This is not light-hearted nor a romantic comedy nor are the two ladies on the poster sisters. Happy Christmas is in fact a minimalist mumblecore - meaning that people look and sound like they are in a home movie, or maybe just stumbled in front of a camera.
Melanie Lynskey (the nice stepsister from Ever After) and director/actor Joe Swanberg are a young married couple with an adorable 2-year old. Joe Swanberg's little sister Anna Kendrick whirlwinds into the couple's lives upending little but being terribly immature, irresponsible, and allergic to responsibility (& apologies). Although Anna Kendrick bonds with Melanie Lynskey while helping her write a romance novel, she continues to muck things up by turning to alcohol and weed whenever anything difficult glances her way.
About 20 minutes in, Z turned to me and asked, "Is this even a movie? Nothing is actually happening." And then he gave up and stopped watching. Because, yes, nothing happens. Everyone fumbles around and mumbles around and the ending is an abrupt halt that pretends to resolve the dynamics, but really cuts off without any actual character growth. The only things I appreciated about the film were (1) the scenes where the ladies sit around and plot their romance novel & (2) Lena Dunham being surprisingly likeable and not the entitled, inappropriate one.
Joe Swanberg's last film was Drinking Buddies, which both Z and I liked considerably more, because it had a recognizable plot. This one is more suitable for background noise, when you can't find an episode of Law & Order to fill the silence.
Grade: B-
Final Verdict: For an entertaining movie about a young married couple confronted with rowdy twenty-somethings, watch Neighbors. For better mumblecore, watch Drinking Buddies. For some meandering mumbling, watch this.
If You Like This, Watch: Frances Ha, Drinking Buddies, Your Sister's Sister, Tiny Furniture. Jeff, Who Lives At Home
No comments:
Post a Comment