Happiest Season was one of those movies that once I saw the trailer, I knew I had to watch it. The cast, the humour, the heart and the fact that we need all the festive movies ever right now – sign me up! I just don’t think I expected to love it as much as I did. It will definitely be one of those films that I watch every year around the holidays.

Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis) are completely inseparable and totally in love. When Harper decides to invite Abby home for Christmas, everything changes for them. Unfortunately for Abby, Harper’s family are not exactly the most welcoming. Her father Ted (Victor Garber) is running for mayor while her mother Tipper (Mary Steenburgen) is busy with his campaign. Older sister Sloane (Alison Brie) quit her high profile lawyer gig to get married and have children and has regretted it ever since, while younger sister Jane (Mary Holland) was always overlooked by everybody. But nobody knows that Harper, always the ‘perfect’ daughter, is gay.

So now Abby is stuck at her girlfriend’s family house pretending that she and Harper are just friends and roommates. Raising many red flags for her and her best friend John (Dan Levy), she does her best to get through it. After all, it’s only for a few days right? And then there is Harper’s ex Riley (Aubrey Plaza) who keeps showing up everywhere that Abby is…

This movie had me in actual stitches. It was hilarious and I can’t praise the writing enough. Clea Duvall really outdid herself and I was impressed.

I touched briefly on the cast, but I must reiterate how stellar they all were together. So many big names on one project doesn’t always pay off, but that wasn’t the case here. I couldn’t get enough of them. Also, if you are still pigeonholing KStew for her role in Twilight, y’all really need to wake up. Girl has seriously grown up and is actually a diverse actress who I have grown to love watching.

Another thing that I loved about this was that for once we have a major motion picture that features a same sex couple in the forefront. I know that this has been improving over the years, but I cannot stress enough how refreshing it was to see the representation in such a popular movie. Neither characters were sexualized either which I appreciated greatly.

My favorite thing about Happiest Season was it’s depiction of family. We know that every family dynamic is different: some of us have great relationships while others may not be so fortunate. I feel like emotions are heightened during the holidays and the way in which this was portrayed throughout was a true illustration of these struggles. However, the movie also showed how we all just want to be true to ourselves while hoping for our family’s acceptance at the same time. I’ll admit that I was moved to tears on a few occasions because of how realistic and relatable it all was.

I want everyone to watch this movie. I cannot sing it’s praises enough and I am sure that you will be able to take away something from it afterwards. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that there’ll be a sequel!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