Hulu has dropped the trailer for an upcoming festive rom-com this week, and it looks like it’s going to be a Christmas cracker. Happiest Season, staring the one and only Kristen Stewart alongside Mackenzie Davies, has the ingredients to be a conventional Christmas comedy—except with a queer spin.
Directed by Clea DuVall, the trailer for Happiest Season appears to follow a narrative we’ve all seen before—a couple spend Christmas with their relatives for the very first time—except on this occasion the couple are Abby (Stewart) and Harper (Davies), and the relatives are Harper’s conservative family, who think she’s straight.
The two and a half minute trailer reveals that the cover story for the pair’s relationship is that Abby is Harper’s orphaned flat mate, who has no one else to spend the holidays with. This lie spirals out of control, putting them both in some comprising, yet hilarious positions.
Helping to bring the story to life is Daniel Levy, from the equally as funny Schitt’s Creek, who plays Abby’s best friend. At one point quips “Have they never met a lesbian before?”, when he discovers they are both pretending to be straight. DuVall will definitely be having fun with her characters, with a snippet from the trailer including lines like “what are you doing in the closet?”, when Harper’s mum finds Abby hiding in the house.
Happiest Season is undoubtedly going to touch on some very real truths for some people in the LGBTQ+ community, especially around coming out to family. However, as the first festive film with a lesbian couple leading—and its backing from a major studio and streaming service—it’s certainly a step in the right direction for LGBTQ+ visibility in film.
Happiest Season also stars Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Mary Holland, Mary Steenburgen and Victor Garber. It will be released on Hulu on 25 November 2020.
Words by Rebecca McAree
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