I’m not sure any of this would work without Davis, who would normally get a huge career in rom-coms based on this film, if other rom-coms even existed anymore. (Early in the movie, an almost inaudible snippet of dialogue refers to gay relationships as a “lifestyle choice,” to give you an idea of what these people are like.) And given how important the appearance of having a conventionally perfect family is to Harper’s dad’s mayoral campaign, there’s even more pressure on Harper to just let go and let compulsory heterosexuality sweep her away into a life where she has a husband and two kids and is miserable. Harper’s parents really don’t seem like they’re going to be cool with Harper coming out to them, given the big-dollar, socially conservative circles they run in. You just have to hope for the best from there on out. There’s always a “before” moment, when your heart is racing, and an “after” moment, when you know you can never take back what you just said. But it’s true that queer people have to come out to their parents every single day, and it’s always hard, no matter how accepting those parents are.Īs John, a gay best friend archetype played with warmth by Dan Levy of Schitt’s Creek fame, puts it to Abby late in the film, every single queer person around the globe experiences anxiety about having to come out to people we love so deeply. That almost goes without saying at this point, in the year 2020. Stories about queer people coming out to their parents shouldn’t be the only queer stories we get. Good: It might be cliché, but Happiest Season’s depiction of the “I gotta come out to my parents” story rings true They’re just so cute together! Hulu Let’s take a look at some good, bad, and weird elements to figure out why. The politics of queer storytelling aside, there’s plenty to recommend with Happiest Season, but just as much that’s downright strange. Does that pursuit result in stories that neither function as stories nor as depictions of queer life as it’s lived? But Happiest Season made me wonder, more than I usually do with stories attempting to queer the mainstream, whether just subverting heteronormative storytelling tropes is enough. Formulaic stories that otherwise queer beloved storytelling tropes are still subversive in a world where very few stories allow LGBTQ people to take center stage.
#Gay movies on hulu 2016 movie
Should this movie instead have been about, say, Harper and Abby negotiating a Christmas celebration within a polycule? It didn’t have to be, to be sure. Yet I spent much of the movie wondering whether just having a trope-laden Christmas rom-com about a lesbian couple was enough, when said lesbian couple played into all of the tropes of one of our least queer storytelling genres (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). Stewart and Davis make for an amazing onscreen couple, believably in love when fighting and when kissing, and I’m a sucker for any and all movies where adult children come back home for Christmas. But I enjoyed Happiest Season, tropes and all. Look, “My parents don’t know I’m gay” is a pretty big cliché in stories about queer people trying to peaceably interact with their families. Vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark