Too much of everything

Just perfect...

Blistering performances.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

One reviewer said: "you will love it or you will hate it." Boy, ain't that the truth. It's not the best movie I've even seen. It's not even the best Christmas movie I've seen. But it's different from anything I've even seen before, and buddy that's saying something.I'd say check it out if it's the sort of thing that you think might interest you. To be fair, I feel I should add the I am a fan of the director, Joe Swanberg, but I can assure you that my reviews are completely unbiased.

'HAPPY Christmas': Four Stars (Out of Five)Another mumblecore comedy drama flick, set at Christmas time, from writer/director/producer/actor (and much more) Joe Swanberg. Swanberg costars in the movie with Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber and Lena Dunham. It tells the story of a 20-something 'party girl' who moves in with her filmmaker brother and his writer wife (as well as their two-year-old son), in Chicago, after a break up. Like most mumblecore movies, the dialogue is entirely improvised and the story is near nonexistent. It's a good example of the genre and Swanberg is talented, at this type of film (although it's not as good as his critically acclaimed hit 'DRINKING BUDDIES', from 2013),Kendrick plays Jenny, a 20-something woman who just broke up with her boyfriend. She moves in with her older brother Jeff (Swanberg), and his wife Kelly (Lynskey), to get a new start on things. Jeff is a filmmaker and Kelly is a novelist; and the couple have a two-year- old son together, named Jude (Jude Swanberg). Jenny wants to mature and move on with her life but instead she goes right back to her partying ways; of heavy drinking, often with her friend Carson (Dunham). Her irresponsibleness scares Kelly, as Kelly worries about her baby. Jenny also starts a relationship with Kevin (Webber), a friend of Jeff and Kelly's, and attempts to inspire Kelly, in new directions with her writing, as well. I think the acting is all more than decent and natural and Kendrick is especially adorable. The characters do seem like real people and their situations and predicaments seem true to life too. These are all things a mumblecore movie should do well (to be memorable in the genre). It is a little boring and uninvolving at times, but that's to be expected. The Christmas music is a nice fitting touch and I do like the overall message, about how weed is good and alcohol is bad; whenever Jenny drinks in the film she gets in trouble and whenever she smokes pot she does good helpful things. It does feel a little heavy-handed but that's true to life as well. It's definitely a very sweet and likable film.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://youtu.be/bPyUBLHQdWM

terrible all the way around except the baby was cute at points but seemed poorly written or poorly performed... both at times..listen guys..just look at who ever you are there with...the entire movie..might get weird after 10 min or so but it will be more entertaining. at first i was like what..her friend and her friends husband is a film maker..uh oh! nope its her brother..it was over after that..sorry Anna ill be honest i liked pitch perfect..this movie..was cine muck............guys..if you are doing this..she is worth it right? i have faith in you..good luck!

Joe Swanberg was on the precipice of becoming a recognized force in the indie film universe. He has plugged away for years making one film after another. They have grown from the "has promise" stage to the "this is pretty good" level. Drinking Buddies looked like he had found his footing and was going to build upon this success. It did not hurt Joe that his former muse, Greta Gerwig was nominated for a Golden Globe with "Frances Ha". Happy Christmas is blessed with a July release so that the world may not see it on the shelves in December 2014. This one needs to go straight to the cardboard bin in the Supermarket. It felt as if some devious film production executive found a movie that Joe made in college with his friend Anna and released it to cash in on their celebrity. Anna Kendrick ... how could she have put her name on this? The "lobby poster" looks like the graphic artist mated her with Mister Ed. She is not propped up by George Clooney and Vera Farmiga. Swanberg rolled back to the days when the hand-held camera shook and the movie was under lit since they could not open up the aperture anymore because the camera was already shaking. The audio supervisor was somebody's cousin and the budget could not afford the good microphones so they bought the East German surplus. Pray this will not be passed off as an artistic technique of the director. The unforgivable sin was when they used a scene where Kendrick forgets her line for a moment and the audience watches in bewilderment as she catches herself and continues. The cry of "We'll fix it in post" may have been abandoned. Neither Swanberg nor Kendrick can be so secure in their careers that they can afford to throw a wrench in the works. The big difference between those films from college and today is that the viewer is paying full price plus the cost of popcorn and soda to see a movie that is fit to be viewed while sitting on a metal folding chair.