Happiness (film)
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| Happiness | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover for Happiness |
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| Directed by | Todd Solondz |
| Produced by | David Linde, James Schamus |
| Written by | Todd Solondz |
| Starring | Jane Adams Philip Seymour Hoffman Jon Lovitz Dylan Baker Lara Flynn Boyle Justin Elvin Cynthia Stevenson Lila Glantzman-Leib Gerry Becker Rufus Read Louise Lasser Ben Gazzara Camryn Manheim Arthur J. Nascarella Molly Shannon Ann Harada Douglas McGrath |
| Distributed by | Good Machine |
| Release date(s) | October 16, 1998 |
| Running time | 134 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,000,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
Happiness is a 1998 black comedy motion picture, written and directed by Todd Solondz, that shows the lives of three sisters and their families. It is also the title of a 1924 comedy feature film.
It stars Jane Adams, Elizabeth Adams, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara, Jared Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Louise Lasser, Jon Lovitz, Camryn Manheim, Rufus Read and Cynthia Stevenson. The film was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for "its bold tracking of controversial contemporary themes, richly-layered subtext, and remarkable fluidity of visual style," and the cast received the National Board of Review award for best ensemble performance.
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[edit] Plot overview
Happiness is an episodic movie, like Robert Altman's film Short Cuts. The episodes show parts of the lives of three New Jersey sisters as well as their parents. It is a movie which breaks with "normal" Hollywood conventions at every opportunity.
This becomes first apparent in the opening sequence, where one of the sisters tells a suitor (Jon Lovitz), who was just about to propose to her, that she does not wish to be with him. The suitor, through tears, tells her that she insulted him throughout their relationship.
The rest of the movie is no less blunt when it comes to showing where and how interpersonal relationships fail, how people get further and further away from happiness in their lives. There are some short glimpses of it, for example when one of the sisters sleeps with a Russian student from her language class (Jared Harris), who woos her with an impromptu performance of the love ballad "You Light Up My Life" — only to rob her in the very next scene.
Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle), the eldest sister, is a successful publicist who is adored and envied by everyone she knows, and can have any man she wants. Her charmed life leaves her ultimately unfulfilled; she despairs that no one wants her for herself, and that the praise regularly heaped upon her is undeserved. She is fascinated by a neighbor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who makes obscene phone calls to her apartment and tries to seek out a relationship with him. Meanwhile, the neighbor, Allen sinks deeper into depression as Helen's sudden interest in him ruins his fantasies, and realizes that a woman who truly cares for him (Camryn Manheim) has been right under his nose all along.
Trish (Cynthia Stevenson), the middle sister, is happily married to psychiatrist Bill Maplewood (Dylan Baker) and has three children. Unbeknownst to Trish, however, Bill is a pedophile. He develops an obsession for his 11-year-old son Billy's classmate Johnny Grasso (Evan Silverberg). When Johnny comes for a sleepover, Maplewood drugs Johnny as well as all his own family and then sodomizes Johnny while he is unconscious. He also learns that another boy, Ronald Farber, is home alone while his parents are away in Europe. Under the guise of attending a PTA meeting, Maplewood goes to Farber's house and rapes him too.
After Johnny is taken to the hospital and found to have been abused, the police arrive at the Maplewood residence to talk about Johnny Grasso. After alerting his wife to the police presence, he begins by asking the two detectives "So you wanted to talk about Ronald Farber?". The two detectives, looking puzzled say nothing. Maplewood then stammers, "I mean, Johnny Grasso." Out on bail, he admits to his son that he is a child molester, that he raped two of Billy's friends, that he enjoyed it, that he would do it again, and that rather than abuse his own son he masturbates instead.
Finally, the sisters' parents, Mona (Louise Lasser) and Lenny (Ben Gazzara) are separating after 40 years of marriage. Joe is bored with his marriage, but does not want to start another relationship; he simply "wants to be alone." As Mona copes with being single during her twilight years, Joe tries to rekindle his enthusiasm for life by having an affair with a neighbor. It is no use, however, as Joe eventually finds that he has lost the capability for virtually any emotion.
[edit] Themes
Tragic and disturbing scenes are often tempered with dark humor, such as a scene in which one character confesses to being raped and then murdering her rapist while ordering dessert.
The grim outlook on adult life stops only for the last scene, which shows the only truly happy person in the movie — 12-year-old Billy has just ejaculated for the first time and comes inside to tell his family, who are naturally shocked.
[edit] Controversy
The film was highly controversial upon its released and was given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA. Particularly controversial was its portrayal of Bill, a pedophile and child rapist, as a three-dimensional human being with redeeming qualities. While the way in which the role was written was criticized, however, Baker was lauded for his performance.
[edit] Trivia
The poster art was done by comic book creator Daniel Clowes.
