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Happiness Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 34 Reviews)

Turns out that happiness is not all it's cracked up to be
I watched this film hoping to be blown away, and afraid I'd be too disgusted to finish it. I'd heard so many things about it, both good and bad, that I had no idea what to expect. And indeed, it was the absolute last thing I expected: truly and profoundly boring.

Having recently watched 'Welcome to the Dollhouse' (which I adored) and now 'Happiness', I think Solondz employs a reliable method to evoke laughter - he delves into our deepest anxieties, in this case our fear that we are depraved, weak, pitiful, unlovable. While many movies dance around this subject matter, Solondz dives right in, and refuses to grant any relief. His films tell you that your worst doubts may very well be true. That break-up conversation WILL go horribly wrong. The sad loser you dump WON'T recover and go on to find his soul mate. I consider myself to be fairly demon-riddled, and thus a prime candidate to enjoy this type of humor, but 'Happiness', despite the abundance of sexual fluids, remains an oddly arid film.

While I know this will comparison will cause 'Happiness' lovers to quiver with rage, I really consider 'American Beauty', while far less ambitious, to be a more powerful film. I sympathized with Kevin Spacey's character a great deal, which made his obsession with his daughter's best friend all the more squicky. I didn't empathize with anyone in 'Happiness' in the slightest, and was therefore not moved by the cruelty, pathos, and flat-out stupidity of their actions. Everyone could have turned into giant, talking aardvarks halfway through the movie, and I wouldn't have been particularly surprised or affected.

I find this particularly odd because I know several women like Joy, and feel the anxiety her character is meant to evoke: what do you do with people who care so much about helping others, but are somehow ineffectual? I would think I'd find her character utterly engrossing, but no. Not even a shiver of interest. While watching `Dollhouse', I was constantly debating whether to laugh, cry, or throw up. While watching "Happiness', I was debating whether to turn it off and catch something on HBO.

Finally, and I know this is just a personal quirk, I can't stand watching conversations that are filled with long, awkward pauses, which pretty much defines this entire movie.

The acting is fairly solid and there are a few funny moments here and there, which is why I think the film merits two stars. Overall, though, if you haven't seen a Solondz yet, I'd suggest `Dollhouse'. I'd also like to recommend another movie that covers similar themes, though it is not well known: `Spanking the Monkey'.

i feel like a bad person for liking this movie so much
i am a person that enjoys movies that many people find hard to watch. this movie was the most twisted movie that i have ever seen. those who are weak of stomach probably should not watch it. having said this, i thought the movie was absolutely brilliant and hilarious. great cast, great acting, great righting, direction, cinematography, ect. the movie is a comedy, but in a very indirect way. if you can't laugh about pedophilia, then this movie isnt for you.

Different
This film is a surprising accomplishment. I find it strange that a film with such repulsive subject matter was able to garner support from such top-notch actors as Philp Seymour-Hoffman. The film also features the familiar faces as Dylan Baker, Jon Lovitz, and Lara Flynn Boyle. As forementioned by a reviewer, this film contains a host of sick and twisted characters; the film is presented as a comedy, so it isn't especially difficult to watch, although it is still very bizarre. The characters include a suicidal man, an author of poetry told from the perspective of sexually abused children who is also has sex witha different man every night, a phone sex pervert, a pedophile/child rapist/serial killer, a homophobic father upset with the fact that his son is potentially gay, a seemingly regular woman who in fact has sadistically mutated the body of a bellhop, a child obsessed with wanting to release a special bodily fluid, a man cheating on his "mistress" with his immigration counselor, and a man who leaves his wife of many decades for a sexy elder in his new retirement home. The film is unrated and contains Graphic sexual dialogue, sex scenes including a shadow of rough doggystyle, nudity, Disturbing sexual themes involving pedophilia and child rape, a brutal scene of violence/gore, strong language, images of launched bodily fluids, and discussions of brutal murder. Parents might want to hire a sitter for this one. In its actual quality, the film is daring and manages to be quite the funny film even if you do feel guilty about it. At over 2 hours, the film does become kind of slow, and their are lulls, but truly excellent performances and a quirky script make this effort worth your time.

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