The Prestige TV Podcast - 'Happiest Season'

Episode Date: November 30, 2020

TV Concierge returns as Bill Simmons, Juliet Litman, and Kate Halliwell sit down to discuss the breakout rom-com of the holidays, 'Happiest Season,' now streaming on Hulu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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We are going to be blowing through some of our favorite new releases on TV three, four, five times a week. This is the first one. Happiest season. It's on Hulu. I am joined by Juliet Lippman and Kate Hollowell. Every year they try to make holiday movies that we will get excited about. Somehow, Juliet, it became happiest season. Were you expecting this?

A friend recently asked me if I planned to watch it. And I was like, yeah, of course. Like, I didn't need to know a lot. I just knew it was a Christmas romcom on Hulu. which I have a pro bias for. And Kristen Stewart. So I was like, yes, I'm in. I definitely watching.

I didn't expect it to be like the, like pop culture talking point of the weekend, though. I did not see that coming. Kate, Kristen Stewart, overqualified or perfectly qualified to be in this movie? Arguably overqualified, but I'm glad that she did it. Genuinely, I think she was like extremely expensive and it was shocking to me that she did this. Worth every dollar. I loved it. I love Kristen Stewart.

Yeah, dare I say she was. kind of slumming it. Like, she's too good of an actress to be in a movie like this, but I think that's why the movie was good. It was like basically having Natalie Portman 10 years ago or something. My big takeaway is, I love Kristen Stewart. I thought Kristen Stewart had hit a point a few years ago where she was just going to be in these like either artsy movies or these Fincher-type movies or things like that. I did not see this point of her career, but that was the thing that struck me. I was like, I really like this actress. And I forgot how much I liked her. And she was totally genuine. She was the best part of the movie.

and it leads to the key point of the movie, which was a big discussion online. Why did these two end up together? Why did that have to be the ending? It was so obvious that she should have ended up with Aubrey Plaza. That was the big reaction. I googled it online to see if other, because my wife and I were like,

why didn't they just end up with Aubrey Plaza? And everybody seemed to feel that way. Juliet, you're the queen of rom-coms. Why did they not do that swerve and have them end up together? I think this is Kristen Stewart's, like, when Harry Met Sally performance. like this is her she is meg Ryan and what harry met sally like this is how i see it and as a result it was just was like so conventional they had to put them together they couldn't really take take a

swing and and mix it up but it was it was a huge mistake because you like christin stuart a lot more if she likes her character if she stands for something right but i think that like weirdly it was like a super conventional movie which is one of the reasons that i think it works and also there's like they're very self-aware about that but i think that played a lot into it like with dan Dan Levy's character calling out a lot of the heteronormitivity. It was a real compromise. You know, it was like, we're going to make a gay holiday movie, but it's going to be the least gay, gay, gay holiday movie that we can think of.

Like, we're going to play by the book. It's going to be happily ever after. And like, there's going to be a romantic rival, but like not really, it's not really going to be threatened in the end. I agree. I knew that people would want Aubrey Plaza to end her to end up with Aubrey Plaza. But I was not prepared for how much people wanted. her to end up with Aubrey Plaza.

I guess it's because I love McKenzie Davis, but maybe it was just me. Biggest shock of the movie was I liked Aubrey Plaza's character. Can't remember the last time I liked one of her characters and maybe knocked up or, yeah, or what movie was it? Happy people. Funny people, funny people. Funny people. That's the last time she was likeable.

So I think that might have shocked everyone into rooting for her. I loved. I felt like, you know when people went to the theater for once upon a time in Hollywood and they were like Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, like two actors that are. very similar, finally on screen together. This is amazing. That's how I felt watching Kristen Stewart and Aubrey Plaza.

Like I was like, how of our two awkward, hot queens of comedy never been together on screen at all, ever? I was looking at up. I was like, I can't believe they've never done this before. And of course they have amazing chemistry.

They both made a career out of being awkward and funny and charming on talk shows for the past 15 years. You know what I mean? And I'm like, I just, it wasn't surprising to me that everyone loved them, but I'm kind of surprised that they didn't do anything more

with that in the movie. Well, I thought they were setting it up for them to end up together because McKenzie Davis and Kristen Stewart were such a weird couple. Mackenzie Davis was like so much taller than her and she was always kind of leaning over and it just seemed like physically they were just a couple that did not make sense. So when Aubrey Plaza entered the picture, I was like, oh, this is where we're going. They're going to end up together. I wrote about this for the website.

