Happy, Texas (1999)

Director:

Mark Illsley

Writers:

Ed Stone (writer) &
Mark Illsley (writer) ...

Release Date:

3 December 1999 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

Escaped convicts disguised as beauty pageant experts? This could get ugly.

Plot:

Two escaped convicts (Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn) arrive in the town of Happy, Texas, where they are...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Beauty Pageant | Teacher | Judge | Texas

Awards:

6 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Steve Zahn	...	Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr., aka David
Jeremy Northam	...	Harry Sawyer, aka Steven 'Steve'
William H. Macy	...	Sheriff Chappy Dent
Ally Walker	...	Josephine 'Joe' McClintock the Banker
Illeana Douglas	...	Doreen Schaefer
M.C. Gainey	...	Robert 'Bob' Allen Maslow
Ron Perlman	...	Marshal Nalhober
Mo Gaffney	...	Mrs. Bromley
Paul Dooley	...	The Judge
Jillian Berard	...	Madison 'Maddie'
Scarlett Pomers	...	Jency (Flaming Batons)
Melissa Arnold	...	Another Happy Girl
Cassie Silva	...	Another Happy Girl
Tiffany Takara	...	Another Happy Girl
Tim Bagley	...	David, Pagent Professional

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, sexual content and some violence.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:6 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Piru, California, USA

Company:

Marked Entertainment

Trivia:

William H. Macy's character has a discussion on the phone where he complains he cannot read a smudgy fax, and the message should be mailed, not faxed. This is exactly like a conversation his character has in Fargo (1996).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the climax, Sheriff Chappy shoots nine shots out of his revolver without reloading.

Quotes:

Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr.: [shows girls how to strut] Because I've got my weight in my hip,
[slaps his hip]
Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr.: weight in my hip.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2000 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Back In the Swing

Incredibly silly, but cute and funny nonetheless.

HAPPY, TEXAS tells us the story of two escaped inmates, Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr. (Steve Zahn) and Harry Sawyer (Jeremy Northam). They arrive in a town called Happy in Texas and proceed to steal the RV of a young gay couple, and are later forced to assume their identities as beauty pageant experts. Wayne becomes known as David, and Harry becomes known as Steven. "Steven" works on trying to avoid his feelings for the banker Joe (Ally Walker) and "pity-dating" the town sheriff Chappy (William H. Macy) while planning to rob the city bank, while "David" works on trying to teach a group of young girls to successfully win a beauty pageant.

I expected this to be a pretty dumb film, but I was surprised in that it wasn't. It was silly, of course, but not dumb. The plotline is ridiculous in theory but is carried out quite well. In fact, I found this movie to be rather sweet and charming, and very funny in parts. Not hysterical, but entertaining.

The thing I was most surprised about while viewing HAPPY, TEXAS was how good the acting was in parts. Every actor was good in both their comedic and dramatic moments. Steve Zahn was hilarious as Wayne, while Jeremy Northam was good in a mostly dramatic role. William H. Macy was excellent as he always is, as was Ally Walker.

All in all, HAPPY, TEXAS is a pretty average comedy. There are some good humorous moments, but they come somewhat few and far between. The pacing is a little too slow and it gets a little boring at times, but it's a cute and fairly original movie. Better than most of its kind and pretty entertaining. 7/10.