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Tom Arnold, Jesse Bradford, Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Clarke, Steve Coogan ... see more see more... , Laura Dern , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Lisa Kudrow , Jason Ritter , David Sutcliffe , Carol Androsky , Amanda Foreman , Johnny Galecki , Nicole Tocantins , Kim Morgan Greene , Hallee Hirsh , Mark Fite , Andrew James Trauth , Eric Jungmann , Soledad St. Hilaire , Tamara Davies , Lisa Hoyle , Emma Hunton , Ramon De Ocampo , Rayne Marcus , Caker Folley , Ashleigh Darkbloom , T.R. Hopper , Rob Macie , Joe Milton , Dave Beyer , Randy Landas , Scott Sener

Three loosely interrelated stories of dysfunctional relationships are played for edgy laughs in this dark comedy drama from writer and director Don Roos. An unexpected assignation between stepsiblings... read more read more... Mamie and Charley results in Mamie becoming pregnant, with the child being put up for adoption shortly after birth. Twenty years later, Mamie (Lisa Kudrow) is approached by Nicky (Jesse Bradford), an aspiring filmmaker with an abrasive personality who claims to know where her long-lost son is living. However, there's a catch -- Nicky wants to shoot the reunion for the student film he's working on, and won't tell her about her child unless she agrees, though her lover, Javier (Bobby Cannavale), attempts to work out a compromise. Meanwhile, Charley (Steve Coogan), now out of the closet, has a longstanding relationship with Gil (David Sutcliffe), and the couple are involved in a legal battle over whether or not Gil's donated sperm produced a baby who has been adopted by a lesbian couple they know (Laura Dern and Sarah Clarke). And finally, Jude (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a bohemian malcontent who becomes involved with Otis (Jason Ritter), a sexually ambiguous rock musician. Otis has a difficult relationship with his father, Frank (Tom Arnold), but when Jude meets Frank, she likes him fine -- in fact, she soon falls in love with him and leaves Otis for his dad. Happy Endings had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

61% liked it

8,775 ratings

Critics

55% liked it

104 critics

R, 2 hr. 8 min.

Directed by: Don Roos

Release Date: July 15, 2005

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DVD Release Date: November 5, 2005

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Flixster Reviews (774)

  • fb1563632850
    August 9, 2011
    fb1563632850
    movie is so-so
  • hunterjt13
    March 31, 2011
    hunterjt13
    Multiple intersecting stories, including plots about blackmail, stolen sperm, and a woman who fucks a gay drummer and his father, are at the center of this Robert Altman imitation.
    By the end of this film, I thought that it had reached the Altman Standard in terms of its ability ... read moreto cleverly combine these characters with some degree of dramatic effectiveness. I write "dramatic" intentionally because even though the title cards and other sources identify this as a comedy, I saw very little humorous about its situations or delivery. Sure, there are a couple moments that were chuckle-worthy, but that's about it.
    In my sentence-summary of the film, I listed the most prominent plots, and if you think I'm being somewhat satirical, you're right. A lot of the critics' reviews of Happy Endings lamented the ludicrousness of its storylines, and from a writer's standpoint, I have to agree. However, good actors can sometimes save bad writing. The way in which each of these actors commit to their characters makes the film almost believable. Of particular note is Lisa Kudrow, with whom I, a long-time Friends hater, have never been impressed. But she scraps her ditsy-girl act, and her damaged character exudes a vulnerability that her other work didn't allow her to explore.
    Also, throughout the film we get title cards explaining characters' back-stories, and this strikes me as lazy filmmaking. Instead of deftly showing the information we need, the film inundates the audience with minutiae and sly comments that have little bearing on the film's action.
    Overall, though there are some significant issues from a writing perspective, the actors save this piece.
  • romy861
    January 30, 2011
    romy861
    This is a great movie. I first watched it a few years ago, and I couldn't remember a great deal about it, aside from that I enjoyed it. Had a few hours this afternoon, (and I mean that literally, it is over 2 hours long).
    This is a black comedy and has a great cast including Ma... read moreggie Gylenhaal in an early role (probably my favourite character in this. She is not especially likable, but I did like her, she plays the part in such a way that you want to make excuses for her). There's also Lisa Kudrow in sour and bitchy mode, similar to the character she played in The opposite of sex, which I think was the same director, which explains a few things. The two movies definitely have similarities.
    I really liked how this movie ran so many different stories together, and how it used text to narrate some of the story. An interesting and well written story.
  • ythelastman89
    November 18, 2009
    ythelastman89
    A really interesting story and quite a few likable characters. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan and Jesse Bradford all give really good performances, while some of the other actors seem to go unnoticed. The stories are all pretty interesting and have a very different ... read morefeel to each one, which was really an interesting approach.
  • Redlats
    January 15, 2008
    Redlats
    Its a funny movie -- a bunch of characters intertwined - gay and straight, honest or not. Perhaps it was too late in the evening when I watched it, but I was having troubles with all the connections even though they do their best to explain them to you.
  • jennifxu
    August 12, 2007
    jennifxu
    So it wasn't exactly a cinematic masterpiece, but you know what? It was fun. Really fun. And ohmanohman do I love Lisa Kudrow in this.
  • dreamfaeries
    November 21, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    Kinda odd, but it was okay to watch.
  • gator681
    July 24, 2005
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Happy Endings" starts out with Mamie(Lisa Kudrow) being hit by a car...and then flashes back to when Mamie was 17 and she got pregnant by her step-brother, Charley. Mamie goes off to Arizona to have an abortion. That in turn sets up the three storylines of t... read morehe movie:[/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]1) Actually Mamie did not have an abortion. She was talked into giving the baby up for adoption. Nicky(Jesse Bradford) has found this out and wants Mamie to help him make a documentary about the reunion process in exchange for her son's name.[/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]2) Charley(Steve Coogan) has since come out of the closet and owns one of the restaurants left to him by his father. He is in love with Gil(David Sutcliffe). They are friends with a lesbian couple, Diane and Pam(Sarah Clarke & Laura Dern), who have a baby conceived through a sperm bank. Charley, though, is utterly convinced that Gil is the father of the child.[/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]3) Otis(Jason Ritter) works at Charley's restaurant and secretly has a crush on Charley. Otis is also in a band, and in need of replacing the lead singer who is in rehab for a variety of reasons. He comes across Jude(Maggie Gyllenhaal) singing karaoke and asks her to join his band. She accepts because she is in need of a place to crash and of any kind of morals. Otis' father, Frank(Tom Arnold), a widow, is in denial over his son's sexuality and is quite wealthy. [/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]"Happy Endings" is a sardonic free-for-all that raises questions about the nature of paternity in our society and how honest we are all with our fellow human beings. I also think it is quite important that this is the first movie in a few years that raises the subject of abortion.([b]Correction: [/b]Somehow, I forgot all about last year's "Vera Drake." Sorry.) Don Roos does a masterful job of juggling the three interrelated storylines which only weakens when he tries to simultaneously resolve everything at the end of the film. Of the large cast, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Arnold, Lisa Kudrow come off the best. My main complaint is that there was simply not enough of Laura Dern.[/font]
  • danieljparsons
    May 27, 2007
    danieljparsons
    An extremely well written, directed and acted movie of the kind that only independent cinema could ever offer. This takes the now familiar device of intertwining characters and storylines (a la Go, Heights, Look Both Ways etc.) and breathes new life into it. ... read moreThe film shows a fundamental truth of human nature; that people lie. And not always to be deceptive, but out of habit, or because it's easier, or without realising it. Don Roos, as in his earlier flick The Opposite of Sex, writes vivid, multi-layered and three-dimensional characters, and shifts between them and their different storylines effortlessly.

