Happy Tears (2009)

Two sisters, Jayne (Posey) and Laura (Moore), return home to deal with their ailing father Joe (Torn), only to face some surprising situations.

Director:

Mitchell Lichtenstein

Writer:

Mitchell Lichtenstein

Stars:

Parker Posey, Demi Moore, Rip Torn

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Parker Posey	...	Jayne
Demi Moore	...	Laura
Peter Patrikios	...	Driver (as Pete Patrikios)
T. Ryder Smith	...	Shoe Salesman
Christian Camargo	...	Jackson
Victor Slezak	...	Eli Bell
Melissa Ticen	...	Stewardess
Rip Torn	...	Joe
Ellen Barkin	...	Shelly
Julianna Conforti	...	Young Jayne
Jacquelyn Conforti	...	Young Jayne
Alyssa Klein	...	Young Laura
David L. King	...	Dr. Sims (as David King)
Aldous Davidson	...	Waiter
Richard Barlow	...	Mitch (as Rich Barlow)

Storyline

Jayne and Laura are about to take on the first man they just might not be able to handle: their seventy-something-year-old father Joe. Dutiful daughters returning to the house they grew up in, Jayne and Laura are forced to take a closer look at their own not-so-perfect lives while dodging childhood memories. Laura suspects that Joe needs full-time care, but Jayne hopes that their father's condition isn't that serious. Joe is still singing and playing his old guitar, and the lively widower even has a new "ladyfriend," shameless and sassy Shelly. But as the visible moments of their father's impending senility increase, so do the dysfunctional family dynamics. Tensions flare as the close sisters must also juggle their own very different lives - Laura's busy schedule as an environmentalist and mother of two small children, and Jayne, desperate to finally have a baby with her workaholic art-dealing husband Jackson. Their adventures back home are not without magic, mischief and mayhem, and ...

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Plot Keywords:

treasure | childhood memory | buried treasure | jackson | dysfunctional family | 

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Taglines:

There's an art to going home without going crazy.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug use, and some sexual content including brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dakrya haras

Filming Locations:

Oakland, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$13,011 (USA) (19 February 2010)

Gross:

$21,568 (USA) (26 February 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pierpoline Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

At 1:30 The toast at the dinner table, Joe Toast with a glass of beer that becomes a can of beer.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Shutter Island/The Ghost Writer/Happy Tears (2010)

User Reviews

There are better family dramas than "Happy Tears"

"Happy Tears" is an independent, fairly simple, dysfunctional family drama. Two grown sisters move back home to take care of their ailing father. The sisters of course have their own problems on top of dealing with their father who is in denial of his situation and very much trying to live as the patriarch of dysfunctionality.

Many movies have told this type of story, and these filmmakers attempted to make their mark and do something better or at least different. But I was turned off by it. They were going for a dream-like feel with dream-like colours and imagery and of course actual dreams mixed in. I found it all very weird and made it hard for me to get into the film.

The title relates to the laughs and tears that occur. The problem is there are no laughs, and although the characters were well written I wasn't drawn into them so I didn't feel what they were feeling - just uncomfortable.

I appreciated the actors they cast, and the effort that they made to make this film new and good, but I have to recommend "The Savages" (2007) over this.