The Croods Analysis
Avice
A family-reunion dramedy whose claim to originality lies in its romantic leads being a lesbian couple played by Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis (the latter of whose Harper is still closeted to her parents and siblings), the movie's failings are rather obvious: paper-thin characterizations; a vacuously cheerless visual style; a misguided slapstick scene in which a gorgeous Christmas tree inevitably crashes to the floor. But Duvall's movie has heart and good-natured humor to spare, as well as a bona-fide cliffhanger at its core: Will Stewart's openly gay Abby stick with her longtime love despite the woman's seeming disinterest in telling her relations the truth, or will she instead take off with the beautiful, funny family friend Riley, with whom Abby has instant, tremendous chemistry?
I truly never expected a film as generically spirited and fundamentally surface-level as Happiest Season to deliver such a subversive plot twist. Then again, I also never imagined that the traditionally (and brilliantly) curt and sardonic Aubrey Plaza, who plays Riley, would ever be this relaxed and mature and devastatingly warm on-screen; even if you like Mackenzie Davis, and I very much do, I couldn't help thinking that Stewart (who's tender and lovely here) might have chosen an incorrect match from the get-go. Co-written by co-star Mary Holland, Duvall's movie probably doesn't have much chance at becoming a seasonal standard. But it's unfailingly entertaining and unexpectedly trenchant in its handling of the leads' self-analysis, and its supporting cast is divine: Victor Garber, Alison Brie, Dan Levy, Ana Gasteyer, and the radiant Mary Steenburgen, who takes on the role usually enacted by her Book Club co-star Diane Keaton. As with Keaton, I may grow tired of Steenburgen in holiday-comedy mode after six or seven similar outings, but for now, she's a gift that keeps on giving.
"We're the River Cities' Reader, and we've kept the Quad Cities' only independently owned newspaper alive and free since 1993.So please help the Reader keep going with your one-time, monthly, or annual support.With your financial support the Reader can continue providing uncensored, non-scripted, and independent journalism alongside the Quad Cities' area's most comprehensive cultural coverage." - Todd McGreevy, Publisher
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Amy Alkon Advice Goddess, Real Astrology, Red Meat cartoon and RCR Crossword every week?)
The River Cities' Reader, started in 1993, is independently and locally owned. We publish a monthly printed tabloid size magazine, available for free throughout the Quad Cities at over 300 locations. The Reader provides keys to the Quad Cities' culture in print and online with exhaustive event calendars and coverage of arts, music, theatre, festivals, readings, lectures, meetings, exhibits, museums, dance, sports and classes for all ages. Commentaries on business and politics, locally written theatre and movie reviews, advice columns, astrology, cartoons and crosswords are also published in print monthly, and refreshed daily, online.
c80f0f1006