First of all, you guys said that you didn't know about this movie until recently. I've been looking forward to this movie for months. So since the very first picture came out, I've been emailing Hulu for screeners. I pitched something on this months ago. So I was ready. And when I came out of the movie, I was like,

the thing everyone's going to be talking about is the height difference. Because I was like, it's going to be like comments chain in normal people. You know what I mean? Wait, Kate, as a tall lady, I'm sure you researched the actual heights.

What are we talking here? Nine inch difference, 10 inches? What is it? Well, Bill, you can read about it on the ringer.com, but I'll give it to you now. McKenzie Davis is about 511.

which I think is correct. That's how tall I am. She's in flat shoes for this whole movie. She's slouching. She's leaning against walls. They have done everything they can. Kristen Stewart, according to Google, is 5-5. No, that's a lie.

Thank you. Celebe Heights.com when I did my research. The commenters have a lot of evidence that she's closer to 5.3. Which she has to be. She's basically Jesse Eisenberg's height based on Adventureland. She's so short. And they tried so hard. to sort of even it out.

Like McKenzie Davis was sitting down. And even then it was like night and day. Yeah, I would say she's five, two and a half, five three max. And, you know, her physicality, I think is something that works for her in these different movies, right? She's like small but potent. And then you put her with McKenzie Davis, who, I got to say, I like McKenzie Davis. I don't think I really fully realized how tall she was until this movie.

I don't know if they hit it in other movies or what was going on there. Well, in Terminator, which she is the Terminator in the most recent movie, here's my take. Okay, I think people would come out of this movie rooting for McKenzie Davis if they let McKenzie Davis be hotter in this movie. They gave her the worst wig. They put her in these frumpy dresses, whereas Aubrey Plaza is swaned around with like her blowout and her blazers. And McKenzie, if she had looked like she did in Halt and Catch Fire or Terminator or Blade Runner

2049, like 10% hotter, I think people would be more on Team Harper. But they just, she's so frumpy. And I guess she's supposed to look straight. So maybe that's part of it. But I just. They should have let her be hotter because she is. She was wearing a lot of like J-Crew day-to-night outfits. Like this is what you can wear to your office party.

And then to the bar, it wasn't on the same level as a lot of the other fashion. Plus, Kristen Stewart got to like have much more interesting fashion and much more varied, depending on the point of the movie. That's, that's it. She busts out like the no bra, like unbuttoned shirt with the bow tie on button. And then McKenzie Davis is in like your middle school dance outfit. I'm just, no. I'm going to take it further than Kay just did.

Frumpy and unlikable is only where you start with the McKenzie Davis character in this movie. First of all, she throws Aubrey Plaza under the bus in high school. Basically ruins Arby Plaza's... Freshman year of high school. That's like very early. That's very traumatizing. Once they reveal that one, I'm like, why am I supposed to like this person on top of it? She's lying to her family the whole time.

her family who's not even likable at all. And she's protecting this secret she has and throwing her person she allegedly loves just under the bus the whole movie. She's hiding in closets. She's sleeping in the basement. Then she's like, hey, I just want to hang out with my high school friends. Do you want me to come now? You can leave.

Go. Everything she did was, you know, I know in the rom-com world, Juliet, you got your PhD once upon a time at Medell writing about rom-com. So, you know, they have to have the kind of character who doesn't get it. it, the character who grows at the end, I thought they made her way too unlikable. By the end of the movie, I just hated her. I wanted her to not end up with anybody.

And I, again, just think hot and unlikable is just a whole different ballgame. But frumpy and unlikable is just unforgivable. She reminded me of Sarah Jessica Parker's character in the Family Stone, where you're just like, you're just like, why are you supposed to like this person? Why are you rooting for them? And it didn't work.

And was Sarah Jessica Parker's character in that movie? You kind of move on from her. She becomes, like, less important eventually. But yeah, I agree with you. I think also, like, there were some really funny parts of this. Like, Mary Steenbergin was hilarious. I love her. What a great performance by her and her iPad.

I absolutely loved it. And the Harper character doesn't get to have any fun. She just sucks and is causing problems. To be fair to Harper, I also would never want to disappoint Mary Steenberg and or Victor Garber. So, like, I do get that part of it. I have to say this cast is like just an absolute murderer's row of cult favorites. Like there's a lot, there's like a hive for all these people. Victor Garber, Mary Steenbergh.

