Happy Tears has all of the ingredients for a smart, witty, quirkfest, including a cast of wall-to-wall indie darlings the likes of Parker Posey, Rip Torn, and Ellen Barkin. It features humor and inspiring moments that would be successful, were they not book-ended by trippy, stylized dream sequences and disjointed editing that leave the viewer bored or confused and the film ultimately falling flat.
Bubbleheaded shopaholic sister, Jayne (Posey), and down-to-earth environmentalist, Laura (Moore), must go back to their hometown of Pittsburgh to take care of their ailing father. Jayne has become wealthy through her marriage to Jackson, the son of a famous artist, and lives in San Francisco. She finds refuge in shopping sprees, which help her to cope with the lack of connection to her husband, who is himself a failing artist. Laura is a mother who taken on more of the burden of their father, and secretly resents Jayne’s financial freedom.
Much of the film’s successful comedy comes from the father, Joe (Torn), whether it be through his lewd comments, his incontinence (which his daughters are both hilariously and graphically shown trying to manage), search for buried treasure in the backyard, or live-in sexual relationship with the unstable, mysterious Shelley (Barkin). Shelley poses as a nurse (broken stethoscope in hand), but her strung out appearance and visible shakiness lead the audience to believe otherwise. Barkin is quite convincing as a train-wreck and very entertaining to watch.
The stylistic choices, however, do not aid the film as well as they are intended. One opening sequences sees Jayne lying to Laura about being delayed on her flight so that she could shop for expensive boots at an upscale San Francisco boutique. The salesman tells her that the boots are not black, but an almost imperceptible blue. He then strangely turns into an eagle and squawks. Jane retracts, then, closing her eyes, smiles and the screen turns blue. The viewer can almost appreciate the blue screen here, symbolizing her love for this extravagant item, but the eagle comes off merely as oddness for oddness sake.We are shown many of these dreamy sequences, and they seem either out of place or unnecessary, without much meat to back them up. Such as when Jayne takes a mystery drug, seemingly in aide of swimming underwater, having sex on a jellyfish, while a human embryo floats idly by. Or when Jayne’s father is diagnosed with a rare form of dementia, and she gleefully imagines a scene of herself and her husband having fun on a tropical vacation while the doctor delivers the terrible news.
If Happy Tears had been successful in its intention, which is to arguably mix quirkiness with dramatic action, we would have something like Lars and the Real Girl. When done well, odd stylistic choices make such films are humorous, unexpectedly dramatic, and totally raw. Secretary (2002) is another example of this, such as during Lee's (Maggie Gyllenhall) colorful, orchid bloomed fantasies about forging an S&M relationship with Mr. Grey (James Spader).
Posey’s performance is alternately both effective and annoying, much like the film itself. She does well to depict an emotionally cut-off, repressed woman who is used to getting her way, but her twitchy behavior can at times be grating or gratuitous. A particularly effective moment takes place in a bubble bath, with Jayne using scented strawberry soap, a fragrance she remembers from childhood. Only now she understands that this was the soap her father used after his various “girlfriends” went home. She surrounds herself with this fragrance, gets in the bath, and cries. Her cries are huffy and humorous, almost childlike. A woman who’s worked so hard to bury her emotions with retail therapy and denial, is finally processing them. Quirky, yet effectively dramatic. But the resolution of the film comes way too easily, where all loose ends are tied, and characters are left rich, happier, and still crazy. This leaves the viewer wondering what could have been had the film been handled differently, and ultimately, unimpressed.
DVD Bonus Features
Mitchell Lichtenstein provides audio commentary where he mostly explains much of the symbolism and intentions of the film that don't come through on their own. Such that the salesman is meant to turn into a buzzard, which makes slightly more sense. Or that the graphic nature of the bathroom scenes are used because many of us will look away in those moments, and thus we are made similar to Jayne when she "checks out" during intense situations. It feels like one needs this director's reel in order to understand the film, which is unfortunate. Also a theatrical trailer.
"Happy Tears" is on sale June 15, 2010 and is rated R. Drama. Directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein. Written by Mitchell Lichtenstein . Starring Demi Moore, Ellen Barkin , Parker Posey, Rip Torn.
