Happiest Season

Genuinely laugh-out-loud.

Seems destined to be a future Christmas favourite.

Given DuVall's background as an actor it's unsurprising she draws such engaging work from her cast, with tasty individual characterizations, but more importantly, a group dynamic that's both lively and believable.

DuVall employs a deft, subtle hand to tease out these conundrums, building to an everyone-blurts-out-the-truth climax that has earned its teary speechifying.

Clea DuVall's new movie has some big laughs, but it's at its most potent when it examines what it means to join a family.

An ode to impossible expectations, pride, bravery and loyalty, Happiest Season wraps up everything you could want for Christmas in a neat, thoughtful little bow.

All of these orbiting characters can't dress up the wooden chemistry between Stewart and Davis, which stands in stark contrast to the actual chemistry between Stewart and Aubrey Plaza.

At heart, "Happiest Season" is a serious, at times revolutionary mainstream comedy rooted in the sadness of a world where the closet, for too many people, still persists in some form.

A smart, heartfelt comedy whose small flaws are easily blotted out by bigger charms.

It's not a knockout, but the actors frequently are. The rest is an exercise in not overdoing it. It's here, it's queer, it's not much else -- and that's OK.

An earnest, endearing story about the pressure we put on ourselves to perform perfection.

Tonally, "Happiest Season" is a bit uneven; it can move from broad hijinks to high emotion a little too quickly. But it also delivers wonderfully heartfelt moments...