The latest film by Todd Solondz ("Welcome to the Dollhouse") is quite simply titled "Happiness." A sort of character mosaic, much like "Magnolia" or "Short Cuts," "Happiness" takes the viewer through a few days in the lives of many diverse characters, usually focusing in on one or two at a time. While I strongly recommend "Magnolia," "Short Cuts," and many more character films for all passionate film audiences, to enjoy what "Happiness" has to offer, you must be prepared for its extremely disturbing subject matter.
"Happiness" opens with one of the most painfully honest and subtly hilarious scenes about a breakup ever filmed. Joy Jordan (Jane Adams - "2 Days in the Valley") is out to dinner with her boyfriend, Andy (John Lotitz - TV's "SNL" and "The Critic"), who has brought along a very nice gift for her. But just before he springs the gift on her, Joy informs him that although things are going fine, she is ready to end the relationship. "Is it someone else?" asks Andy. "No," Joy replies, "it's just you." The look on her face as Andy takes back the gift and proceeds to tell her off is priceless.
In one way or another, Joy can be considered the center of the film. She lives alone at her parent's house and holds a job in telephone sales. Early on in the film though, she quits this job and becomes a scab, or strike-breaker as she prefers to be called, at an education center for immigrants. As a whole, the film focuses separately on the stories of Joy and her two sisters, Trish and Helen.
Cynthia Stevenson ("Forget Paris," "The Player") plays Trish Maplewood, Joy's "normal" sister who has three young children, a nice house, a husband, a dog, and a "white picket fence." Cynthia spends so much time worrying about Joy's love life that she does not even notice the escalating sickening habits of her husband, Bill (Dylan Baker - "Disclosure," "The Cell"). Bill, a therapist by trade, is secretly a homosexual pedophile who is finally working up the courage to go through with his disheartening fantasies. He also has heart to heart talks with his eleven year old son about the boy's difficulties with masturbation.
Bill's patient who we meet early in the film is Allen (Philip Seymour Hoffman - "Magnolia," "Boogie Nights"). Allen is a self-proclaimed "boring," lonely man who has distanced himself from the rest of the world. He sits in his apartment day in and day out masturbating to fantasies about strangers whom he calls on the phone; and in particular, his thoughts are directed towards his luscious neighbor, Helen Jordan (Lara Flynn Boyle - TV's "The Practice"). Helen is Joy's other sister, an attractive poet / author who claims she is tired of being admired by every man who sees her (Think of Angela's confession to Jane in "American Beauty" - except Helen is sick of it). Like Trish, Helen worries about Joy's love life, though she is not nearly as optimistic as Trish that Joy will eventually find happiness.
A fourth story focuses in on the sisters' parents who are living in a vacation condo. Early in the film, with the overtly simple explanation from Lenny (Ben Gazarra - the sister's father) that "people change," we learn that the parents are separating. Lenny has some sort of a relationship with a friend, Diane, which his wife sees as the cause of him losing interest in her. Lenny, however, claims that any chance at him finding new love is long gone.
Additional supporting actors who play important roles in the plot include Camryn Manheim (TV's "The Practice") as Kristina, Allen's overweight neighbor who has an obvious attraction for him, and Jared Harris as Vlad, a Russian immigrant in Joy's class who does not hide his instant attraction to her.
"Happiness" is a prime example of an absolutely perfectly cast film. I cannot imagine any other actors playing a single one of the roles. Excellent performances are delivered by every actor, most notably from Baker, Adams, Boyle, and Hoffman. If there were an Oscar for ensemble casts, I cannot imagine that the Academy would have looked over "Happiness" for this award as it did for so many others.
Solondz enjoyed critical acclaim for the depressing realism of his 1995 film, "Welcome to the Dollhouse," with its subject of unhappy and unfulfilled teenagers. Three years later, his follow up film, "Happiness," comes across with the same subject matter, but involving thirty-some characters and told in a more mature style. While the two films together propel Solondz into one of today's most brilliant and controversial writer / directors, "Happiness" is certainly the superior effort, just slightly missing my best of the decade list.
Make no qualms about it - "Happiness" is definitely NOT for all audiences. I have seen many films that most viewers would be too appalled to even watch, but that did not bother me at all. However, the frankness of much of the dialogue between Bill and his eleven year old son absolutely disgusts me to the point that I cannot help but cringe in my seat. While it will not leave you feeling "happy" in the end, "Happiness" is a masterpiece of modern cinema that, if you are still interested after reading my description, is well worth your time.
10 out of 10.
Unrated (NC-17 equivalent) for extreme sexual, adult themes, language, and brief nudity
DVD Extras: The DVD includes the widescreen version of the film, the theatrical trailer, and cast and crew biographies. However, there is nothing beyond these standard extras to satisfy those of us who love the film and want more. I seriously doubt there is a big enough audience for the film for the studio to ever release another DVD version of the film, so this is sadly all we will get.
Building on the darkly comic angst of WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE Todd Solondz's HAPPINESS conveys suburban desperation and frustration on a larger scale...More at Family Video
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.