I thought this was really low-key and lovely. The entire cast was so charming and I loved all the characters. Anna Kendrick and Melanie Lynskey were fantastic. My only complaint was that I wish it was longer. A-

While there isn't much to it, it's incredibly charming and the cast works together great. I do agree that I wish it were a tad longer but it was really good.

B+

Happy Christmas is prolific writer and director Joe Swanberg's richest and most rewarding film to date. It lasts only an hour and 20 minutes (such a tease!), but each scene is a type of delight as the flawed, grounded, three-dimensional characters feud and reflect and reconcile in the days preceding the titular holiday, which does not factor into the storyline in a major way, though the incidental seasonal atmosphere is a welcome touch. Anna Kendrick stars as Jenny, an impulsive and uncertain woman in a tailspin after the end of a relationship. She has traveled to Chicago to stay for a while with her brother, film director Jeff (Swanberg), and his wife, novelist-turned-stay-at-home-mother Kelly (Melanie Lynskey, delivering a compassionate jewel of a performance). They have a two-year-old son and are still negotiating the frustrations and obstacles parenthood brings. Jenny also spends time with her old friend Carson (Lena Dunham) and flirts with a close friend of her brother and sister-in-law, a pot-dealing noise musician (Mark Webber).

The film, directed with a characteristic aesthetic relaxation by Swanberg, is largely comprised of lengthy, ultra-natural, partly improvised conversations, and the actors dig into their roles. A case-in-point is an early scene shared by the Carson, Jenny, and Kelly in a home bar. The two friends, still in a phase of arrested development, stand in anxious awe of Kelly's achievements—she is a published novelist and a mother—while Kelly laments how she no longer has as much time to write and reflects on her own youthful abandon. She is uncertain whether she will produce a second novel at this point, encircled as she is by bath times, diapers, and dishes. The way the dynamic unfolds, the way the characters express themselves (down even to their pauses as they search for the right word), is both profound and completely devoid of artificiality.

A-

I agree with the consensus so far. Really enjoyed this one. Totally the kind of movie I love. The dialogue doesn't feel scripted in the least. Almost like the actors were just given these characters to play and improvised all of the dialogue. Gives it a totally natural feel. There's not much to it but it's so charming if you like this kind of movie. I loved the characters and wished the movie were longer. Great job by everyone, especially Melanie Lynskey and Anna Kendrick.

8/10 (A-)

Swanberg does it again. While it doesn't reach the great heights of Drinking Buddies, Swanberg puts together a great little piece which gets its message across without having to go to extremes and he gets the best out of his cast.

Melanie Lynskey is so, so amazing in this. An Oscar-worthy performance.

On s different subject, what is the more popular saying, Happy or Merry Christmas? I always have heard Merry Christmas...and Happy Holidays and Happy Thanksgiving....

So which is more popular worldwide, Happy Christmas or Merry Christmas?

So will this become a Christmas classic like Love Actually and The Family Stone?

fuck off, goldie

Such vulgar language by this Trixster above, in a holiday thread.

And he sure likes the word fuck a lot as it is in his thread 5 times.

Guess Trixster is one of the cool kids at school, who is really a delinquent in disguise.