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:

Errors in geography: There are no mountains or vineyards anywhere near Happy, Texas.

Quotes:

Marshal Nalhober: Great googely moogely!

Movie Connections:

References Fargo (1996)

Soundtrack:

Baila Este Ritmo

A real feel-good film

Happy, Texas is one of these films that you know from the beginning will end well, where everything work out, eventually, and nobody gets killed.

But it sure ain't all sweet, as foul language and sex is comic parts of the story, as are two supposedly gay men (they have stolen a camper belonging to two gay mane, so they, two escaped convicts, have to impersonate these guys for a while), a gay sheriff and so on.

The acting is nigh perfect, the story ludicrous, and it is all a great saga, but very modern at that. When Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr teaches the small girls how to dance on scene is one of the funniest scenes I've seen for a long time, and in all it outshines similar films by quite some distance!

If only Stuart Little had some of this energy and love of life, sigh!

8/10