The actors star in Happiest Season, the first mainstream festive romcom about a same-sex couple. They talk about their friendship, the sudden abundance of queer content – and run the rule on Love, Actually
“It’s a gay Christmas movie,” says Kristen Stewart. “And I know that’s an annoying thing to label it right off the bat, but, for me, that is extremely attractive, and sounds like … a huge exhale.”
Quietly and unobtrusively, Happiest Season feels like a big deal. It’s a festive romcom, directed by Clea DuVall, and stars Mackenzie Davis as Harper and Stewart as Abby, a couple who are forced to navigate Harper’s conservative, wealthy family at Christmas. Over five increasingly frantic days, they have to pretend to be friends who just happen to live in the same apartment, for fear of Harper’s parents finding out they are together. While those ingredients could make for a potentially hefty drama, Happiest Season cooks them up into comedy, finding touching moments amid the sharply written silliness and chaos. It’s funny, it’s ambitious and it’s the first mainstream gay Christmas romcom.