R, 82 min.
Director/Writer: Joe
Swanberg
Starring: Anna Kendrick,
Melanie Linskey, Joe Swanberg, Mark Webber, Lena Dunham, Jude Swanberg
Joe Swanberg’s “Happy
Christmas” is not going to be the next holiday classic. In fact, I’m guessing
it’s the type of movie people don’t really want to see for the holidays, which
might explain its summer theatrical release date. And yet, it has come out on
home video formats just in time to remind us of the things we don’t necessarily
appreciate as much as we should during the holidays—our relatives.
They say we can’t chose who
we love. That is especially true when it comes to family. “Happy Christmas”
examines a relationship between a grown brother and sister and more importantly
her sister-in-law. The sister has just ended a long relationship and the
brother has invited her to come live with his family for the holiday season.
The brother has a year-old baby. The sister-in-law is a writer who had a
successful first novel published just before having the baby.
The sister, moving from New
York to Chicago, is a mess. Drinking is an immediate issue and the
sister-in-law questions her husband’s idea that his sister might be able to
watch the kid occasionally so she can write. They eventually start to learn how
to deal with each other and the two women start writing a romance novel
together. That doesn’t mean that the typical family problems are over. Family
will always be difficult to deal with, even when they get along.
Writer/director Joe Swanberg
does a very good job capturing accurate family dynamics here, especially
between the two women, who want to connect with each other but must get past
their difference first. Swanberg also plays the brother and husband. His level
headedness allows the women to explore their relationship more fully than we
might see in a real family. I’d think the sister would get under her brother’s
skin just a little more than she does here. Anna Kendrick provides an
interesting and original portrait of the sister, who doesn’t seem very willing
to embrace her adult responsibilities, most likely the reason for the end of
her relationship that sets the events in motion.
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