Happy Tears (2009) (original) (raw)
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Original title
Happy Tears
Year
2009
Running time
95 min.
Country
United States
Director
Screenwriter
Cast
Music
Cinematography
Producer
Genre
Drama. Comedy | Family Relationships. Comedy-Drama
Synopsis
Sisters Jayne and Laura go back to their parents’ house to help their septuagenarian father. Their return home also forces the two dutiful sisters to come to terms with their dull childhood and their far from perfect family life. Laura is convinced that their father now needs full-time care, but Jayne doesn’t think things are that bad yet. Jayne’s talent for avoiding reality increases Laura’s desire to make her sister face facts. Their father Joe is unimpressed by his daughters’ fussing. He is quite content to carry on playing the blues on his beloved guitar. This merry widower even has a lover – the shameless and cheeky Shelly. As Joe’s growing senility becomes more blatant it threatens to throw off kilter all interpersonal relationships within the family. The sisters also have their hands full with their own very different life partners and before long, subliminal tensions begin to come to the fore. Laura’s packed timetable as a committed environmentalist with three young children, and Jayne’s daily routine as the childless wife of a workaholic art dealer harbour a zillion trouble spots. Their adventures at their parents’ home are not without their own magic, but they also cause lasting damage. But in the end, the tears shed by Jayne and Laura also include a few happy ones.
Awards
2009: Berlin Film Festival: Official Selection
Critics' reviews
- "'Happy Tears' is a complete mess of a movie, but Lichtenstein conjures some sweet moments and striking metaphors."
- "Posey and Moore's portrayals are among their career bests, and Torn is at once comical and poignant"
- "Lichtenstein dutifully unpacks the family's unhappy past, but he's so easily distracted by surreal dream sequences and colorful supporting characters that his main story gradually dries up"
- "Posey lands a juicy starring role designed to showcase her eccentric energy, and she's so delighted by the opportunity that her happiness infuses the movie"
- "A contradictory creature, both insightful and dumb, sometimes innovative and sometimes just plain inept"
- "The acting's not the problem, and it's a nice thing to find Moore playing a human-scaled human being, with a recognizable human touch. The material has a hint of it too. But only a hint."
- Show 2 more reviews
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