Happiness

Released 1998
Stars Jane Adams, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cynthia Stevenson, Jared Harris, Ben Gazzara, Louise Lasser, Camryn Manheim
Directed by Todd Solondz

Happiness is a brilliant film, but it's not for everyone. Because it's a comedy (and a brilliant comedy at that), I didn't find it nearly as disturbing as most people seemed to. In fact, it's made it on to my list of favorites.

Here are some comments from others:

This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, but I would hesitate to recommend it to people whom I don't know pretty well. It explores aspects of life and living (and suffering) that most films avoid or actively deny. And it does so brilliantly. The characters are vividly real, and there is such a strong sense of situations unfolding in real time that it's truly mesmerising. I felt like a fly on the wall, eavesdropping on conversations I could never hear otherwise. I think many people would absolutely hate this movie, partly because it doesn't pass judgement on behaviours that are repulsive to the bulk of humanity, and partly because it exposes us to them at all.

Summary by gmaland@hotmail.com

Portrait of an unhappy family--three sisters, their mother and father--and others who come into their orbit, each dealing with personal demons. They range from a telephone stalker who can't confront women in person to an eternally hopeful young woman named Joy whose life is a perpetual mess. Any film that tackles such topics as masturbation and pederasts isn't going to appeal to everyone, but writer-director Solondz makes them real people and tempers everything with humor. A truly remarkable film.

Summary by Leonard Maltin

This award-winning movie, which earned the critics' prizes at both the Cannes and Toronto film festivals, is a funny but profoundly disturbing look at the animal nature of humanity. If the film's compendium of perversions turns your stomach and you don't want to see how the fearless Solondz deals with the issues he raises so brazenly, just don't go. Because the ironically titled Happiness offers no easy way out of the squirm-in-your-seat situations it offers. No happy endings.

That said, the film is brilliantly constructed by Newark-raised writer-director Solondz. It is fearlessly performed by a sterling ensemble of mostly unknown or non-mainstream actors. The conversations between Baker and Read are some of the most heart-wrenching, bizarre and yet loving father-and-son scenes ever filmed.

It's an astonishing trick that is the key to understanding the film: Solondz minimizes his commentary and attitude, leaving that to the viewer willing to do a little work. That he can do so in the context of humour -- however tortured the comedy gets -- is just as astonishing as everything else in this remarkable film. You just can't pretend it's not disturbing, too. Happiness will haunt your Halloween dreams.

Summary By Bruce Kirkland