'Happy Christmas': The conflicts never come to a full boil
'Happy' stars writer-director Joe Swanberg and Melanie Lynskey as a married couple, Jeff and Kelly, who take in Jeff's troubled sister (Anna Kendrick).
'Happy Christmas' stars Anna Kendrick (center), Lena Dunham (l.), and Jude Swanberg (r.).
Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
Writer-director Joe Swanberg鈥檚 鈥淗appy Christmas鈥� starts out聽promisingly. A Chicago married couple, Jeff (Swanberg) and Kelly聽(Melanie Lynskey) welcome into their home Jeff鈥檚 out-of-state sister,聽Jenny (Anna Kendrick), who recently broke up with her boyfriend and, as聽they soon discover, is something of a mess. Since one of the requirements聽of her indefinite visit is that she help out with the child care of the聽couple鈥檚 2-year-old son, Jude (Jude Swanberg), Jenny鈥檚 habit of passing聽out drunk at parties does not bode well.
As a filmmaker, Swanberg keeps everything vaguely comic and聽deadpan. Jenny鈥檚 travails, and the couple鈥檚 concerns, never really come聽to a full boil. None of this seems to matter much to little Jude, who has聽a high old time being a baby. I suppose it鈥檚 because his father in this聽movie is played by his father, but I鈥檝e never seen a better performance 鈥� or聽whatever you want to call it 鈥� from a two-year-old. Grade:聽B- (Rated R for language, drug use and some sexual content.)