Happy Tears (2009)

31% of critics liked it
(32 reviews)
17% of users liked it
(1,268 ratings)

Teeth director Michael Lichtenstein takes a sharp turn from teen-oriented satire to mature family drama with this semi-autobiographical story concerning a pair of grown-up sisters who return to their family home in order to care for their ailing father. Jayne (Parker Posey) and Laura (Demi Moore)… More Teeth director Michael Lichtenstein takes a sharp turn from teen-oriented satire to mature family drama with this semi-autobiographical story concerning a pair of grown-up sisters who return to their family home in order to care for their ailing father. Jayne (Parker Posey) and Laura (Demi Moore) have long since moved out of their family home when they discover that their father's (Rip Torn) health has taken a turn for the worse. Returning to Pittsburgh in order to care for their slowly degenerating dad, the sisters quickly realize that their father is in total denial about his condition. Jayne has been shielded from the harsher side of life since she was just a little girl, and now as Laura begins pushing her sister to accept their bleak reality, their father takes a seedy lover (Ellen Barkin), who immediately rubs the girls the wrong way. But dealing with the father becomes the least of Jayne's and Laura's worries when the drama in their personal lives drags the demons of their past up to the surface and out into the open. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Mitchell Lichtenstein
Written By: Mitchell Lichtenstein
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Feb 19, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Jun 15, 2010
Studio: Roadside Attractions

Critic Reviews

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
A cringe-inducing, self-consciously kooky indie comedy that's best enjoyed for its taste of Rip Torn, who, judging by his recent alleged bank break-in, comes to loose-cannon stuff naturally.
Manohla Dargis, New York Times
Writer and director Mitchell Lichtenstein struggles to find the humor in a host of horrors.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Happy Tears settles for the usual moments, even at its quirkiest.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
In the role of a dialed-down, capable woman, Demi Moore suggests dramatic possibilities for future roles. She projects a kind of calm, and it's attractive.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
A vulgar, happy-as-cancer aberration that takes the dysfunctional family idea to a new low. Whimsical, yes. Happy, never.
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice
Other than the guest-starring appearance of Cy Twombly canvases, nothing distinguishes this poor relation of The Savages from all the other emotionally fraudulent Amerindies about familial dysfunction and reconciliation.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Demi Moore and Parker Posey play polar-opposite sisters dealing with their aging father (Rip Torn) who's showing signs of senility, soiling himself and shacking up with his "nurse" (Ellen Barkin).
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com
It's rarely dull and confidently guided by the cast, but it offers little in the way of overall impact, despite creative visual flourishes and a screenplay rooted in the devastating game of personal reflection. It's cold to the touch.
Jason McKiernan, Filmcritic.com
one of those awkwardly pretentious attempts to seem hip and profound by simply depicting people acting really goofy
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
Reminds one of how bad American independent films...can be.
Richard Knight, Windy City Times
You don't necessarily believe these are real folks but boy they sure are entertaining.
Richard Mowe, Boxoffice Magazine
Sometimes dysfunctional families are better kept for personal consumption rather than being unleashed on the world at large.
Kimberly Gadette, Indie Movies Online
Not all of the subplots work, but with its flights of fancy, superb acting and a cockeyed skew of family dysfunction, Happy Tears is a most unusual work of art.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
An oddball family drama with idiosyncratic characters and a handful of surreal scenes.
Marc Mohan, Oregonian
If the plot unfolded in a less formulaic way, this could have been an impressive dark-tinged comedy. But in the end, it's more a case of talented actors trying to find something fresh in a fairly stale tale.
Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly
Hollywood's strong female actors have in Lichtenstein a young talent who gives them the roles they deserve.
Noel Murray, AV Club
Happy Tears is a complete mess of a movie, but Lichtenstein conjures some sweet moments and striking metaphors -- and none more striking than Posey's $500 boots, which look either black or blue, given the available light.
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain Dealer
What's worse, the super-tired plot or the pretentious daydream asides? Despite Demi Moore and Parker Posey, the only time I was happy was when I was leaving the theater.
Matt Pais, Metromix.com
Realism falls victim to quirk yet again.
Marshall Fine, Hollywood & Fine
It works more often than it doesn't, but it never quite goes where you expect. And that's rare enough to be noteworthy.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bruce B