Alison Brie is like very popular with every man that I know. Like every single one, including my father. Including this guy right here. She's like so popular. And then you add McKenzie Davis or Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy and Kristen Stewart. This is like the internet's favorite cast of all time. Right.

So why did you guys not think this movie would be a big deal? I got to be honest. I didn't even know about it. I saw it on Hulu. My wife and I were kind of like, what is this? Can we go back to Allison Brie for a second? Yes. I remember either Grantland or the Ringer, didn't we do a couple like career makeovers

where we just took somebody's career and made it over? Yes. I'm upset at her choices. Well. Because she was also in that weird, that weird horror movie where she goes away for the weekend with the other couple. And she's like the best person in the movie and then people start dying. And it's like, why are you in this?

She, to me, she should be like Mary Tyler Moore for the show. generation. I don't I don't understand why she isn't in either the biggest sitcom on television or she's not like Meg Ryan for this generation. Instead, she's like the fourth lead in this movie. It doesn't make sense to me. And really bad straightened hair. That was that was like very accurate though. I thought that was very accurate. But like I feel like a suburban, a suburban mom who is struggling with like where they are in life would do that. So it made a lot of sense to me. She made a lot of bad choices, Bill. Like I just think she tried to become too cool. Like she was like the cool. actress rapping with the roots instead of just doing like straight down the middle rom-com fair.

She didn't want that. And then Glow is like really popular though now canceled. Glow's good. I support Glow. That's the only good choice she's made. Yeah. It's not very popular, but it's very beloved. But that came like a little bit too late and was a little bit too niche.

Like she just, she should have been doing all romcams earlier. She should have been playing Trudy for Mad Men a lot more. Like that's like a great, a great performance. Who doesn't want more of that? Kate, here's what she should have done. Just go back and check out the. IMDB is some of the greats. Go back and you look at the Aniston when she finally realized like, oh, my key to lasting until my late 40s of movies is Adam Sam or rom-com, stuff like that.

The Sandra Bullock, when she's like, how am I going to elevate my stock? Boom. Rees Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore. Even that little brief Catherine Hegel run when it seemed like she's going to go toe to toe with some of the greats. You got to be in the awesome rom-com. She's actually been in a real, what's the really good rom-com she was in? It's like a friends with benefits type of... Jason Sedakis, that one, right? That movie's good. Yeah, I think that one's a good one.

But I would have done like four more of those. I also think it's weird when a really good actress is like, cool, give me the worst part. Right. That's... Why is she in this? Why would you take this role? I don't know. What else is she doing?

Yeah, true. I wish she had been in the McKenzie Davis part. The outing at the end when she outs Kristen Stewart's character, which apparently was also polarizing online. Super fucked up. So fucked up. I think it's a red line you do not cross. I do not think that was okay. Yeah.

It's another one where it's like, well, why are we supposed to, how is she supposed to come back from this? You know what I mean? Like, that's just such a really unforgivable thing to do to someone, especially your sister. And then to just suddenly be okay again

is really unbelievable to me. So what isn't okay to do in a rom-com? So if we're going to say this crosses the line, what are some other things that are not cool? The other thing that crossed the line was destroying the painting. it took 100 hours because that was the only good sister. And all she wanted to do was belong and create her art.

And I felt terrible about that. Juliet, what are some other line crosses? Like murder. Like actual things that could be like a crime or like actually ruin someone life outside of their love life, I think is really tough. Like you have to keep it within the realm of heartbreak. And if it could be any kind of trauma worse than that, then it's not okay.

You know, like cheating, all good. But like my best friend's wedding, which is, you know, one of the Hall of Famers, all the stuff she does in that movie is as bad as what Alison Brie does at the end of this movie. I mean, she basically completely sabotages this woman's wedding, causes her to almost have a nervous breakdown, almost destroys their relationship. And she's like homicidal. Well, I just think that at the end of the day in my best friend's wedding, Cameron Diaz's character is going to be fine.

She's going to be all good. You know, like she'll move on. She'll be upset, but like whatever, she'll live. I think that outing someone, the repercussions, but it's not on their own timelines, way, way, way worse. And it's just, that's the red line of rom-coms. You can't do it.

