by Alex Sukhoy
“Happy Tears” is a new female-driven character film starring indie queen Parker Posey as Jayne, Demi Moore as her sister Laura, and ageless court jester Ellen Barkin as their father’s nurse, Shelly. The two sisters lead quite different lives but must come together in the name of family.
This adult coming of age movie brings these three talented actresses together for an honest and frequently funny look at life during a crossroads. At the center of this powerhouse tri-fecta is Jayne and Laura’s aging and foul-mouthed father Joe, with Rip Torn delivering a perfect, crowd pleasing performance.
Mitchell Lichtenstein, best known for his acting appearances in television shows including “Law and Order” and “Cheers,” wrote and directed the film.
The opening credits, which feature a combination of a modern, sans-serif font interwoven with squared-off 1960s pop art paintings are definitely intentional choices. Mitchell is the son of famed pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, and one of the story lines focuses on Laura’s husband Jackson, (Christian Camargo, “The Hurt Locker”), also the son of a pop artist, dealing with his late father’s work and trying desperately to manage the estate and the legacy he’s inherited.
Additionally, the film’s tone--from the slightly faded coloring to the intentionally unglamorous, yet quite pretty leading females, to an acid-inspired sequence two thirds into the movie--make it clear that there’s no mistaking what “Happy Tears” is--an art movie to the end.
The differentiation point between this film and other art movies, however, lies in that “Happy Tears” has heart, true life sensitivities and dialogue reflective of human situations, often contrasted with absurdities that add levity to an otherwise serious theme. Parents age and often, grown up children don’t know what that means for them or how they should behave.
The film opens with Jayne, looking very Jackie O., on her cell phone, bossing around her limo driver as he navigates the streets of San Francisco. This transpires while Jane’s speaking with Laura, a struggling, married mother of three back in Pittsburgh. She’s in flannels and on full duty with their father, a widower with a health condition.
The juxtaposition between wealth and fiscal hunger continues as Jayne acquires a new pair of high-end luxury boots, while Laura’s finishing laundry in an old house in a blue-collar neighborhood. From the beginning, this is a tale of two sisters, two women who by chance or by choice live contrasting lives; and the movie specifically focuses on what happens when a family crisis brings everyone together, perhaps for one last time. Or perhaps not.
A supporting cast of characters, mostly men, appears and reappears on screen. Billy Magnussen (“As the World Turns”) plays the grown up Ray, the son of a widowed neighbor. Sebastian Roché (“General Hospital”) plays Laura’s husband Laurant.
Of the three women in the lead roles, it’s Barkin who steals the show. Not only does she showcase her comedy chops, but she also allows a tremendous vulnerability: rarely does a successful actress allow close-ups when she’s not looking absolutely perfect. And in this particular role, Barkin portrays trailer trash, but with a certain wisdom. She also delivers one of the best lines in the film: “I just want some money and a place to live. Isn’t that what everyone wants?”
“Happy Tears” could have done itself a favor by accelerating the tempo in the first half of the film. It strongly relies on the audience to stay with it until it establishes a certain rhythm and, in good form, the second half of the story delivers and satisfies. Perhaps it over-satisfies: every storyline is tied with a bow by the time the end credits roll.
On one hand, the movie expects sophistication from its audience; on the other hand, it substitutes metaphors for in-your-face visuals. A soft injection of subtlety would have elevated this quality film into something a bit more powerful. The visuals do succeed when they’re gentler, like the difference between the first flag that hangs in front of the home and the one at the end, the boots that never come off - until they have to, and the color Jayne wears in the beginning of the film vs. the one at the end (a not so subtle clue from Hitchcock’s leading ladies, but in reverse.)
“Happy Tears” successfully tackles a serious subject while exhibiting with new light the talents of three fantastic actresses. It also demonstrates that women can carry a film without it being labeled a “chick flick.” Something about this film resonates, not least of which is its presentation of the unapologetic quest for one family’s truth, past and present.
DIRECTOR: Mitchell Lichtenstein SCREENWRITER: Mitchell Lichtenstein PRODUCERS: Timothy J. DeBaets, Jonathan Gray, Richard Lormand CAST: Parker Posey, Demi Moore, Ellen Barkin, Rip Torn MPAA RATING: R
Alex Sukhoy, author of Chatroom to Bedroom, is founder and manager of Creative Cadence LLC, a content and business development company. Additionally, Alex teaches screenwriting and preproduction at Tri-C.
