Another Happy Day (2011)

A wedding at her parents' Annapolis estate hurls high-strung Lynn into the center of touchy family dynamics.

Director:

Sam Levinson

Writer:

Sam Levinson

Stars:

Ellen Barkin, Ezra Miller, Ellen Burstyn

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ellen Barkin	...	Lynn
Ezra Miller	...	Elliot
Ellen Burstyn	...	Doris Baker
Demi Moore	...	Patty
Thomas Haden Church	...	Paul
Kate Bosworth	...	Alice
George Kennedy	...	Joe Baker
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Lee
Daniel Yelsky	...	Ben
Siobhan Fallon	...	Bonnie (as Siobhan Fallon Hogan)
Diana Scarwid	...	Donna
Eamon O'Rourke	...	Brandon
Lola Kirke	...	Charlie
David Hirsch	...	Tommy
Michael Nardelli	...	Dylan

Storyline

A family weekend is fraught with emotional landmines for mercurial and sensitive Lynn (Barkin) as she arrives at her parents' Annapolis estate for the marriage of her estranged eldest son Dylan (Michael Nardelli), accompanied by her three younger children (Ezra Miller, Kate Bosworth, Daniel Yelsky). Lynn's hopes for a joyful reunion are crushed as her wry but troubled middle son Elliot (Ezra Miller) lobs verbal grenades at his mother and her relatives while daughter Alice (Kate Bosworth), a fights valiantly to keep her longtime demons under control. The weekend quickly unravels as Lynn demands to be heard by her aloof, disdainful mother (Ellen Burstyn), ailing, distant father (George Kennedy) and ever-judgmental sisters (Siobhan Fallon, Diana Scarwid), but most especially by her ex-husband Paul (Thomas Hayden Church) and his hot-tempered second wife Patty (Demi Moore). Confronted with the deeply painful, half-buried truths that have given rise to the family's primal web ofresentments ...

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | wedding | family gathering | sitting on a toilet | bare chested male | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for teen drug/alcohol abuse, pervasive language including sexual references, and brief graphic nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 December 2011 (Greece)

Also Known As:

A Reasonable Bunch

Filming Locations:

Oakland Charter Township, Michigan, USA.

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineric, Filmula, Mandalay Vision

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Elliot claims that Patty "used to be a stripper." Demi Moore, who plays Patty, starred in the movie _Striptease (1996_).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ben: Do you think mom is hot?
Elliot: No, not really.
Ben: Why?
Elliot: I don't know. She's not my type.
Ben: You don't think she's pretty? Even if she wasn't mom.
Elliot: Uh, look, every opinion is objective. You know, maybe she's pretty in a universal sense. Uh, I mean, who the fuck knows? I'm just saying, she doesn't do it for me.
Ben: Do you think other people think she's hot?
Elliot: I don't know, some people fuckin' like McDonalds.
Ben: I like McDonalds.
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.31 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Everything >Must Change"
(From the CTI album "Baltimore", 1978)
Written by Benard Ihgner
Performed by Nina Simone
(recorded in January 1978)

User Reviews

Incredibly depressing story of a family reunion weekend, with some fantastic performances

"Another Happy Day" is an independent/low budget film from newcomer director Sam Levinson that focuses on a middle aged woman Lynn (Ellen Barkin) and her incredibly troubled family coming together for her eldest son's wedding.

The family ties here are quite complicated; Lynn has three sons and a daughter. Dylan, the groom and her eldest son was mostly raised by ex- husband Paul (Thomas Haden Church) and conniving second wife Patty (Demi Moore), Lynn's daughter with Paul is Alice (introduced halfway in the film by Kate Bosworth), who was raised by Lynn and is suicidal and prone to self harm. The younger sons are chronic drug addict Elliot (Ezra Miller) and an Asperger's sufferer Ben (Daniel Yelsky). It doesn't stop there, Lynn has two unbearable sisters you want to strangle (Diana Scarwid, Siobhan Fallonn Hogan) and her mother (Ellen Burstyn), as proper and respectable as she is, lacks any warmth or support for her daughter.

The film is a depressing and an emotionally draining experience. At times it is almost unbearable especially in Lynn's position as everyone around her is either against her or verbally and mentally attacking her to shreds. Burstyn's character makes a point one night of "Why ME!?" , as she reflects on the deterioration of her husband, but the audience's sympathy should be applied to Lynn, she is continually on the verge of a major breakdown but continues to pay no attention to how bad her state is and tries to soldiers on in this "joyous" family occasion.

Despite the film's miserable tone throughout and the lack of any resolution in the end, the film offers fantastic performances all around. In particular Ellen Barkin as the lead is simply stunning and should be recognized for her work here, her career has somewhat stalled in the last 10 years but hopefully with this performance and her recent Tony win we can see more performances of this caliber in the future. Another standout is the very engaging performance of Ezra Miller who plays the son from hell in another 2011 film this year (We Need to Talk About Kevin), and we shall hopefully see a lot more of him in the future. Ellen Burstyn was her usual wonderful self, her scene in the kitchen late at night with Barkin is incredibly intense and realistic, she take your breath away. Kate Bosworth, Demi Moore (a real bitch in this) and Thomas Haden Church are also at their best. Gloomy film, but wonderful cast, and recommended.