I actually would, like, prefer murder because that would just be so outrageous. Outing and murder are the two lines we can't cross. I think part of it is that people don't know how bad outing is. You know what I mean? I think the average viewer of this movie is like, oh, like, it sucks, but fine. Whereas I think the gay viewer of this movie is like, that's horrible and that would be really awful if it happens to me.

Because everyone knows murder is wrong. You know what I mean? So I think part of the issue was sort of like normalizing it as just like another issue within the family. Yeah. Whereas not everyone would realize kind of the extent that they can have on people. I mean, it was a movie where somebody fell through a roof in the first three minutes and got up like it was fine. I didn't know how realistic this was. Like the wacky physical comedy.

I mean, I understand that's kind of the genre, but I didn't need that in my life. It seems like the reason they had the outing thing was because McKenzie Davis's kind of behavior was so deplorable. And they made it like Kristen Stewart's the victim, right? So at some point it has to come out. And they try to do it in this big crazy slapstick way. But it felt misguided. I thought there was a better way to do it. But at the same time, like at some point she was going to have to tell her family.

I don't know. What would have been the best way to do it? I don't know either. but it just seemed counterproductive to have that whole, like, you know, outing Kristen Stewart and denying it, and then 15 minutes later being like,

actually, I did this. It just was like, well, if we're going to get to the same place in the end, why do we need to make her character look even worse on the way? Yeah, that's one of the problems of the Harper character, too, right? There's not a lot of emotional depth there.

So, like, what they decided to do is just, like, do something really cheap and, like, out her to change the movie. But isn't this why this was a great holiday rom-com? It's so flawed. It makes so many mistakes. You're watching and you're going, man, why'd they do that? Why'd they do this?

And yet, Kristen Stewart's so good in it, you stay locked into it. And the supporting actors are really good, too. Yeah, the cast really brings it home. I made a list of tropes that I think always work. And that's why I think this movie is sort of like a little bit of a Frankenstein of a great both rom-com and Christmas movies. Like, the slapstick stuff reminded me of Christmas vacation, the National Lampoon movie. Like, that was very, like, the special of the bright lights on the houses.

And then cute opening credits from the beginning. It was just like, set to tone. They're just like, okay, now I know what I'm in store for. It's going to be very, like, two weeks notice-esque. And then a weird sibling, it was a wonderful callback for me to wedding crashers. And just like picked and shoes from like a lot of great movies over the last 40 years that are just crowd pleasers. And they frank and sign them together. There are some problems.

But like, ultimately, it was really fun. Who didn't want to watch this movie for two more hours? And you also get all the things you want from the Christmas movie. Yeah, you get the family conflict. like you get a mall scene. Every good Christmas movie has a mall scene. You get the party scenes, several of them. Everybody looks great.

Everybody's, you know, fun to watch. I just think, you know, it gives you essentially what you want. It's not everything you want, but it's enough. Juliet, I got one for you. Okay. As the queen of rom-coms, former PhD. What former? Did I give it up?

Well, I don't know. I don't feel like you've defended your turf in the way you probably should have the last couple years. Because I've been really busy watching every. single woman oriented television show on Netflix. All right. There's going to be a sequel for this movie. I'm just telling you now.

There will be happiest season two. It's going to happen. I don't know if they'll get Kristen Stewart. They'll probably have to throw a giant check at her. Juliet, give us the plot for her happiest season two. And then Kate and then I'll go last. We take it to high school. Oh, it's a prequel?

No. Harper and Abby are home for the holidays and one of their cousins or nieces or nephews. is beginning to explore her sexuality, and they have to be wise aunts and help her or him. And they bring in Dan Levy to be another advisor. And they help the next generation not do what Harper did

by ruining their girlfriend's life in freshman year of high school, not ruining her life, but making her feel really bad. So it's an advisory kind of rom-com. Kate, you're up. Yeah. Okay, it's a spinoff about Aubrey Plaza, who has decided that the holidays are not for her. She goes on a lesbian cruise over Christmas just to get away to take some time.

A cruise! On the boat, she meets Sarah Paulson and Tessa Thompson, who spend the rest of the movie competing for her heart. It ends with a large musical number, and she chooses Tessa Thompson. That's really good. I like the Aubrey Plaza spin-off thing. Mine is, I think I'm going just chalk on this idea. The wedding. They're playing in the wedding.

