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HAPPY ENDINGS Send This Review to a Friend
Writer-director Don Roos’ new film “Happy Endings” seems to have far too much going on, but all of it is involving and the cast is excellent, so why complain? The offbeat drama is packed with relationships and is boosted by a breezy way of examining them. Titles are interspersed to tell us about what is has happened and what will happen, which saves lots of screen time and is an entertaining method in the bargain. Roos zeroes in on the intricacies in the lives of people worthy of such close-ups.
Mainly, the film offers smashing lead performances by Lisa Kudrow and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Kudrow plays Mamie, who works giving advice and permissions in an abortion clinic. When she was younger she was supposed to have had an abortion, but opted for having the baby and giving it up instead. She has tried her best to stop thinking about this part of her past, but her life is shaken when Nicky (Jesse Bradford), an aspiring young filmmaker, turns up and wants to trade giving her the name of her now grown up son in exchange for making a documentary about their meeting, which he hopes to use to get into film school. She is repelled by the idea. Instead, she’ll agree to creating a documentary about a male sex worker.
Gyllenhaal portrays Jude, who is at sea and hopes to solve her problems by snagging a well-heeled man. She instigates sex with the son of a wealthy prospect, then dumps the youth when she’s ready to seduce the father (Tom Arnold), who ultimately asks her to marry him. Complications arise. Gyllenhaal is extremely good at conveying both her predatory side and vulnerability beneath it, and she has a terrific scene of self-assertion in a conversation with Mamie. (This is a film in which the paths of various characters cross.)
Bobby Cannavale is amusing as Javier, an illegal immigrant who gives women massages that turn into sexual satisfaction, and teams with Mamie on the film Nicky is making The project backfires.
Other twists involve a homosexual couple and a lesbian couple, and a child the lesbians have by artificial insemination. There are more than enough complications to go around, but no matter how serious the film becomes, Roos’ manner of storytelling keeps it fresh, different and enjoyable. The first-rate supporting cast includes Steve Coogan, Laura Dern, Sarah Clarke, Jason Ritter and David Sutcliffe. “Happy Endings” has a bright, contemporary ring in its portrayal of the characters struggling to make sense out of their lives. A Lions Gate Films release.
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