Happy, Texas

Pros: cast, especially Macy and Zahn
Cons: hard-to-swallow premise(s)

I followed up Netflix's recommendation of "Happy, Texas" (1999, cowritten, coproduced and directed by Mark Illsley) with some trepidation. I find "Weeds" and "Northern Exposure" funny, but look askance at many shows and movies that others find hilarious. ...

Pros: Steve Zahn, William H. Macy
Cons: Romance falls flat

The beginning of "Happy, Texas" introduces us to two seeingly small time criminals (Steve Zahn and Jeremy Northam) working a Texas chain gang with one seemingly big time criminal. Zahn's character is the epitome of stupid, and Northam's is simply trying...

Pros: Light Comedy for When You Don't Want to Think
Cons: Somewhat predictable, occasional slap-stick

Happy, Texas is about two small-time crooks who escape from prison and head for freedom after stealing an RV owned by two gay pageant designers. The RV breaks down and the two are picked up by the sheriff - but not to be returned to jail but rather to...

Pros: Steve Zahn adds another dimwit star to his galaxy of characters
Cons: Plot and direction are as lame as a three-legged dog

You may not realize it, but you’ve already seen Happy, Texas. It was just called by another name: Some Like It Hot, To Wong Foo, Tootsie or any number of movies where men masquerade as fey little creatures and find themselves having one of...

Pros: Quirky characters, great actors, Happy story, outre situation, big-budgeted feel
Cons: Inchoate directors, mangled script, insufficient development, lack of chemistry.

In 1998, Mark Illsley and Ed Stone, two buds living in Los Angeles with barely existent film experience were bussing tables and making telemarketing calls to make ends meet. In their late 20's, the big 3-0 was fast approaching, and so they decided to ...

Pros: Zahn makes this film worth seeing!
Cons: Not terribly original and short on substance!

Happy Texas is a nice little film, but not exactly a marvel of film making. The story is not very original and some of the story line was somewhat lame; but some of the performances in this film were the best I have seen.

When escaped...

Pros: Funny and good-spirited
Cons: If you're looking for something insightful, this isn't it

It seems that you can't go wrong with a beauty pageant movie set in a quirky small town these days. Last summer's Drop Dead Gorgeous was a consistently funny if somewhat far-fetched sleeper about a group of teenaged girls competing viciously in a...

Pros: Well-developed performance by William H. Macy
Cons: Stereotypes that aren't funny

This is what the Sundance Film Festival has come to. In 1999, festival audiences were swept away by the mistaken identity comedy HAPPY, TEXAS, which Miramax picked up for national distribution. It's a travesty that the film festival that once recognized...

Pros: Steve Zahn and William H. Macy give terrific performances
Cons: The plot is a little dumb, but there are many comedic gems throughout.

Sick with the flu (stuffy nose, achy limbs, cough-- all the classic unfun symptoms), I went into the video store to look for something decent enough not to sleep through. I ran down the new releases section, snuffling aggravatedly at all the copies...

Pros: Really fun performances, a few surprises for each character
Cons: Familiar plot; don't watch if you're looking for something groundbreaking

It could've been called that, except then you'd know exactly what the plot was going to be, and wouldn't need to see it!

Yes, we've seen this plot a squillion times: hard-core, rotten-hearted con artist/escaped convict/mysterious...

Pros: Derivative storyline
Cons: Funny, wonderful cast

If Happy, Texas didn't have such a great cast, I would never be able to recommend it. Fortunately for everyone involved with the making of this picture, the cast is full of terrific character actors, specifically William H. Macy, Ileanna Douglas, and...

Pros: Fine acting, possible premise, feel good plot
Cons: on DVD version, no bio info on actors and their accomplishments

Having been to Texas I tend to believe that the words just don't go together! (Happiness is a temporary state at best, never a small town). But this movie is a new twist on the now somewhat common gender-bender, or gender-blender flicks. (See "In...

Pros: WILLIAM H. MACY, Steve Zahn, and some funny funny bits
Cons: Jeremy Northam, overly formulaic plot with not one surprise, misplaced earnestness and sentiment

Okay. Let's get the obligatory plot synopsis out of the way: "Happy, Texas" is the story of two escaped cons (a Smart One and a Dumb One) who, through a madcap mix-up, find themselves acting as a gay couple preparing contestants for a small...

Pros: Some funny slapstick moments
Cons: Could see everything coming up Broadway with a brass band

As Dan Rather might say, " You can dress a pig up in a tutu and teach it to dance, but you won't end up with Swan Lake." That pretty much is everything you need to know about Happy, Texas. Basically, Happy, Texas is a formula film that throws...

Pros: Terrific performances
Cons: Slow start

That indeed is the premise of this slight but funny comedy starring Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn and William H. Macy.

Harry Sawyer(Jeremy Northam) and Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr.(Steve Zahn) are convicts on the run who arrive in Happy, Texas. They are...