Review of Happy Christmas (2014) by David J — 22 Dec 2015

"Happy Christmas" is a film that not only fails to engage, but also never tries to. It's a film with great performances, but dull characters. The visual quality is poor (even for an indie film) and just when the story is getting mildly interesting, the credits are rolling.

What is this, Swanberg? No, why is this? This is a big step down from "Drinking Buddies." "Drinking Buddies" at least had some personality, but "Happy Christmas" is ultimately barren of emotion, memorability, a message, or even a reason for it's existence.

What was the goal here? "Drinking Buddies" was for intelligent film buffs, but this hasn't turned Joe Swanberg into Arcade Fire. [This critique is a work in progress.].