Happy Endings

August 5th, 2005







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Happy Endings

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Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan and Don Roos in Happy EndingsStill of Maggie Gyllenhaal in Happy EndingsMaggie Gyllenhaal at event of Happy EndingsStill of Lisa Kudrow and Jesse Bradford in Happy EndingsStill of Laura Dern and Steve Coogan in Happy EndingsStill of Lisa Kudrow in Happy Endings

Plot
Happy Endings weaves multiple stories to create a witty look at love, family and the sheer unpredictablity of life itself.

Release Year: 2005

Rating: 6.5/10 (6,416 voted)

Critic's Score: 57/100

Director: Don Roos

Stars: Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Storyline
An ensemble cast telling 10 stories with intertwining characters. One story is about a father and son who are dating the same woman . Another features a woman who long ago gave her baby up for adoption but is now being blackmailed by a documentary filmmaker who claims to know the now-grown child's whereabouts.

Cast:
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)

Taglines: All's well that ends swell.



Details

Official Website: Official site |

Release Date: 5 August 2005

Filming Locations: Glendale, California, USA

Opening Weekend: $240,075 (USA) (17 July 2005) (52 Screens)

Gross: $1,311,633 (USA) (11 September 2005)



Technical Specs

Runtime:



Did You Know?

Trivia:
During the scene (1:21) when Charley and Gil are looking for something to watch on TV, the movie Secretary is listed, which also starred Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Jude and Otis were getting ready to have sex in his room, she takes off her pants and in the next scene her pants are back on.

Quotes:
[first lines]
Charley: [chasing Mamie] Wait! Wait!
Woman Driver: [hits Mamie] My God! Oh my God! Oh my God! I didn't see her! I didn't see her!
Charley: Oh my God!
Woman Driver: Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't see her!
Charley: Do you have a cell? Call 911!
Woman Driver: Oh God.
Passerby: Hey, is she all right?
Charley: I don't know.
Woman Driver: [on phone] 911? Yes, hurry, we need an ambulance quick.
[...]



User Review

Already one of the most underrated films of the year

Rating: 10/10

The early reviews on this are mixed, which is a shame. I saw it at an advance screening and thought it was one of the best films I've seen in a long time. The plot is complex, and it expects a lot from the audience.

The film starts as a very dark comedy. The audience reacts with a "This really shouldn't be funny, and I shouldn't be laughing at this." As the movie progresses and the false facades of the characters fall away and they're made to recognize the consequences of their actions, the tone of the film shifts and all of a sudden, those things aren't so funny any more.

The cast is phenomenal, and the film is phenomenally cast. Their chemistry seems authentic. The secret appears to be that so many of the actors are cast against type (Kudrow isn't the comic bimbo, Arnold's playing the most dramatic and heavy role in the film, Bradford isn't the pretty boy, etc.) On top of that, every one of them, at some point, sheds every scrap of dignity they have as actors to make their characters real. That's probably a credit to Roos's directing.

Not everybody is going to like this film, and that's probably OK. It's a pretty challenging work, and I can easily see a very polarized reaction to it. Those people who are willing to surrender to it will find that it is a phenomenal ride.





Comments:

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