Happy Endings | |
---|---|
Directed by | Don Roos |
Produced by | Michael Paseornek Holly Wiersma |
Written by | Don Roos |
Starring | Tom Arnold Jesse Bradford Bobby Cannavale Steve Coogan Laura Dern Maggie Gyllenhaal Lisa Kudrow Jason Ritter |
Cinematography | Clark Mathis |
Edited by | David Codron |
Distributed by | Lions Gate Entertainment |
Release date | July 29, 2005 |
128 minutes | |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,311,633[1] |
Magnolia Their lives have been changed by a frog-storm. Lonely cop (Jim) persists in trying to start a relationship with troubled Claudia (Melora Walters), and succeeds in cracking a half-smile. Everthing is looking good and fine.
Happy Endings is a 2005 American dramedy film written and directed by Don Roos and starring Tom Arnold, Jesse Bradford, Bobby Cannavale, Steve Coogan, Laura Dern, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow and Jason Ritter.
The expression 'happy ending' is a colloquial term for offering sexual release to a client at the end of a massage.
Plot[edit]
The film follows a diverse group of mostly middle-class Los Angelenos through the emotional ups and downs in their flawed yet very human lives, each loosely connected to each other through a restaurant.
In the first story, Mamie (Lisa Kudrow) reluctantly agrees to work with a would-be young filmmaker (Jesse Bradford) in order to locate the now grown son she secretly gave up for adoption after becoming pregnant from her stepbrother Charley (Steve Coogan) – who is later revealed to be gay – 19 years earlier.
In the second story arc, her stepbrother, and his domestic partner, Gil (David Sutcliffe), are deciding whether or not to confront their friends, a lesbian couple (Laura Dern and Sarah Clarke), regarding the paternity of their son.
And in the third, a young man, Otis (Jason Ritter), is involved with a band and trying to keep his father, Frank (Tom Arnold), from learning that he is gay, while also dealing with the seemingly gold-digging woman, Jude (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who inserts herself into their lives.
Cast[edit]
- Lisa Kudrow as Mamie Toll
- Steve Coogan as Charley Peppitone
- Tom Arnold as Frank McKee
- Jason Ritter as Otis McKee
- Maggie Gyllenhaal as Jude
- Bobby Cannavale as Javier Duran
- Jesse Bradford as Nicky Kunitz
- David Sutcliffe as Gil Palmer
- Laura Dern as Pam Ferris
- Sarah Clarke as Diane
- Johnny Galecki as Miles (uncredited)
Production[edit]
Director Don Roos wrote the part of Mamie expressly for Lisa Kudrow after directing her in his earlier film, The Opposite of Sex, which he also wrote.[2] Originally, the story concerned three sisters.[3] Maggie Gyllenhaal was not the first choice to play Jude. Gwyneth Paltrow was originally slated to play the part. Gyllenhaal does her own singing in the film. Ray Liotta turned down the role of Frank McKee.[citation needed]
It took 18 months to find financial backing for the production.[4]
Reception[edit]
Happy Endings received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 54% rating from 107 critics and 63% from Audience score from 9,111 users.[5] On Metacritic, it score 57 from 31 critics.[6]
Roger Ebert (noted film critic) on 14 July 2005 noted that 'Maggie Gyllenhaal steals the show', and other 'characters not so engaging' and 'the film's problem is that we don't much like most of the characters, or care about them'. But he still gave the film 2.5 out 3 stars.[7] Amber Wilkinson from eyeforfilm.co.uk notes on 22 January 2005 that 'short and snappy seem to be words long forgotten by filmmakers' and 'the cast is strong and some of the lines - particularly the title cards, which pop up to offer back stories - are fun, but there is a lack of heart to the movie'.[8] Dustin Putman from filmfile.com on 16 July 2005 noted 'it isn't really adding up to a whole lot' and 'the force of the splendid performances take hold and, along with Roos' easeful, non-showy cinematic handle, buoy the film above its more wobbly moments of indifference'.[9]
Awards and honors[edit]
The 2005 Sundance Film Festival opened with this film.[8]
Happy Endings received nominations for:[10]
- 2006 Independent Spirit Award for 'Best Supporting Female' – Maggie Gyllenhaal
- 2005 Satellite Awards
- for 'Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical' – Tom Arnold
- for 'Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical' – Steve Coogan
- for 'Outstanding Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical'
- for 'Outstanding Screenplay, Original' – Don Roos
See also[edit]
