"Happiness" has a cast of mostly TV people, and they're all very good. They include Jane Adams ("Karen" in the TV show "Relativity"), Dylan Baker ("Detective Polson" in the first season of the excellent TV show, "Murder One"), Lara Flynn Boyle (some may remember her as "The Temp," or as "Alex" in the movie "Threesome," but now she can be seen on "The Practice"), Camryn Manheim (like Lara Flynn Boyle, she can also be seen in "The Practice"), Cynthia Stevenson (she was in "The Player" as the poor soul who was the girlfriend of Tim Robbins' character, and she was Steve Guttenberg's annoying wife in "Home for the Holidays," but many will remember her best from TV's "Hope and Gloria"), and two "Saturday Night Live" people, Jon Lovitz and Molly Shannon. The cast also includes Phillip Seymour Hoffman ("Scotty" in "Boogie Nights"... the gay one who had a thing for "Dirk Diggler"), Ben Gazzara (who seems to be in quite a few indies lately... I last saw him in "Buffalo '66"), and Marla Maples (yep, Donald Trump's ex).
The cast was exceptional, especially Dylan Baker. He had the most difficult character, and he was brilliant. He's the reason that this movie was so disturbing, and I won't get into why. Just rest assured that there's a reason why no one under 18 is allowed to see this movie, with or without a parent. There are a couple of scenes (and one in particular) of father-son talks where it's pure, unflinching honesty. And the last one is incredible. The other standout is Phillip Seymour Hoffman, the overweight, sweaty, mouth-breathing loser who you should feel sorry for, but don't.
Todd Solondz
deserves every accolade he's receiving for this movie. It's subject matter,
though sickening, was handled beautifully, and it was extremely fascinating
to watch. I'm looking forward to Solondz's next movie.