Happiness (1998)

Director:

Todd Solondz

Writer:

Todd Solondz (writer)

Release Date:

16 October 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

Three middle-class New Jersey sisters all have their problems with their families and sex lives.

Plot Keywords:

Sister | Restaurant | Marriage | Parent | New Jersey

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Jane Adams	...	Joy Jordan
Jon Lovitz	...	Andy Kornbluth
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Allen
Dylan Baker	...	Bill Maplewood
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Helen Jordan
Justin Elvin	...	Timmy Maplewood
Cynthia Stevenson	...	Trish Maplewood
Lila Glantzman-Leib	...	Chloe Maplewood
Gerry Becker	...	Psychiatrist
Rufus Read	...	Billy Maplewood
Louise Lasser	...	Mona Jordan
Ben Gazzara	...	Lenny Jordan
Camryn Manheim	...	Kristina
Arthur J. Nascarella	...	Detective Berman
Molly Shannon	...	Nancy

Also Known As:

Todd Solondz's Untitled (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rating surrendered; previously rated NC-17.

Runtime:

134 min | USA:141 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:R (Alberta/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Singapore:R21 | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM18 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating: 1999) | USA:Open (rating surrendered: 1999)

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Company:

Good Machine

Trivia:

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The number on top of Vlad's taxi is 5C19, while the license plate number is 8H69. On an actual New York City taxi, these numbers would match.

Quotes:

Diane: I want kids that love me as much as I hated my mother.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Piano Concerto

Prozac Cinema

I recently saw my first Todd Solondz film, Welcome To The Dollhouse. What a dark ride!

This week it took a couple of evenings for me to get through Happiness. There was a lot to get. Goodness gracious! (As my dear Grandmother might say, who, incidentally, is not a candidate for viewing THIS one!)

I'd read the reviews for Happiness in 1998; I'd had a typically positive Psychic Movie Reviewer moment. This indie sounded unique. I waited for Happiness - sniffle - to appear upon my friendly video store shelves, but saw nada. I imagine that the store probably had like two copies maybe, displayed briefly upon a bottom shelf someplace. I forgot about the existence of this film, until recently. And I recently heard that a certain video chain had allegedly pulled Happiness from its shelves due to customer complaints.

Disturbing yet intriguing, this film pulled me along, the matrix of character interaction becoming increasingly more intricate and strange. Definitely not for all tastes!

The subject of child sexual abuse is handled matter of factly, yet chillingly and effectively. As with the domestic/sexual abuse of women, the problem of child sexual abuse is obviously one that crosses lines of class, social status, and profession. Happiness acknowledges this fact, in the character of family man/psychiatrist Bill Maplewood.

Loneliness, rage, sexual repression/obsession, disintegrating marriages, sadly sophisticated children, relationships built upon artifice, this film has it all. It's Prozac Cinema at its best: try to be on an even keel when pressing 'play'.

Spouses, parents and children seem to be communicating across a void.

After viewing Happiness for the second time, I realized that the entire soundtrack intentionally consisted of melodramatic, and/or ultra perky canned music: a perfectly ironical compliment and contrast in style with the strong, harsh, quirky film scenes.

Presentation: director Solondz sets up the viewer for traditional father/son talk scenes, via mood and pseudo canned music: giving the subject matter and dialogue all the more impact. WHAT did he just say? Ward and Beaver Cleaver never behaved this way.

Got 134 minutes and a desire to see something darkly different? Rent Happiness. Or buy it.