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Happy Christmas (film)

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Happy Christmas
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoe Swanberg
Written byJoe Swanberg
Produced byJoe Swanberg
Alicia Van Couvering
Peter Gilbert
StarringAnna Kendrick
Melanie Lynskey
Mark Webber
Lena Dunham
CinematographyBen Richardson
Edited byJoe Swanberg
Production
company
Lucky Coffee Productions
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 19, 2014 (2014-01-19) (Sundance)
  • July 25, 2014 (2014-07-25) (United States)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$70,000
Box office$30,312[1]

Happy Christmas is a 2014 American independent dramedy film, written, produced and directed by Joe Swanberg. It stars Swanberg, Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, and Lena Dunham. Like most of Swanberg's previous features, the film's dialogue was entirely improvised.[2]

Christmas had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival—where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition—on January 19, 2014.[3][4] It was released on June 26, 2014 through VOD, prior to a limited theatrical run in the United States, which began on July 25, 2014. It received generally positive reviews from critics.[5]

Plot

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Irresponsible twenty-something Jenny (Anna Kendrick) arrives in Chicago to stay with her older brother Jeff (Joe Swanberg), a young filmmaker living a peaceful existence with his novelist wife Kelly (Melanie Lynskey) and their two-year-old son. Jenny's arrival shakes up their quiet domesticity as she and Carson (Lena Dunham), her old friend from high school, instigate an evolution in Kelly's personal life and literary career.

Cast

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Release

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Magnolia Pictures and Paramount Pictures jointly acquired the distribution rights prior to the film's premiere screening, with Magnolia handling U.S. theatrical and VOD distribution and Paramount Home Media Distribution handling U.S. physical home entertainment and all international rights.[6] The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2014.[7] It was released on VOD on June 26, 2014, before starting a limited theatrical run on July 25, 2014.[8]

Reception

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The film met with positive reviews. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 76% based on 79 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Intelligent, well-acted, and satisfyingly low-key, Happy Christmas marks another step in prolific filmmaker Joe Swanberg's creative evolution".[5] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Happy Christmas (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  2. ^ "Joe Swanberg Talks HAPPY CHRISTMAS". Collider. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  3. ^ "Sundance: Paramount & Magnolia Team For 'Happy Christmas'". Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  4. ^ "Sundance: 'Happy Christmas' With Anna Kendrick, Lena Dunham Picked Up by Magnolia, Paramount". Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Happy Christmas (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Pre-Sundance, Magnolia and Paramount Scoop Up Joe Swanberg's 'Happy Christmas'". Archived from the original on January 24, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  7. ^ Peter Debruge (2014-01-27). "'Happy Christmas' Review: Joe Swanberg's Son Upstages Anna Kendrick". Variety. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  8. ^ Shetty, Sharan (2014-05-20). "Happy Christmas Trailer: Anna Kendrick and Lena Dunham star in Joe Swanberg's latest mumblecore film (VIDEO)". Slate.com. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  9. ^ "Happy Christmas Reviews". Metacritic. 2014-07-25. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
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