Happiest Season

Abby Holland and Harper Caldwell are a couple who have been dating nearly a year. Abby has disliked Christmas since her parents passed away, so Harper spontaneously invites Abby to celebrate the holidays with her family in her hometown. Abby sees this as the perfect opportunity to introduce herself to Harper's parents and propose to her on Christmas morning. However, on their way to the Caldwells' house, Harper reveals she lied to Abby about coming out to her parents previously; fearing doing so would interfere with her father's campaign for mayor, she doesn't want to come out to her family until after Christmas. She asks Abby to pretend to be her straight roommate for the holiday, to which Abby reluctantly agrees.

At the Caldwells' house, Abby meets Harper's father, Ted, her perfectionist mother, Tipper, and her wacky artistic sister, Jane. The family welcomes Abby as Harper's "orphan friend" who has nowhere else to go for Christmas. Abby becomes uncomfortable, especially when she meets Harper's exes, Connor and Riley. During the visit, she begins questioning how much she knows about her girlfriend when she sees Ted and Tipper's high expectations and Harper's competitive relationship with her older sister, Sloane.

Ted is trying to impress a possible donor from the city council to contribute to his campaign, which Abby unwittingly jeopardizes when Sloane's children put an unpaid necklace into her bag during an outing to the mall. Believing she is a shoplifter, Ted and Tipper think it might be better if they keep Abby away from upcoming social events. From this point, Abby feels even more like an outsider. She also learns from Riley that Harper has publicly denied her sexuality ever since she was a high school freshman, which makes Abby worried about the future of their relationship.

At the Caldwells' annual Christmas Eve party, Abby, having tired of her current situation but feeling trapped, is relieved when her good friend John arrives unannounced to pick her up. Harper privately begs her to stay and as they are about to kiss, they are caught by Sloane who prepares to expose their relationship to the family. However, it turns out, Sloane has a secret of her own: she and her husband, Eric, are getting a divorce. The sisters get into a public fight, ruining the party. Sloane reveals in front of the guests that Harper is a lesbian, which Harper denies immediately. Heartbroken by this, Abby leaves the house. John follows Abby outside, where the two talk about their stories of coming out to their respective families: Abby's parents were loving and accepting, while John's dad threw him out of the house. John reminds her that coming out can be terrifying for gay people, but has nothing to do with Harper's love for her.

After realizing that her fear of rejection caused her to hurt Riley and will cause her to lose Abby, Harper finally tells the truth to her parents, confirming that she is a lesbian. This inspires Sloane to reveal her own secret and even Jane tells her parents how neglected she felt throughout the years. However Abby still departs with John, feeling that she has been too hurt and can no longer trust in her relationship with Harper.

Tipper confronts Ted and details the emotional pain their daughters have clearly experienced as a result of their parenting choices, and how Tipper herself has felt constrained by their need to present as a 'perfect' family.

Harper goes after Abby to apologize, confessing that she truly loves her and wants to build a life with her. Touched by her words, and with encouragement from John, Abby forgives her and they share a kiss.

Ted apologizes to his daughters for making them feel they always had to meet his standard of perfection. Then he gets a phone call from the donor he's been trying to impress, who will support him only if Harper suppresses any details about her personal life. Ted rejects the offer. The Caldwells then take a family picture, with Abby included this time.

One year later, Abby and Harper are now engaged, Jane has become a bestselling author with her fantasy novel, The Shadow Dreamers, and Ted has won the mayoral election. On Christmas Eve, the family goes to the cinema to watch It's a Wonderful Life. As the movie starts, Abby and Harper smile at each other lovingly.

In April 2018, TriStar Pictures acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the film Happiest Season,[2] with Clea DuVall set to direct from a script she co-wrote with Mary Holland, and production by Marty Bowen and Isaac Klausner through their Temple Hill Productions, with co-financing from Entertainment One, who's theatrical arm will handle UK and Canadian distribution, and with Sony Pictures handling distribution elsewhere through the TriStar label.[3] DuVall said that "in a lot of ways, this movie is autobiographical" and she wrote the film to see her own experiences depicted on-screen.[4]

In November 2018, Kristen Stewart signed on to star in the film,[5] with Mackenzie Davis joining the cast in January 2019.[6] The remaining cast was rounded out in January 2020, with the additions of Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy.[7]

Principal photography began on January 21, 2020, in Pittsburgh and wrapped on February 28, 2020, shortly before the film industry was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9]

It was released digitally in the United States on November 25, 2020, by Hulu.[10] It was previously scheduled for a theatrical release on November 20, 2020, and later rescheduled to November 25, before it was purchased by Hulu due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12] The film was still distributed internationally by Sony Pictures Releasing International, under its TriStar Pictures label, while Entertainment One Films handled distribution in the United Kingdom and Canada. The film's original soundtrack was released on November 6, 2020 through Warner Records and features songs by Anne-Marie, Bebe Rexha, Shea Diamond, Sia, Brandy Clark, Carlie Hanson, and Tegan and Sara among others.[13]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 183 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A jolly good time with heartfelt performances and more than enough holiday cheer, all you'll want for Christmas is Happiest Season."[14] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15]

Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ and described it as "a smart, heartfelt comedy whose small flaws are easily blotted out by bigger charms."[16] Reviewing the film for the Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips gave it 3 out of 4 stars, saying that, despite his general distaste for movies revolving around a secret, "It works. It's built. And the people seem real, or at least reality-adjacent."[17]

Happiest Season was nominated for the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film (Wide Release).[18]

1. "Candy Cane Lane" - Sia
2. "Jingle Bells" - BAYLI
3. "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" - Caveboy
4. "Christmas Moon" - Lucie Silvas
5. "Nothing Rhymes With Christmas" - Ana Gastyer
6. "Jingle Bells" - Traditional
7. "Up on the Housetop" - Traditional
8. "Angels We Have Heard On High" - Ken Halford and Christian Hutton
9. "Only Time of Year" - Brandy Clark
10. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" - Mike Strickland
11. "We Wish You a Merry Christmas and All That Jazz" - Jason Farnham
12. "Jazzy Jingle" - Michael Mandel
13. "Bringing Christmas Home" - Teresa James
14. "Blame it on Christmas" - Bebe Rexha and Shea Diamond
15. "Must be Santa" - Hal Moore and Bill Friedrichs
16. "Remember" - Brian Page
17. "GVO (Good Vibes Only)" - Tyler Shamy
18. "Silent Night" - Traditional
19. "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" - John Swanson
20. "My Favorite Time of Year" - Mike Goudreau
21. "O Christmas Tree" - Patrick Tuzzolino
22. "My Shortlist for Christmas (Is You)" - Pajamaramas
23. "O Holy Night" - Traditional
24. "Deck the Halls" - Traditional
25. "Think of Christmas" - Anne-Marie
26. "Make You Mine This Season" - Tegan and Sara

In December 2020, DuVall said "I would love to do a sequel. I mean, I have a couple of ideas. We all had such a great time making the movie that we were talking about it then. But it was also just like, who knew if anybody would care about the movie or not? So I definitely am more than open to it."[19]

• Happiest Season at IMDb
• Happiest Season at Box Office Mojo