Of course, the wedding is on Christmas Eve or something. something, even though weddings never happen on the holidays, but in movies they somehow do. But Kristen Stewart and Aubrey Plaza, we know what the people want. Aubrey Plaza, obviously has to go. And there's some sort of, I don't know, rehearsal dinner the day before. And you had the same thing. The best scene in this original movie was the scene of them in the booth and the bar. We were like, holy shit.

This is like the heat diner scene. Somehow the sparks fly. and then Kristen Stewart starts wondering whether she wants to marry McKenzie Davis. I think this would have to have McKenzie Davis buying into the fact that you miss with this character. Nobody likes her. You're basically going to have to be the villain.

You're going to have to realize this relationship is slipping away. And then now we have a my best friend's wedding kind of wrinkle to it where now she's trying to sabotage their relationship, but it doesn't work. Aubrey Plaza and Kristen Stewart end up together. The end, everybody's happy.

Do they get married at the end? because I do need a Kristen Stewart wedding tucks moment, I think, in my life. That's the third sequel. That's the worst one because they basically can't get anyone but Kristen Stewart and Aubrey Plaza. Nobody else wants to be in it. Mary Steenberg, she demands like $5 million. They say no, they have to like replace her.

Yeah. The crew's idea is pretty interesting though. Sarah Paulson being in there, I thought, I thought was aggressive. I mean, come on. Isn't she like 20 years older? Listen, you need the different, just the all. the iconic gay actresses. We're just bringing them all in.

You just needed more of that in Happiest Season. So that's what I'm bringing to the second one. All right. Last question. Julia, did this win the holiday movie competition or is it? When does this end? For 2020? Because there are going out in November.

But then there would be a couple other ones right before because we had the Vanessa Hudgens. Was that a holiday movie where she's three people? Yeah. The Princess Switch switched again. Yeah. This is far in a way better. It's not even a competition.

All right. So it's in the lead, but we don't know what's. coming next three weeks. I don't think it's going to be dethroned. I know what Netflix traffic's in with their Hallmark movies. I have watched the Dolly Parton movie on Netflix, which is honestly bonkers. I watch the Aaron Tovate movie on the Hallmark channel. I've watched a lot of them.

And this is definitely the best one. Shout to Cleod de Beau. People are going to be arguing about Aubrey Plaza and Kristen Stewart for years to come. It's a great movie. Oh, wow. As a rom-com, what if? The internet just fixates on that kind of thing. thing. Can I just say one thing?

Kristen Stewart, only do comedies. Don't try to be Michelle Williams. Don't try to have her career. Just do comedies. They are so much more fun and she's a great actress. I don't want to see her longing for anyone. I don't want to see her like being super moody and like dark tones. No more twilight energy whatsoever. So you're out on the Kristen Stewart Princess Diana movie?

Well, the only positive about that is the Peaky Blinders guy is directing it or writing it. Wait, that's a real thing. Yes. She's playing Princess Diana? It's a Christmas movie because it's over the holidays when she decides that she like can't do it anymore. It's Christmas. It's Christmas at Sandringham. She's playing Princess Diana. And it's written by Stephen Knight, who is the writer of Piki Blinders and I many other things. So I'm excited about that. But unless she's working with a generationally wonderful British writer, please only do comedies in America. Wasn't Princess Diana like 5'10? Yes. There's been a lot of high.

revisionism with Princess Diana, especially on the crown. I thought she was, like, legit tall. She was. Yeah. And she's going to be like 6'3 Elizabeth Debicki on the next season of the Crown. So we're just going to see all sorts of takes on that. Here's the thing with Kristen Stewart. Eventually and Kristen Stewart was the best Kristen Stewart. Best movie.

Best Kristen Stewart, hands down. And it was always like, why don't you just be that Kristen Stewart? But no, she had, you know, she's a child actress, so you got to give leeway because God only knows, like, what kind of weird thing she saw as a teenager growing up, being famous early, all that, all that stuff. And you usually go sideways. It feels like she's brought it back in a big way. And I want this version of Kristen's still.

And a little more Aubrey Plaza, kind of in this kind of older, she just seems, you know, like, I don't know how old she is now. She's probably like early 30, something like that, but just seems like a, she's not the funny people person who seems like she's 16 anymore. She seems like she should be the lead of Law and Order SVU or so, like what are the She's dressed like that for sure. Yeah. She can do that.

A great point. Well, this was wonderful. The return of TV concierge has happened. Thanks, Kate. Thanks, Juliet. I look forward to reviewing Happiest Season 2 with you guys in here. Can't wait.