Happy Holidays 2008 123movies

Watch: Happy Holidays 2008 123movies, Full Movie Online – “Happy Holidays” is a film that takes a comedic look at what happens when three childhood friends unexpectedly reunite in their Connecticut hometown right before Christmas. It’s a story about growing up, growing apart, and eventually finding common ground. It’s also about perception vs. reality, and how more often than not we make things much more difficult for ourselves than they need to be. In the film, the lead characters have conflicting perspectives on life: Alden is a recent convert to Judaism. He currently lives in Chicago, but is constantly on the move. Alden has major commitment issues. Kirby is a staunch Catholic, who uses his faith to justify his moral lapses. Kirby is in town from Baltimore, where he lives with his wife and kids. And Patrick still lives in his parents’ house in Connecticut (which he purchased from them; they live in Maine.) A self-proclaimed Atheist, Patrick is also one of the only openly gay men in town. Patrick’s parents, coincidentally, have major issues with the fact that he’s gay (or so he thinks…). The story really centers on Patrick, whose life is becoming more and more complicated, especially around the holidays. Not only is he dealing with his parents’ lack of acceptance for his lifestyle (or his own perception of their lack of his acceptance), but he is also trying to figure out where his relationship stands with his partner, Kevin. Should he stay with Kevin? Should he continue living in his parents’ house? What does he want to do with his life? Patrick conveniently puts these issues on hold while he attempts to help his friends with their problems. Alden arrives a day before Christmas Eve. He is running from his longtime girlfriend who has just proposed to him. Kirby arrives the same day, but he’s in town for his estranged father’s funeral. Patrick and his friends spend the next forty-eight hours trying to relive the past. In doing so, they ultimately discover that the past isn’t exactly as they remembered. They literally dig up old memories in the form of a time capsule, and with the help of a bottle of Patrick’s uncle’s wine, an old copy of TV Guide, and the effervescent music of Billy Ocean, the guys are transported back to the 1980s. But, the reality of the present is more powerful than any fond recollection of the past. Finding themselves stuck in the present, they must come to terms with who they are now, not only as friends, but also as adults. “Happy Holidays” is a story about perception, personal beliefs, and in the end, acceptance. It’s funny, thought provoking, and moving, but also poignant, and at times, hilarious. The holidays will never be the same!.
Plot: A film that takes a comedic look at what happens when three childhood friends unexpectedly reunite in their Connecticut hometown right before Christmas.
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Ratings:

	7.3/10 Votes: 57
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	N/A | MetaCritic
	N/A Votes: 3 Popularity: 0.6 | TMDB

Reviews:

A Nutshell Review: Happy Holidays
The one thing I like about watching an indie film, is for that whiff of refreshing ideas and story that one yearns after a series of what can be considered rather bland mainstream offerings. I suppose with a relatively modest budget, one gets forced to become innovative in crafting a tale, especially one for an increasingly sophisticated audience, and for all the Christmas-y movies running up to the new year, Happy Holidays was nothing but an absolute delight to sit through.

Written and directed by James Ferguson, Happy Holidays tells of three friends who get together through circumstances around the holiday period where all should be fine and dandy with merry making. However each brings along his own baggage of problems – some become very vocal about their issues, while others pent it all up inside, and we examine and follow how they re-connect with each other after a long absence, and how at the end of it all, their lives would be dramatically altered.

Central to the story is Patrick (Paul Hungerford), who feels that his current relationship with his gay partner is somewhat strained, given his reservations and feeling all worked up for the littlest of details that he deemed to be significant, but not having the will to see those stuff through. And not to mention parental objection as well, as he reveals to Alden (John Crye) who gatecrashes Patrick’s plans to spend the holiday season with his lover. Alden brings with him the problems stemming from a break up, as well as the issues with a conversion of religion, while mutual friend Kirby (Thomas Rhoads) whom they chance upon in a diner one day, has to get over the recent death of his father, and surprise to them all, yet still having the composure to being quite the Casanova, cheating behind his wife’s back.

But don’t be expecting any big bang, in your face tale where feel-good, moral messages get shoveled forcefully down your throat just because it’s a season to be jolly. Ferguson crafts a very sensitive tale through a very deft hand of crafty wit in its screenplay, and excellent dialogue amongst characters that feel genuine and as real as you can get with your own get- together with friends. It’s a comedy about friendship, family and faith, with some really touching themes about coming to terms, acceptance and reconciliation.

I guess with friends whom we haven’t met for a long time, it’s always fairly easy to pick up from where we left off, as if it was just yesterday. The bonding returns, the reminiscent of the good old days and for the trio, it also involves the search for a time capsule they buried when they were back in school. But the film very smartly weaves in some real world concerns, and I’m sure most of us would have experienced at some point, where during the festive season of good tidings and goodwill, that the latter gets exploited and taken advantaged of, and even amongst the best of friends, the fine line between being accommodating and on the receiving end of someone’s subconsciously obnoxious behaviour, can be crossed.

