“Happiest Season” is a drama-filled, family crazy, coming out, Christmas movie, available on Hulu. Abby (Kristen Stewart) is dating Harper (Mackenzie Davis), and when Harper asks Abby to come home with her, she is thrilled. Abby isn’t one for Christmas because it’s a reminder of her parents that died around the holidays a few years back, and is hesitant but excited to experience Christmas with her girlfriend, and even plans on proposing Christmas morning. On the way to Harper’s parents house, Harper tells Abby that she hasn’t come out to her conservative parents yet. Which means they have to hide their relationship, and who they are.

From the moment that they step in through that door they have to start acting. Luckily no one suspects a thing, and Harper wants to keep it that way. Her family has always been viewed as the “perfect” standard, and coming out is something that she isn’t ready for. Meanwhile Abby has been out of the closet, and doesn’t want to hide who she is. All is going well with hiding herself, until Harper’s competitive older sister, outs her in front of her family and friends. The hiding, the lying, the closeting her authentic self has been spilled. 

In the end, Harper is able to accept who she is. She is able to tell her parents, with the help of Riley (Aubrey Plaza), her ex-girlfriend, and John (Dan Levy), Abby’s best friend, who are both out about being gay. Harper realizes that at the end of the day only she needs to accept who she is, as long as she is her true self, nothing else really matters.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie because of the theme, more than being a coming out movie, it’s about authenticity. Harper wanted to hide who she was, and pretend to be someone else, which left her unhappy and unfulfilled. As soon as she came out she felt heard, she was who she had always been, and she was able to earn the acceptance from the very people she felt wouldn’t love her anymore. 

Another aspect that made the movie so interesting was the character development and further deepening the plot with characters. We meet Riley who is an ex-girlfriend of Harper. Harper outed Riley in high school and through the movie Harper watches Riley be her authentic self, and be out. Riley is an example to Harper of being confident and being comfortable with oneself. We are also able to see Harpers family grow, and develop into better people, they become more aware of what they have done, and how to support their kids for who they are. Her parents realize they have been pushing their children into perfect people, and that helps them accept Harper. 

The movie was heartwarming, hilarious, and drama filled. It kept me on the edge of my seat, I needed to know what happened next. The movie overall was well developed and us, as the viewers, are able to watch the characters grow. It’s a movie that brings together family rivalry, coming out, and being your true self into one.