10:21 | I hope people will accept it as part of the Christmas movie canon and enjoy its humour and humanity. Writer-director Clea DuVall, an independent filmmaker and actor proves she can handle a conventional film. |
| 173152 | Chris Knight | National Post | Rotten | 2/5 | 2020-11-30T18:20:23Z | 2020-11-30 18:20:23 | The production and timing are all over the map, and frequently off it. Scenes end abruptly, or hang on for several long, awkward seconds as though no one bothered to say "cut." |
| 173153 | Joe Lipsett | Queer.Horror.Movies. | Fresh | 3/5 | 2020-11-30T15:40:16Z | 2020-11-30 15:40:16 | The appealing nature of many of these actors really helps to make some of the film's tricky, familiar and/or unpleasant narrative beats land a little more softly. |
| 173154 | Emma Simmonds | Radio Times | Fresh | 3/5 | 2020-11-30T15:40:15Z | 2020-11-30 15:40:15 | The script from writer/director Clea DuVall is pretty heavy on contrivance, but that doesn't stop Happiest Season from putting a fresh spin on a familiar farce. |
| 173155 | Robin Clifford | Reeling Reviews | Rotten | C | 2020-11-29T23:50:11Z | 2020-11-29 23:50:11 | trots out nothing but two-dimensional (if that) characters |
| 173156 | Tom Shone | Sunday Times (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2020-11-29T22:40:10Z | 2020-11-29 22:40:10 | Happiest Season wins big points for trying something new: a queer Christmas rom-com. The surprise is that it doesn't stand out more. |
| 173157 | Brian Viner | Daily Mail (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2020-11-29T22:30:10Z | 2020-11-29 22:30:10 | Director Clea DuVall and her co-writer Mary Holland (who plays Harper's nervy other sister, Jane) have in effect crafted a second-rate Meet The Parents and squandered the chance to make the yuletide gay. |
| 173158 | Charlotte O'Sullivan | London Evening Standard | Fresh | 4/5 | 2020-11-29T18:10:14Z | 2020-11-29 18:10:14 | It's funny, as well as brave. Thanks, Santa! |
| 173159 | Kevin Maher | The Times (UK) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2020-11-29T03:20:07Z | 2020-11-29 03:20:07 | The film was directed and co-written by the actress Clea DuVall, who manages to embrace all the Christmas rom-com clichés and invest them with a new vibrancy. |
| 173160 | Jim Schembri | jimschembri.com | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2020-11-29T03:20:06Z | 2020-11-29 03:20:06 | Feels so dated it creaks. |
| 173161 | Peter Canavese | Celluloid Dreams | Fresh | 3/4 | 2020-11-29T00:20:04Z | 2020-11-29 00:20:04 | There are twists here that make it quite unconventional for a romantic comedy (and) it keeps getting unexpectedly deep. Fun, funny and moving. |
| 173162 | Don Shanahan | 25YL (25 Years Later) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2020-11-28T19:20:12Z | 2020-11-28 19:20:12 | The movie earns worthy pride for its willingness and openness to hug out a daunting task. |
| 173163 | Matt Conway | Battle Royale With Cheese | Fresh | — | 2020-11-28T16:50:10Z | 2020-11-28 16:50:10 | Happiest Season renders an infectiously warm glow, eliciting the kind of sweatpants-level comfort that turns films of this elk into beloved staples. |
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