Every December a handful of new Christmas movies are released, allowing audiences to enjoy themed content for the holiday. This year will be no exception, especially thanks to Hulu's Happiest Season. Directed by Clea Duvall, the upcoming romantic holiday movie focuses on a lesbian couple who go home for the holidays, and must navigate interpersonal issues and the coming out process. The highly anticipated flick stars Kristen Stewart as Abby, and she admitted to falling in love with Schitt's Creek creator/star Dan Levy on set.
Happiest Season focuses largely on a same-sex couple Abby and Harper, played by Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis respectively. When they head to the latter family's home for the holidays, it's revealed that she's yet to come out to her loved ones. All sorts of hijinks ensue, including Abby and her gay best friend John (Dan Levy) posing as a couple. I had the chance to visit the set of Happiest Season last February, where Kristen Stewart revealed how she instantly fell in love with Levy when filming. As she put it,
I am so in love with Dan. It's insane. It was so important for whoever to play Abby's best friend to be a really grounded reflection of who she is obviously because we don't have a whole lot of time to develop the characters before we're thrust into this precarious situation. He's written in a way that is so nuanced and neurotic but also broadly funny. And I think that he is so perfect because when he really brings it home and he wants to connect and he comes from a place of true understanding, true understanding of what the story is and how heavy and hard it is. It can then be funny but only first it needs to be completely understood from the inside. And he's so unbelievably funny. He's so destabilized by my leaning into convention.
Dan Levy's character is heavily featured in the first trailer for Happiest Season, and he's clearly got great onscreen chemistry with Kristen Stewart. And it turns out that the story of Stewart's character Abby will be very much tethered to her relationship with John. Their friendship will be apparently pulled off with A+ writing by Clea DuVall and Mary Holland, as well as Levy's performance in the role.
While Kristen Stewart has been a mega-star since she debuted in Twilight, Dan Levy became a household name over the past few years thanks to his work as star, writer, and showrunner of Schitt's Creek. The comedy series swept at this year's Emmy Awards, and his inclusion in Happiest Season will no doubt help entice streamers to tune in.
While there are innumerable Christmas movies available for families, Happiest Season will bring something unique to the table. This is the first time that these types of movies have focused on a same-sex couple, so it's a major step forward in regards to inclusion and representation on screen. Add in that the movie's cast and crew are made up of LGBTQ+ artists, and it's sure to be a project that touches the heart of queer people and their loved ones.
Anticipation for Happiest Season has been steadily building, and luckily the wait for the movie is nearly over. Rather than heading to theaters as originally planned Clea Duvall's romantic comedy will be available to stream on Hulu in a matter of days. And as such, we'll be treated to the chemistry shared between Kristen Stewart and Dan Levy.
Happiest Season will be released November 25th. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.
