Review: Happy Christmas (2014)

Despite my ridiculously long list of Christmas movies that I simply must watch every year, I’m always on the hunt for new ones I may have missed. So you can imagine my surprise whilst flicking through Netflix that I find a very recent movie starring Anna Kendrick that I’ve never seen! Erm, how is this possible, and would anyone like to buy the rock I’ve been living under?

Happy Christmas (2014) isn’t your typical festive family movie. Jenny (Anna Kendrick) has recently split up with her boyfriend, and moves in with her older brother Kevin (Joe Swanberg), his wife Kelly (Melanie Lynskey) and their young baby. Jenny makes a bad first impression straight away when she goes out and gets horrendously drunk, when she had promised Kelly she would babysit the following morning.

Around 20 minutes in, I had a feeling of deja vu, and a quick IMDB search showed me that this is directed by Joe Swanberg, who also directed Drinking Buddies (2013). If you haven’t seen either of these movies, Joe Swanberg basically gets his cast together, tells them a vague outline of the plot and leaves them to improvise the rest, there is no script. 

General consensus says that Drinking Buddies is the superior movie, but I actually preferred Happy Christmas. Perhaps it’s because this time I knew what to expect, I’ll have to re-watch Drinking Buddies to be sure. Swanberg’s movies are definitely like nothing else I’ve ever seen. There’s an almost awkward vibe going on, but at the same time, the conversations these characters have are so much more real, because well, they are real! 

I think I slightly preferred Drinking Buddies but I half wished Anna Kendrick was in that because I just love her, she is just too awesome!  Personally, I think both are ok but could just do with a little bit more story, if I didn't know it was improvised I would have been bored stupid, I tend to keep watching because I'm trying to work out what story they have been told to follow and what is completely pulled out of their heads.  I wish I could see a copy of the story they were given! I think that's why I didn't enjoy Drinking Buddies, I had no idea until afterwards that it was all improvised, so I was so confused!

This is the part where I normally gush about how much I love Anna Kendrick is and how she stole the show here, and don’t get me wrong, she was amazing in this, but it was honestly the baby who stole every scene he was in. He was just so darn funny! I couldn’t even pick a single example for you, but he’s the most happiest and lively little boy I’ve ever seen in a movie.  Fully agree,  he was so cute! I wonder if he is related to any of the cast (particularly Joe Swanberg) because he was just so comfortable with them. If he isn't, he's going to be a star one day!

Happy Christmas has some great characters who you really sympathise with, and when everything heats up during the night before Christmas itself, it’s hard to pick sides. I just wish the movie didn’t end so abruptly! I’d have loved just another 20 minutes or so to tie things up a little.

For me it felt like none of the conversations that happened in the film were tied up, I feel like there was more questions posed than answered (or the Lost effect as I have chosen to call it!) Did Jenny stay with Jeff (Mark Webber)? Did the family reconnect? What movie was she watching in the cinema? Why did they call the film Happy Christmas when other than the tree it wasn't remotely Christmassy?!

I guess my only other grumble is that this was in no way the full-of-festivity movie I was expecting, especially from a movie called Happy Christmas, but then I went into this blind so that’s my own fault for having preconceptions!

Mini Reviews: Hello I Must be Going (2012), Thanks for Sharing (2012), Smashed (2012)

I appear to have recently found some hidden gems on Netflix recently instead of the usual ABC Family/Made for TV tripe that I usually succumb to.  Rather than a lengthy review for each, I decided to add these to the mini review series.

Hello I Must Be Going (2012)

Young divorcee Amy has to move back in with her parents and manage her heartbreak and depression, until a younger guy give her hope and passion for the future.  I always liked Melanie Lynskey in Two and a half men so I liked the idea of this from the get-go.  She was brilliant as expected, highlighting the pitfalls of being divorced and back at home with humour and sharp dialogue.  Blythe Tanner is great as the disapproving mother who is at her wits end with her daughter and is determined to make her move on.  

Brilliantly witty and a real insight into the 'horrors' of middle aged divorce and having to seek solace in your parents home.

Thanks for Sharing (2012)

Three stories of sex addicts weaved together to produce a movie that highlights the harsh reality of recovery from sex addiction.  Adam (Mark Ruffalo) is a 5 years 'sober' and hiding his past from his new girlfriend, his sponsor Mike (Tim Robbins) dealing with the aftermath 15 years from recovery and Neil (Josh Gad) who is in meetings because he has been court ordered to.  This has the opportunity to be really clever and approach the subject with a dark humour but instead it all seems to play out a a bit cheesy.  The acting is great throughout but I think there were much more that could have been done with this somewhat taboo topic than what was.

Entertaining enough but didn't have the depth that I was hoping for when I read the synopsis.

Smashed (2012)

A couple who's marriage is built on a love of alcohol and music start to crumble when Kate decides she needs to get sober.  This is quite a sad film to watch because Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Charlie (Aaron Paul) obviously love each other but tend to be a bad influence on each other.  Always harder to leave someone for reasons other than falling out of love, and harder to watch.  Winstead and Paul both put in great performances as the couple who don't seem to understand each other anymore and find it hard to be around each other in their respective states. I personally would have preferred a more solid ending but these decide for yourself endings seem to be all the rage at the minute!

Heartbreaking to watch but well written and another dent in my attempt to watch all of Aaron Paul's work.