Lara Flynn Boyle Movie:

				Salesrank:
		MPAA Rating: Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
At times brilliant and insightful, at times repellent and false, Happiness is director Todd Solondz's multistory tale of sex, perversion, and loneliness. Plumbing depths of Crumb-like angst and rejection, Solondz won the Cannes International Critics Prize in 1998 and the film was a staple of nearly every critic's Top Ten list. Admirable, shocking, and hilarious for its sarcastic yet strangely empathetic look at consenting adults' confusion between lust and love, the film stares unflinchingly until the audience blinks. But it doesn't stop there. A word of strong caution to parents: One of the main characters, a suburban super dad (played by Dylan Baker), is really a predatory pedophile and there is more than an attempt to paint him as a sympathetic character. Children are used in this film as running gags or, worse, the means to an end. Whether that end is a humorous scene for Solondz or sexual gratification for the rapist becomes largely irrelevant. Happiness is an intelligent, sad film, revelatory and exact at moments. It's also abuse in the guise of art. That's nothing to celebrate. --Keith Simanton

Happiness [Region 2] Reviews:
Hilarious disturbing movie
2009-08-19 - I have a sick sense of humor so I really liked this movie. Saw it about 10 years ago and had to buy it to see it again. You really have to appreciate the unique humor in this movie.

Shock Value Will Not Teach
2009-07-11 - Well written screenplay with good acting. Research was clearly done on the personality profile of a pediohile. This is being written by a Psychologist who was victimized as a child and an expert in pedophiles. The movie is much more that just a pedophile, however interesting that most reviews are written on that scene. Once again we shock people and clearly that is what we focus on. The intertwining relationships of real life trauma is accurate. Funny? Not. So what was the entertainment value? What was the message? Shocl us that real life has bad people, that hurt others. That real love is rarely found. That we should not get caught up in our own hubris.

Shocking the public WILL NOT improve any victims or make us anymore aware of the atrocities of pedophiles. The extreme method of drugging the children was over the top. Less than two percent of pedophiles medicate the victims. Oh well, nice try. Was this movie just satisfying somones morbid curiosity?

Dan Williams, author of Above His Shoulders.

3 stars out of 4
2009-05-25 - The Bottom Line:

A polarizing film about suburbia, pedophilia, relationships, and a lot more that can't be easily categorized, Happiness is neither a crowd-pleasing movie nor an immaculately-constructed one, but it's not exploitative either and I guarentee you that you'll think about it a long time after you watch it.

Just don't watch it
2009-04-29 - This film was gross, shocking, dark and uncomfortable. I really wish I'd never seen it. I can't even begin to understand why it gets such great reviews.

interesting
2009-04-26 - this was an interesting movie but not great. i don't think that i'd see it again. much of it is cliched and not believable and very stilted and cold. the human problems which were explored were very interesting but their portrayal was heartless and absurd. the movie could have been much more humane and better.