Happy Christmas

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Happy Christmas

R

Released Jul 25, 2014

1h 18m

Holiday

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

79 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

An immature party girl (Anna Kendrick) moves in with her brother's family to get over a breakup and throws their lives out of whack.

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Critics Consensus

Intelligent, well-acted, and satisfyingly low-key, Happy Christmas marks another step in prolific filmmaker Joe Swanberg's creative evolution.

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Karl Quinn

The Age (Australia)

The performances all round have a slightly improvised vibe, with Lynskey and Girls creator Lena Dunham (as an old friend of Jenny's) especially finding the groove where a little roughness around the edges only serves to enhance the charm.

Nov 8, 2018

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

Swanberg's let-the-camera-run aesthetic can go either way - towards self-indulgence, or overheard, naturalistic candor. Thanks in no small part to the considerable gifts of his cast, 'Happy Christmas' goes the right way.

Jun 18, 2016

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Keith Staskiewicz

Entertainment Weekly

Swanberg's naturalistic, improvised style lets the conflict come about organically, repeatedly putting the characters in situations to which they could react with clichés but instead go with something more empathetic and nuanced.

Rated: B

Dec 2, 2014

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Joshua Polanski

There Were No Gods Left

The Christmas movie genre as a sum is entirely pointless to the effect it destroys joviality; “Happy Christmas” gives that pointlessness a style to partner with.

May 27, 2025

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

There's a quirk and curiosity to it to some extent, but I feel it meanders too simply and too aimlessly.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 17, 2024

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Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

Although not an entirely successful movie, 'Happy Christmas' is a giant leap forward for Swanberg.

Rated: 2.5/5

Nov 17, 2021

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Audience Member

Anna Kendrick and Melanie Lynskey directed by Joe Swanberg Jenny is a party girl but goes through a nasty breakup So she moves in with her brothers family therefore messes up their lives all during Christmas The actresses are very good despite not sharing that many scenes together yet the dialogue exchanges are pretty empty and meaningless, it’s like having uninteresting conversations so there’s not much investment You’re better off watching other Christmas movies

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/28/24

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Amanda P

Could not get past the first 10 minutes🤦🏼‍♀️ never wanted to turn a movie off so quickly. Had the feel of a COVID movie... But turned out to be done in 2014,😮 Didn't care to see how it carried on. The positive reviews could not convince us to see what happened.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/13/23

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Audience Member

Once this movie actually got going, it was over. Some stuff to enjoy, but it didn't leave a lasting impression.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Audience Member

Awful. There was no ending, it just literally ended and that’s it.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/24/20

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Audience Member

This film is perfectly dreadful. I love Lena Dunham and Melanie Lynskey, but even their considerable talents could not elevate this film. I had never seen Anna Kendrick in anything, and I shan't watch her again. Not entirely her fault - this is a film with no story arc, unbelievable conversations, and nothing to say. The baby was the best thing in the entire film. Dull, pretentious, and NOT humorous.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

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Audience Member

I was expecting a decent movie and this was not it. It looked like it was shot on a shoestring budget. The editing was poor, story line was OK. For a movie with Anna Kendrick and Melanie Lynskey in it I was expecting better. Melanie had a bit of an accent, but wasn't to bad, I have never noticed it before. The best part was the little kid who was supposed to be about 2 yrs-old, who was excellent. The ending left you hanging and then in the credits there was more but it did not add anything to the movie. Watch at your own risk.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

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Joe Swanberg

Director

Anna Kendrick

Jenny

Melanie Lynskey

Kelly

Mark Webber

Kevin

Lena Dunham

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Joe Swanberg

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Synopsis

An immature party girl (Anna Kendrick) moves in with her brother's family to get over a breakup and throws their lives out of whack.

Director: Joe Swanberg
Producer: Joe Swanberg, Peter Gilbert
Screenwriter: Joe Swanberg
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Tiki Bar Films, Lucky Coffee Productions
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 25, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 17, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $30.1K
Runtime: 1h 18m

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