What I particularly enjoyed about the film, is that it succeeded in its reliance of razor sharp dialogue to become a talkie film that doesn’t annoy. You know how crafted dialogue may sound rather artificial, but in Happy Holidays, the dialogue comes across as music to the ears, aided by the excellent delivery by its cast. It has some of the best conversational set pieces occurring in the diner involving a hard of hearing elderly woman, a departmental store, and a bar which involves Kirby’s plans for a hot night out going awry.

Happy Holidays turned out to be a quality production with a very good story to tell, surpassing my expectations that it would be a simple, ordinary festive season movie. It has all the necessary ingredients to be feel-good, yet layered with enough pathos and moving moments to touch your heart, particularly in its final act, where it rang home the notion that we sometimes second-guess ourselves a lot more than necessary, rather than to seek out honest and open communications, which is a key to forging basic and deeper understanding. It’s currently having a limited run in the USA, so if you know of it playing at a cinema near you, do check it out!

A Nutshell Review: Happy Holidays
The one thing I like about watching an indie film, is for that whiff of refreshing ideas and story that one yearns after a series of what can be considered rather bland mainstream offerings. I suppose with a relatively modest budget, one gets forced to become innovative in crafting a tale, especially one for an increasingly sophisticated audience, and for all the Christmas-y movies running up to the new year, Happy Holidays was nothing but an absolute delight to sit through.

Written and directed by James Ferguson, Happy Holidays tells of three friends who get together through circumstances around the holiday period where all should be fine and dandy with merry making. However each brings along his own baggage of problems – some become very vocal about their issues, while others pent it all up inside, and we examine and follow how they re-connect with each other after a long absence, and how at the end of it all, their lives would be dramatically altered.

Central to the story is Patrick (Paul Hungerford), who feels that his current relationship with his gay partner is somewhat strained, given his reservations and feeling all worked up for the littlest of details that he deemed to be significant, but not having the will to see those stuff through. And not to mention parental objection as well, as he reveals to Alden (John Crye) who gatecrashes Patrick’s plans to spend the holiday season with his lover. Alden brings with him the problems stemming from a break up, as well as the issues with a conversion of religion, while mutual friend Kirby (Thomas Rhoads) whom they chance upon in a diner one day, has to get over the recent death of his father, and surprise to them all, yet still having the composure to being quite the Casanova, cheating behind his wife’s back.

But don’t be expecting any big bang, in your face tale where feel-good, moral messages get shoveled forcefully down your throat just because it’s a season to be jolly. Ferguson crafts a very sensitive tale through a very deft hand of crafty wit in its screenplay, and excellent dialogue amongst characters that feel genuine and as real as you can get with your own get- together with friends. It’s a comedy about friendship, family and faith, with some really touching themes about coming to terms, acceptance and reconciliation.

I guess with friends whom we haven’t met for a long time, it’s always fairly easy to pick up from where we left off, as if it was just yesterday. The bonding returns, the reminiscent of the good old days and for the trio, it also involves the search for a time capsule they buried when they were back in school. But the film very smartly weaves in some real world concerns, and I’m sure most of us would have experienced at some point, where during the festive season of good tidings and goodwill, that the latter gets exploited and taken advantaged of, and even amongst the best of friends, the fine line between being accommodating and on the receiving end of someone’s subconsciously obnoxious behaviour, can be crossed.

What I particularly enjoyed about the film, is that it succeeded in its reliance of razor sharp dialogue to become a talkie film that doesn’t annoy. You know how crafted dialogue may sound rather artificial, but in Happy Holidays, the dialogue comes across as music to the ears, aided by the excellent delivery by its cast. It has some of the best conversational set pieces occurring in the diner involving a hard of hearing elderly woman, a departmental store, and a bar which involves Kirby’s plans for a hot night out going awry.

Happy Holidays turned out to be a quality production with a very good story to tell, surpassing my expectations that it would be a simple, ordinary festive season movie. It has all the necessary ingredients to be feel-good, yet layered with enough pathos and moving moments to touch your heart, particularly in its final act, where it rang home the notion that we sometimes second-guess ourselves a lot more than necessary, rather than to seek out honest and open communications, which is a key to forging basic and deeper understanding. It’s currently having a limited run in the USA, so if you know of it playing at a cinema near you, do check it out!

Other Information:

Original Language en
Runtime N/A
Budget 0
Revenue 0
Status Released
Rated Not Rated
Genre Comedy
Director James Ferguson
Writer James Ferguson, Tom Misuraca
Actors Paul Hungerford, John B. Crye, Thomas Rhoads
Country United States
Awards N/A
Production Company N/A
Website N/A

Technical Information:

Sound Mix N/A
Aspect Ratio N/A
Camera N/A
Laboratory N/A
Film Length N/A
Negative Format N/A
Cinematographic Process N/A
Printed Film Format N/A