Take a look back at the talented actors and actresses who took home a Golden Globe for Best Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama since the category was created in 1951.
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Title: Happy Endings (2005)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Lisa Kudrow | ... | Mamie | |
| Steve Coogan | ... | Charley | |
| Jesse Bradford | ... | Nicky | |
| Bobby Cannavale | ... | Javier | |
| Maggie Gyllenhaal | ... | Jude | |
| Jason Ritter | ... | Otis | |
| Tom Arnold | ... | Frank | |
| David Sutcliffe | ... | Gil | |
| Sarah Clarke | ... | Diane | |
| Laura Dern | ... | Pam | |
| Hallee Hirsh | ... | Mamie at 17 | |
| Eric Jungmann | ... | Charley at 16 / Tom | |
| Kim Morgan Greene | ... | Connie Peppitone | |
| Rayne Marcus | ... | Annette | |
| Caitlyn Folley | ... | Lauren (as Caker Folley) | |
Three stories of Angelenos linked linearly by people associated with each are told. In story one, Mamie works as a psychologist at an abortion clinic, she, in addition to providing counseling, assessing mental fitness and thus approving or declining the request by potential patients for the procedure. This job is somewhat ironic as she purportedly aborted a pregnancy when she was seventeen, nineteen years ago. Her stepfather urged her to go through with the pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption, he, now dead, the only person in her personal life who knew that she went through with it. She is approached by Nicky, an aspiring filmmaker, who has proof of her son's identity, said son who threw such information away in no longer wanting to contact her. As his application for a scholarship to the AFI, Nicky wants to make a film on Mamie "discovering" her son. Not wanting to have her story splashed across a movie screen, especially as the biological father is still in her life and ... Written by Huggo
"Everything is a much bigger decision than we think"
Sound familiar, it could pass for an independent cinema manta. Hey, this is an indie comedy - guilty as charged. It seems the critics has seen all these characters and situations before but what they've failed to grasp is that quirky, ironic, and painfully funny moments are what make indies worth watching and the more familiar the better. Not to mention risky casting and this film has all of that and more.
On that note I put in my bid for Lisa Kudrow's first Oscar nomination as she has finally broken the 'Friends' mold (along with a streak of bad studio comedies) and fleshed out a three-dimensional character. As 'Mamie', the abortion counselor, Kudrow must painfully convey both a personal secret humiliation while dealing with indifferent patients. As if that isn't enough, Mamie also finds herself being blackmailed by filmmaker-wannabe 'Nicky', played with needy bravado by Jesse Bradford ("Bring It On"), who has some information she doesn't want anyone else to know.
Another comic actor who also breaks the Hollywood mold (so to speak) is longtime sidekick Tom Arnold ("True Lies") as 'Frank', a role he should have 'paid' to play. Why you ask? - well he does get to seduce 'not-one-but-two' of the great actresses in this film and does so with all of the comic neediness one would expect. Still, it's a role to die for and he raises his game to meet the challenge.
I could go on and on about this cast which is stocked with indie starlets like Laura Dern ("We Don't Live Here Anymore") and Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Secretary") plus hilarious comic actors ranging from Steve Coogan ("Coffee and Cigarettes") to Bobby Cannavale ("The Station Agent"). In fact, it's Cannavale's masseuse character (with the hilariously bad Mexican accent) that gives the title of the film its ironic twist.
And if you like disturbingly funny (albeit intrusive) on screen intertitles then this is the film for you. Indie fans UNITE! - this is your MUST-SEE viewing for the summer! It's like a quirky, old friend you've been longing to re-acquaint yourself with - plus it'll help to take away the 'bad taste' left in your mouth by more recent indie fare like "The Ballad of Jack and Rose" and "Palindromes."
Check it out!