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Movies / Upcoming / Happy Endings
Happy Endings

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Happy Endings (2005)

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Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:15

Rotten:17

Average Rating:6/10

Consensus: Despite strong individual performances, the overlong, disjointed plot of Happy Endings self-indulgently rambles.

Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $1,172,987

Synopsis: Mamie is being blackmailed. This filmmaker named Nick claims to know Mamie’s son – the one she gave up for adoption – but Nick won’t introduce her to him unless he can film the reunion. Enter... Mamie is being blackmailed. This filmmaker named Nick claims to know Mamie’s son – the one she gave up for adoption – but Nick won’t introduce her to him unless he can film the reunion. Enter Javier, Mamie’s massage therapist boyfriend, who convinces Nick to film him instead. Now they’re all making a movie about massage. And ‘happy endings’… Charley has a longtime boyfriend named Gil. Their best friends, Pam and Diane, once tried using Gil as a sperm donor. They said his sperm didn’t take, but Charley thinks those selfish, control-freak lesbians are lying. Pam and Diane’s two-year-old son looks exactly like Gil. And it’s time to set the record straight… Jude is pissed. Not at anyone in particular. Just in general. When her cousin kicks her out of the house, Jude shacks up with Otis, who’s still trying to convince his father, Frank, that he’s straight. Frank’s a widower. And he’s rich. So Jude decides to sleep with him, too. Really. The last thing she expected was to fall in love… Just when you thought you knew everything about love and dysfunction, along comes HAPPY ENDINGS, Lions Gate Films’ hilarious and heartfelt new comedy by writer/director Don Roos (The Opposite of Sex, Bounce). Featuring a talented ensemble cast that includes Tom Arnold, Jesse Bradford, Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Clarke, Steve Coogan, Laura Dern, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Ritter, David Sutcliffe and Maggie Gyllenhaal,, HAPPY ENDINGS deftly weaves together multiple stories to create a sharp, witty look at love, family and the sheer unpredictability of life itself. A feast of buried secrets, missed opportunities and welcome second chances, this wildly original comedy proves that the happiest ending of all is the one you least expect. [More]

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Arnold, Jason Ritter, Laura Dern

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Arnold, Jason Ritter, Laura Dern, Lisa Kudrow, David Sutcliffe, Steve Coogan, Bobby Cannavale, Jesse Bradford

Director: Don Roos

Director: Don Roos
Screenwriter: Don Roos
Producer: Holly Wiersma, Michael Paseornek
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Reviews for Happy Endings

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1 - 10 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
03/24/06
Sydney Morning Herald
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A quirky and often enjoyable film about dysfunctional relationships, Happy Endings brings together separate stories about complicated characters who are all trying to deal with the truth.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
03/16/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
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Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
12/06/05
In Film Australia
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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/08/06
Empire Magazine
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The narrative sprawls without achieving depth and carries the additional burden of featuring only two or three interesting characters out of 10 candidates.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/28/05
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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Writer/director Don Roos has fashioned a funny though sometimes bleak and cynical black comedy, with multiple storylines that sometimes connect in jarring fashion.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
07/18/05
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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Complicated? Yes. Potentially heavy? Sure. But it's also highly engrossing and, in a dark way, ultimately rather sweet.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/15/05
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
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What's so splendid about Happy Endings is the very fact that it fits into no genre whatsoever and at no time while watching it can you say, oh, probably this is going to happen.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/15/05
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
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Happy Endings, its interwoven stories exploring the consequences of sex and the ramifications of procreation, is mildly thought-provoking without using heavy-handed commentary.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
07/15/05
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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As bawdy, self-conscious, jaded and still sweetly optimistic as its double-entendre of a title suggests.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
07/15/05
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
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The writer and director Don Roos's slyly subversive ensemble piece is a drama disguised as a wisp of a comedy.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
07/15/05
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
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Happy Endings maintains a certain level of intrigue, and occasionally bursts into life.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
07/14/05
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Latest News for Happy Endings

November 17, 2005: Oh It's Already Been Broughten (Part 3)
A fresh press release from Universal informs us that there will soon be a "Bring It On 3" to enjoy, but also reminds us that, hey yeah, there WAS a direct-to-video... More...

March 09, 2005: The director arranged to have a physical obstacle—a countertop, a couch—between Tom Arnold and his gay son in every scene until they reconcile. Opens in new window
More...

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