Happy Endings (2005)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Anatoliy D

  
  movie is so-so

• Jim H

  
  Multiple intersecting stories, including plots about blackmail, stolen sperm, and a woman who fucks a gay drummer and his father, are at the center of this Robert Altman imitation. By the end of this film, I thought that it had reached the Altman Standard in terms of its ability to… More
  Multiple intersecting stories, including plots about blackmail, stolen sperm, and a woman who fucks a gay drummer and his father, are at the center of this Robert Altman imitation. By the end of this film, I thought that it had reached the Altman Standard in terms of its ability to cleverly combine these characters with some degree of dramatic effectiveness. I write "dramatic" intentionally because even though the title cards and other sources identify this as a comedy, I saw very little humorous about its situations or delivery. Sure, there are a couple moments that were chuckle-worthy, but that's about it. In my sentence-summary of the film, I listed the most prominent plots, and if you think I'm being somewhat satirical, you're right. A lot of the critics' reviews of <i>Happy Endings</i> lamented the ludicrousness of its storylines, and from a writer's standpoint, I have to agree. However, good actors can sometimes save bad writing. The way in which each of these actors commit to their characters makes the film almost believable. Of particular note is Lisa Kudrow, with whom I, a long-time <i>Friends</i> hater, have never been impressed. But she scraps her ditsy-girl act, and her damaged character exudes a vulnerability that her other work didn't allow her to explore. Also, throughout the film we get title cards explaining characters' back-stories, and this strikes me as lazy filmmaking. Instead of deftly showing the information we need, the film inundates the audience with minutiae and sly comments that have little bearing on the film's action. Overall, though there are some significant issues from a writing perspective, the actors save this piece.

• Nicki M

  
  This is a great movie. I first watched it a few years ago, and I couldn't remember a great deal about it, aside from that I enjoyed it. Had a few hours this afternoon, (and I mean that literally, it is over 2 hours long). This is a black comedy and has a great cast including… More
  This is a great movie. I first watched it a few years ago, and I couldn't remember a great deal about it, aside from that I enjoyed it. Had a few hours this afternoon, (and I mean that literally, it is over 2 hours long). This is a black comedy and has a great cast including Maggie Gylenhaal in an early role (probably my favourite character in this. She is not especially likable, but I did like her, she plays the part in such a way that you want to make excuses for her). There's also Lisa Kudrow in sour and bitchy mode, similar to the character she played in The opposite of sex, which I think was the same director, which explains a few things. The two movies definitely have similarities. I really liked how this movie ran so many different stories together, and how it used text to narrate some of the story. An interesting and well written story.

• Conner R

  
  A really interesting story and quite a few likable characters. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan and Jesse Bradford all give really good performances, while some of the other actors seem to go unnoticed. The stories are all pretty interesting and have a very different feel… More
  A really interesting story and quite a few likable characters. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan and Jesse Bradford all give really good performances, while some of the other actors seem to go unnoticed. The stories are all pretty interesting and have a very different feel to each one, which was really an interesting approach.

• Red L

  
  Its a funny movie -- a bunch of characters intertwined - gay and straight, honest or not. Perhaps it was too late in the evening when I watched it, but I was having troubles with all the connections even though they do their best to explain them to you.

• Jennifer X

  
  So it wasn't exactly a cinematic masterpiece, but you know what? It was fun. Really fun. And ohmanohman do I love Lisa Kudrow in this.

• Leigh R

  
  Kinda odd, but it was okay to watch.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]"Happy Endings" starts out with Mamie(Lisa Kudrow) being hit by a car...and then flashes back to when Mamie was 17 and she got pregnant by her step-brother, Charley. Mamie goes off to Arizona to have an abortion. That in turn sets up the three storylines… More
  [font=Century Gothic]"Happy Endings" starts out with Mamie(Lisa Kudrow) being hit by a car...and then flashes back to when Mamie was 17 and she got pregnant by her step-brother, Charley. Mamie goes off to Arizona to have an abortion. That in turn sets up the three storylines of the movie:[/font] [font=Century Gothic]1) Actually Mamie did not have an abortion. She was talked into giving the baby up for adoption. Nicky(Jesse Bradford) has found this out and wants Mamie to help him make a documentary about the reunion process in exchange for her son's name.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]2) Charley(Steve Coogan) has since come out of the closet and owns one of the restaurants left to him by his father. He is in love with Gil(David Sutcliffe). They are friends with a lesbian couple, Diane and Pam(Sarah Clarke & Laura Dern), who have a baby conceived through a sperm bank. Charley, though, is utterly convinced that Gil is the father of the child.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]3) Otis(Jason Ritter) works at Charley's restaurant and secretly has a crush on Charley. Otis is also in a band, and in need of replacing the lead singer who is in rehab for a variety of reasons. He comes across Jude(Maggie Gyllenhaal) singing karaoke and asks her to join his band. She accepts because she is in need of a place to crash and of any kind of morals. Otis' father, Frank(Tom Arnold), a widow, is in denial over his son's sexuality and is quite wealthy. [/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Happy Endings" is a sardonic free-for-all that raises questions about the nature of paternity in our society and how honest we are all with our fellow human beings. I also think it is quite important that this is the first movie in a few years that raises the subject of abortion.([b]Correction: [/b]Somehow, I forgot all about last year's "Vera Drake." Sorry.) Don Roos does a masterful job of juggling the three interrelated storylines which only weakens when he tries to simultaneously resolve everything at the end of the film. Of the large cast, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Arnold, Lisa Kudrow come off the best. My main complaint is that there was simply not enough of Laura Dern.[/font]

• Daniel P

  
  An extremely well written, directed and acted movie of the kind that only independent cinema could ever offer. This takes the now familiar device of intertwining characters and storylines (a la <i>Go</i>, <i>Heights</i>, <i>Look Both Ways</i> etc.)… More
  An extremely well written, directed and acted movie of the kind that only independent cinema could ever offer. This takes the now familiar device of intertwining characters and storylines (a la <i>Go</i>, <i>Heights</i>, <i>Look Both Ways</i> etc.) and breathes new life into it. The film shows a fundamental truth of human nature; that people lie. And not always to be deceptive, but out of habit, or because it's easier, or without realising it. Don Roos, as in his earlier flick <i>The Opposite of Sex</i>, writes vivid, multi-layered and three-dimensional characters, and shifts between them and their different storylines effortlessly. <p>In addition to the excellent writing and direction, the film is graced with a compeling cast, all of whom deliver fantastic performances. I always enjoy Lisa Kudrow's work outside of <i>Friends</i>, and this is probably her finest film to date. Maggie Gyllenhaal excels with typical flair as a sultry, coniving character that lesser actors would've portrayed as unsympathetic or overly kooky. Instead, Gylenhaal gives a finely nuanced performance, and who would've thought she'd have a great singing voice too? Jesse Bradford is as good here as he was in <i>Heights</i> but plays a very different character, showing he has talent with the right director guiding him. And Steve Coogan especially impresses with an emotionally heavy role, despite a pretty wobbly accent. <p>If you want to see what a talented writer/director and a great cast can do on a small budget, then look no further.

• Sunil J

  
  Jason Ritter is great in this and I really like it's dark humor.

• Leo L

  
  Hilarious!

• Sarah B

  
  A must-see, just for Gyllenhaal's singing. Special kudos go to Kudrow and Jesse Bradford. Coogan is a little uncomfortable though.

Read all 12 featured audience ratings