Review of Happy Endings (2014) by Jennifer A — 03 Apr 2006

[font=Trebuchet MS]Don Roos returns to indie film-making after his more mainstream [i]Bounce[/i], and, not surprisingly, it's more successful. But, although his rather distant approach has reappeared from [i]The Opposite of Sex[/i], he hasn't brought the wonderful wit with him, though it occasionally pops up. Three obstentatiously connected storylines share screentime and are compelling to varying degrees of success, mostly due to the actors within them. The always watchable Lisa Kudrow helms the one about a woman who is blackmailed by a wannabee documentary-maker who knows about the son she gave up for adoption; this is familiar and not particularly plausible, but Kudrow's measured and eventually poignant performance carries it along. Steve Coogan plays her gay step-brother who suspects his lesbian friends of stealing his partner's sperm for their two-year-old boy; this is now so familiar that even Laura Dern can't inject any life into it. The final thread is probably most interesting simply because of Maggie Gyllenhaal's lively and rather bitchy performance (she also shows off an impressive set of pipes), as a woman who sleeps with Jason Ritter's closeted young drummer then moves onto his rich father. But, although at least two parts are watchable, the wit, and most importantly the emotion, never really comes through, and, while an interesting approach, the occasional intertitles which pop up on screen with context do more to distance the viewer than increase their involvement. [/font].

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[font=Trebuchet MS]Full review to come.[/font].