    In addition to the excellent writing and direction, the film is graced with a compeling cast, all of whom deliver fantastic performances. I always enjoy Lisa Kudrow's work outside of Friends, and this is probably her finest film to date. Maggie Gyllenhaal excels with typical flair as a sultry, coniving character that lesser actors would've portrayed as unsympathetic or overly kooky. Instead, Gylenhaal gives a finely nuanced performance, and who would've thought she'd have a great singing voice too? Jesse Bradford is as good here as he was in Heights but plays a very different character, showing he has talent with the right director guiding him. And Steve Coogan especially impresses with an emotionally heavy role, despite a pretty wobbly accent.

    If you want to see what a talented writer/director and a great cast can do on a small budget, then look no further.
  • SunilJawahir
    October 17, 2008
    SunilJawahir
    Jason Ritter is great in this and I really like it's dark humor.

View All Happy Endings Reviews

Critic Reviews

Bill Muller
August 11, 2005
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

Intriguing but overlong and indulgent, the work of a writer too in love with his characters. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
August 11, 2005
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Serves as a relaunching pad for the magical talents of Maggie Gyllenhaal as Jude. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
August 5, 2005
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Roos's movie is so aggressively pleased with itself it leaves you feeling it doesn't even need an audience. Full Review

Liam Lacey
August 5, 2005
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

[It] feels like Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia for adolescents. Full Review

Allison Benedikt
July 28, 2005
Allison Benedikt, Chicago Tribune

Roos does an admirable job balancing the tragedy and comedy. Full Review

Todd McCarthy
July 28, 2005
Todd McCarthy, Variety

The narrative sprawls without achieving depth and carries the additional burden of featuring only two or three interesting characters out of 10 candidates. Full Review

James Berardinelli
July 28, 2005
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The film isn't engaging enough to hold the average viewer's attention for its full two-plus hour running length. Full Review

Richard Roeper
July 18, 2005
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

Writer/director Don Roos has fashioned a funny though sometimes bleak and cynical black comedy, with multiple storylines that sometimes connect in jarring fashion. Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek
July 15, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Happy Endings is the kind of self-conscious puzzle picture in which characters behave in ways that serve the plot but in no way resemble things that actual human beings would be likely to do. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
July 15, 2005
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

Complicated? Yes. Potentially heavy? Sure. But it's also highly engrossing and, in a dark way, ultimately rather sweet. Full Review

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Happy Endings Trivia

  • In which film does Maggie Gyllenhaal seduce Tom Arnold? Hint: Steve Coogan and Lisa Kudrow are also part of the ensemble cast.  Answer »
  • What tv show would you have if you took a cast member from each of these films? 3 to tango madagasca charlies angles rumor has it scream Happy endings  Answer »
  • Which Friends star appeared in Happy Endings, The Opposite of Sex and Analyse This?  Answer »
  • According to Mrs. Smith in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, happy endings are for what?  Answer »
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