I think that title tells you what you’re about to read here, and unless you’ve been living under a rock, my reaction will not be all too different from the critics who have already seen these films. The other day, Netflix released Hillbilly Elegy, which was adapted from the memoir of the same name by J.D. Vance. The very next day, Hulu released the holiday romantic comedy, Happiest Season. Based on that very limited information, I’m sure your assumptions of what was good and what was bad is actually wrong!
Yes, that’s right. Hillbilly Elegy was a pretty big disappointment. Other than getting the looks of these real-life people correct, almost everything else was pretty rough. The story follows J.D. and his working class family from Appalachian southern Ohio and northern Kentucky. His mother is spotty with her love and eventually becomes a drug addict, while his mamaw doles out tough love by the spoonful. Although that’s apparently all it takes for J.D. to finally get on the right track and try to make something of himself.
Look, earlier this year I read the memoir at my friend’s insistence and also when I learned it was getting adapted into a full-length feature film with some serious Oscar worthy actresses. I really enjoyed the memoir! But I also had a hard time figuring out how they were going to make it a movie, and it turns out my gut was right. Nothing really major happened to J.D. that probably didn’t happen to other people. Sure, not in the exact same way but similar enough. The book was also really political and took at look at why the working class in these areas would back Donald Trump for president (this book came out in 2016).
Director Ron Howard totally failed at bringing any politics into the film, had J.D. getting a coveted internship as the main plot point, and ultimately made caricatures out of his family members. His calmer presence really didn’t help matters, but there also wasn’t enough time spent with his mother or grandmother’s backstories for their antics to make much sense. Aside from that, the script also had this story told with intermittent flashbacks. Sometimes that works, but not in this case. Firstly, the book was written in chronological order, and secondly, the flashbacks happened at such odd times and for such a short amount of time that it almost felt like whiplash.
It’s a shame that with all of the advantages this movie had going for it that something better couldn’t be pulled together. I still fear that it’s Oscar -bait with Glenn Close and Amy Adams attached, but hopefully voters will actually watch it and realize what a big mistake that would be! There are much better things to watch on Netflix and a much better memoir you can read instead. So do that and save yourself the time.
On a completely opposite note, Hulu’s romantic comedy set during Christmastime, Happiest Season, was very enjoyable! I know that you’re thinking it’s just a dumb holiday movie like Lifetime or Hallmark puts out, but you’d be wrong. A very monumental bullet point of this film is that it features a lesbian couple! I can’t imagine what this film will mean to the gay community, so kudos to director Clea Duvall for putting this out into the universe. Harper invites her girlfriend, Abby, to come home with her for the holidays. On the way there though, she reveals that she’s not come out to her family yet.
Awkwardness ensues! You can tell Abby is a little miffed, but she is understanding. That is until a bunch of other garbage starts happening. Harper’s sisters are both intense and chaotic, her parents are very uptight, and to make matters worse, Harper’s old high school boyfriend shows up at her parent’s insistence! I won’t say anymore to spoil this feel-good film other than that the cast was fantastic. It was cool to see Kristen Stewart try out a comedy, and all of you Schitt’s Creek fans should tune in for Dan Levy’s performance as one of Abby’s best friends. Overall, just a gem of a film that you should definitely give a watch this month!