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Happy Christmas

Play trailer Poster for Happy Christmas R 2014 1h 18m Holiday Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer 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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Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas

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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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Critics Reviews

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Karl Quinn The Age (Australia) 11/08/2018
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. Go to Full Review
Jason Bailey Flavorwire 06/18/2016
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. Go to Full Review
Keith Staskiewicz Entertainment Weekly 12/02/2014
B
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. Go to Full Review
Joshua Polanski There Were No Gods Left May 27
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. Go to Full Review
Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson 10/17/2024
2/5
There's a quirk and curiosity to it to some extent, but I feel it meanders too simply and too aimlessly. Go to Full Review
Michael J. Casey Michael J. Cinema 11/17/2021
2.5/5
Although not an entirely successful movie, 'Happy Christmas' is a giant leap forward for Swanberg. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Keith P. 1h To call this a Christmas movie is the same as saying The Office is a show about Applebee's. This is one of the worst movies, a complete waste of time unless you enjoy going to places like Applebee's and not talking to your date but instead just listening in to other people's conversations because your life is that utterly boring, which mine isn't. I want the hour and twenty minutes of my life back that just got wasted on this horrible film. See more Coach @Coachofthedefense 22h It’s not a sappy Christmas movie, and a different kind of performance for Kendrick tha you might be used to. If you like “slice of life” films, you’ll enjoy this. If you’re looking for a more classic Christmas romp, this won’t be for you. The pacing is definitely reserved but the natural performance of the actors creates a subtle and realistic view of family life. See more Kyle S Dec 4 Could not make a connection to any character or situation in this dull and drab film. See more mark g @Mark_Alan_G. Nov 26 Joe Swanberg has directed a pretty strong film here, he's also a great actor. Kendrick is always good. A pretty good film that examines issues of family and trust. Once you start watching you will be drawn in. See more Kathleen C Nov 6 Couldn’t get through more than half of the movie. It is so pointless and boring. I don’t know how it has any decent reviews. See more Dec 28 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 See more Read all reviews
Happy Christmas

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Movie Info

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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