The one thing hard to believe about this movie is that Demi Moore even accepted her role. Family Drama about a dad who has reached the age o really needing nursing care. So Sorry 1 Star is all I'll throw out there.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Cast: Parker Posey, Demi Moore, Rip Torn, Ellen Barkin, Christian Camargo, Billy Magnussen, Sebastian Roche, Victor Slezak, T. Ryder Smith, Richard Barlow, Tom McNutt Director: Mitchell Lichtenstein Summary: Jayne (Parker Posey) and Laura (Demi Moore) return to their childhood… More
Cast: Parker Posey, Demi Moore, Rip Torn, Ellen Barkin, Christian Camargo, Billy Magnussen, Sebastian Roche, Victor Slezak, T. Ryder Smith, Richard Barlow, Tom McNutt Director: Mitchell Lichtenstein Summary: Jayne (Parker Posey) and Laura (Demi Moore) return to their childhood home in Pittsburgh to look after their father, Joe (Rip Torn), a lively widower who may be slipping into dementia. The sisters are soon at odds over their father's care -- and over old family dramas. As Joe's condition deteriorates, they are forced to confront myriad unpleasant memories. My Thoughts: "I really wanted to love this movie considering its cast, but a was just OK for me. Nothing really great happening in this film. The acting is all good, but the script is a bit of a mess. No character was sympathetic or likable. Parker Posey goes off into dreamland throughout the movie, and it was just boring and pointless for me. It was just a film that missed its beat."
Robert C

There was potential here for greatness, but ultimatley the film is just too convoluted to be effective. While there are many interesting / creative ideas floating around here, most of them are never fully developed. Meanwhile all of the mediocre ones are fully fleshed out, for a… More
There was potential here for greatness, but ultimatley the film is just too convoluted to be effective. While there are many interesting / creative ideas floating around here, most of them are never fully developed. Meanwhile all of the mediocre ones are fully fleshed out, for a painfully trite effect. Not even my darling Parker Posey can save this one. Honerable mention goes to Ellen Barkin for an impressive (nearly unrecognizable) performance as Dad's "lady friend" Shelly the nurse/crack whore. It really bumms me out when a film full of people who I like, is so mediocre .
Daisy M

Happy Tears, starring Parker Posley and Demi Moore was an independent, simple, drama of a dysfunctional family.Two sisters moved back home to take care of their sick father. Both of them have their own problems on top of dealing with their father who was in denial of his situation. I… More
Happy Tears, starring Parker Posley and Demi Moore was an independent, simple, drama of a dysfunctional family.Two sisters moved back home to take care of their sick father. Both of them have their own problems on top of dealing with their father who was in denial of his situation. I have seen many movies dealing with this type of story, and every time they just try to do something better or at least different. But this one just turned me off.The way they showed imaginary dreams mixed with reality just turned the movie to be very weird and made it hard for me to get into it.The title was related to the laughs and tears that were shown but there was no laughter. The characters were well written, but still could not drawn me into them and made me feel just uncomfortable.
Sunil J

There were things to like about this movie but it was messy. Posey and Moore had an interesting relationship and were the only reason I was into it at all. The story was okay but the way it was carried out was sloppy and not well thought out.
Quinto W

I love Parker Posey, I love her to death, but she plays such a naive, stupid and unbelieveable character in here, so pathetic, that it made everything completely unbeareable for me - not to mention that there's hardly anything else surrounding her; he movie tries to be quirky and… More
I love Parker Posey, I love her to death, but she plays such a naive, stupid and unbelieveable character in here, so pathetic, that it made everything completely unbeareable for me - not to mention that there's hardly anything else surrounding her; he movie tries to be quirky and funny, but it fails on both aspects. A complete misfire.