Rating: R
Genre:
Comedy Drama
Theatrical Release: 07/15/2005(USA
Release Date: 11/15/2005
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD5.1/DD2
Run Time: 128 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content
Distributor/Studio: Lions Gate
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
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, All Movie Guide