Review of Shortcut to Happiness (2007) by Andy C — 24 Jan 2010
Films get delayed, recut, and dumped in theaters for a few days, if at all. Baldwin's The Devil and Daniel Webster, having been delayed for 3 years and re-titled Shortcut to Happiness, is a typical "dump' film: it's messy, poorly edited, production values vary but are mostly sub-par compared to similar releases, and the plot jumps uneasily between comedy and drama.
Still, these messy films can be rewarding to watch. I take pleasure in finding moments or elements or worth in miniscule efforts and The Devil and Daniel Webster has moments where you can see a perfectly decent film underneath it all.
True, we don't really need another version of this story, but there are no new ideas anyway, and a remake with some imagination or desire to do something is better than the next Ratner or Bruckheimer flick, right? Often these dumped films really are awful, and sometimes there are hidden gems to be discovered, but more often than not they are just decent little films that have good intentions behind them, but get bogged down by interfering studios or filmmakers with big egos.
It may not be great, or even all that good, but I found this film a worthwhile one-time watch for those moments that genuinely try to say something.
This review of Shortcut to Happiness (2007) was written by Andy C on 24 Jan 2010.
Shortcut to Happiness has generally received mixed reviews.
Was this review helpful?