- Hyperlink cinema – the film style of using multiple inter-connected story lines
References[edit]
- ^'Happy Endings (2005) - Money'. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ^InterviewsResults
- ^'Don Roos returns with 'Happy Endings''. nwsource.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ^Happy Endings DVD commentary, Don Ross
- ^'Happy Endings (2005)'. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^'Happy Endings'. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^Ebert, Roger. 'Happy Endings Movie Review & Film Summary (2005) | Roger Ebert'. rogerebert.com. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ abWilkinson, Amber (22 January 2005). 'Happy Endings (2005) Movie Review from Eye for Film'. www.eyeforfilm.co.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^'Dustin Putman's Review - Happy Endings (2005) - [TheMovieBoy]'. www.thefilmfile.com. 16 July 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^'Awards' on IMDb.com
External links[edit]
![Happy Ending Movie 480p Happy Ending Movie 480p](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125777560/756403538.jpg)
- Happy Endings on IMDb
- Happy Endings at AllMovie
- Happy Endings at the TCM Movie Database
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Happy_Endings_(film)&oldid=899231461'
Posted by3 years ago
Archived
Happy Endings vs Sad Endings
Hello /r/movies. I would like to talk about happy endings and sad endings in movies.
Yesterday, I watched the film 'Buried' with Ryan Reynolds for the first time. I liked the film for the most part but there was something that pissed me off a lot: the ending. [Spoilers ahead] As you might know, the movie ends with the people trying to save Paul (Ryan Reynolds character) think they finally found him just to find another man instead. They have no time left to help Paul so he gets buried under the sand that is getting into the box and dies.').
Now, this is my own personal opinion: Most of the time, I'd rather have a move with a happy ending than one with a sad ending. There are of course exceptions to this but in general, thats how I feel about movie endings.
I think I have an idea of why I disliked the ending of 'Buried' so much, comparing it to the ending of, for example, 'The Mist', which is one of the exceptions where I actually did like the ending (although it does makes me sad). They are both sad endings where everything ends up terribly for the protagonists, so. What is the difference?
Right before the ending, Paul gets a call from the people trying to rescue him saying that they are almost there and he will be safe soon. Then Paul gets a call from his wife, and he tells her that everything is going to be ok and he will go back home. But we know that's not going to happen, as they are in the wrong place and find other man instead of Paul, so he dies and the movie ends.
[Spoilers for 'The mist'] In the end of 'The Mist', the group that left the grocery store just rides trough the mist. The car goes out of fuel, the situation looks very bad. It seems there is no way out of it, so the choice they make right after is understandable. The protagonist, David, takes his gun and uses the remaining bullets to kill the rest of the group, including his son, and spare them the suffering they might encounter with the monsters in the mist. There are not enough bullets for all of them so David decides to 'sacrifice' himself and be the only one left alive. Right after killing his group, David sees the army destroying the mist and saving with a bunch of survivors. If he had just waited a few minutes, his son would still be alive and they would have been saved. Its a pretty tragic ending.
In my opinion, what makes me dislike the ending of one of the films and makes me like the other one is, the hope that 'Buried' gave me. Everything seemed like it was going to be alright for Paul, but it didn't. On the other hand, in 'The Mist' everything looked awful for David, and at the end, it was much worse. I didn't like the ending of 'Buried' because I expected it to have a happy ending.
I'm not saying that the ending was bad or that 'Buried' is a bad movie, I just prefer happy endings over sad endings (most of the time), even if it's not completely realistic.
So, my question is: When is a sad ending better than a happy ending? What did you think about the ending of 'Buried'? Do you think the sad ending was necessary or would you have preferred a happy ending? And also, What other movies with sad endings would you have preferred with a happy endings? And the other way around?
Thanks for reading.
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