Happiness (1998)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

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 | Marriage | New Jersey | Parent | Restaurant

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:

Director Cameo: [Todd Solondz]as the doorman in Allen, Helen, and Kristina's building.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: A crewmember's head is reflected in the window of the car when Bill is sitting in it after buying a magazine.

Quotes:

Bill: Have you tried playing with yourself?
Billy Maplewood: You mean...?
Bill: With your penis?
Billy Maplewood: A little.
Bill: How did it feel?
Billy Maplewood: I don't know? I don't know what to do.
Bill: Do you want me to, uh... show you?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: SexTV: Uncovered (#7.30)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

You Light Up My Life

A brilliant movie, but not for everyone.

This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, but I would hesitate to recommend it to people whom I don't know pretty well. It explores aspects of life and living (and suffering) that most films avoid or actively deny. And it does so brilliantly. The characters are vividly real, and there is such a strong sense of situations unfolding in real time that it's truly mesmerising. I felt like a fly on the wall, eavesdropping on conversations I could never hear otherwise. I think many people would absolutely hate this movie, partly because it doesn't pass judgement on behaviours that are repulsive to the bulk of humanity, and partly because it exposes us to them at all.