Cinema Reborn 2026 Film Review - Happiness
Images courtesy of Cinema Reborn.
TW: discussion of sexual assault, pedophilia and CSA ahead.
Todd Solondz’ Happiness is an ensemble film set in New Jersey and driven by passionate yet disillusioned characters. The film explores the unfulfilled lives of those living in middle-class, suburban, 90s America and how their lives are wrapped up in played up sexual fantasies and unrequited intimacies. An old married couple separates, but is not divorced, a nuance that is played as a bit. A young woman named Joy (Jane Adams) fails in all aspects of her life and is mocked by her sisters, whilst another, Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle) succeeds and is envied, yet suffers from a lack of intimacy, and is surrounded by vanity from her partners that only a person like her can recognise. However, the most grotesque and challenging of all is a psychiatrist’s (Dylan Baker) paedophilic tendencies that seem to shatter the suburban illusion that his family once held. Reading through existing reviews of Happiness, I have realised that it seems to border the area of black-comedy films that have occupied and dominated the late 20th century movie landscape. This is a film so shockingly taboo that it sort of wraps itself in a humorous discomfort. As the famous saying goes, you can either laugh or you can cry about it. In an article published by The Guardian, Solondz stated that Happiness “would not get made today”. And it’s true, we now operate on a social framework where anything that can be deemed problematic, sensationalised or inciting should be assessed with a question: is it worth making?
Now am I making the case that this film should not have been made? No. I am unsure if I operate on a different social language to those from close to 30 years ago but I rarely chose to laugh whilst watching. Rather, I sat with the discomfort and found an eerie, poignant and sad air to Happiness that I don’t think I will ever truly shake off. The viewers of the 21st century may find themselves wincing more than laughing, and I have to remind readers that this in itself is no easy feat. Solondz crafts a film that starts off light and airy, soon delving deeper down into a tense, electrically-charged act by a cast capable of pulling off dialogue that goes beyond Camus-level absurdity.
Setting aside the narrative, the performances and screenplay are truly remarkable. It matters not whether these performances are set to make the audience laugh, what matters is that they were genuinely, utterly and frighteningly great. Solondz himself has said that he was ‘lucky with the alchemy of stars working for [him] back then.’
Beyond the humour, Happiness unloads itself upon the audience like a loaded barrel. Hard, fast and punchy. The thematic weight of the film carries a heavy load that may wear on the modern and casual movie-goer, but to an avid cinephile, this should be like a walk in the park. Hopefully, not like the park walk that Dr. Maplewood went to.
A scene that has now ingrained itself into my memory, is one between Dr. Maplewood and his son, Timmy (Justin Elvin) asks his father teary-eyed if he will also rape him. The doctor thinks for a bit, and then responds no. A beat plays and then he lands the punchline: he will only jerk off.
Happiness is screening as part of the 2026 Cinema Reborn program, which runs from the 8th to the 20th of May at Lido Cinemas Melbourne. For tickets and more info, click here.