Happiness (1998)
A series of intertwining love stories, stories of connections missed and made between people, how people always struggle to make a connection, and to what degree they succeed or don't.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Todd Solondz
Written By: Todd Solondz
Starring: Ben Gazzara, Molly Shannon, Dylan Baker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jared Harris, Jon Lovitz, Jane Adams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Cynthia Stevenson, Arthur J. Nascarella, Justin Elvin, Lila Glantzman-Leib
Country: USA
Where to Stream
Loading...
Happiness belongs to 69 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 233 stars)
2. boobs (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 51 stars)
3. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)
4. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 31 stars)
5. Black Comedy (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky - 30 stars)
6. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
7. AAA: Empire's five star movies (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 24 stars)
8. IMDb Top 250 Complete (collaborative: moderated by Jorg - 23 stars)
9. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)
10. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
11. Best of criticker: Drama (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 18 stars)
12. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 17 stars)
13. FIPRESCI Prize (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 14 stars)
14. films101.com's 5 star films (collaborative: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)
15. Skandies (collaborative: moderated by toro913 - 7 stars)
16. Best of criticker: Comedy (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 7 stars)
17. Disgusting and Disturbing (collaborative: moderated by myminorplace - 7 stars)
18. List: Taschen (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 6 stars)
19. Hyperlink Cinema / Interconnected Stories (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 6 stars)
20. Best by different standards (public: sesito71 - 6 stars)
21. Sisters (collaborative: moderated by djross - 5 stars)
22. Doubling The Canon (2010 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 5 stars)
23. Filmsite.org - Sex in the Movies, An Illustrated History (collaborative: moderated by afx237vi - 5 stars)
24. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)
25. Capsules, guest reviews, list candidates... (366weirdmovies) (collaborative: moderated by sesito71 - 4 stars)
26. BIFA Winner (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 3 stars)
27. They Shoot Pictures ex-Top 1,000 (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 3 stars)
28. 501 Movie Directors (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 3 stars)
29. Unconventional Cinema (public: holsgr - 3 stars)
30. Terrific 'Dialogue-Heavy' Films (public: nicolino - 3 stars)
31. Best Opening Scenes (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 2 stars)
32. weirdos (collaborative: moderated by monclivie - 2 stars)
33. Solo Genital Stimulation (Male) (collaborative - 2 stars)
34. List: Empire's 50 Greatest American Independent Movies (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 2 stars)
35. Hate it or love it (collaborative: moderated by comepelicula - 2 stars)
36. father-son relationship (collaborative: moderated by livelove - 2 stars)
37. Doubling the Canon (2011 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)
38. Sight and Sound 2002 (Single Vote) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 1 star)
39. Doubling the Canon (2012 update) (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 1 star)
40. ComplexMedia: The 50 Most Disturbing Movies (collaborative: moderated by von krogh - 1 star)
41. Moribunny finds this highly overrated (public: Moribunny - 1 star)
42. 1998: Year in Review (public: polanski28 - 1 star)
43. The Greatest Movies of All Time - Filmweb's Alternative Top 500 (public: Hadleyreis - 1 star)
44. Awkward moments (collaborative: moderated by juandr)
45. TSPDT 2017 new additions (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr)
46. Ratings (collaborative: moderated by cheapthrills)
47. simon (collaborative: moderated by f_ranzen)
48. Cinemateca - Grandes Géneros: Comédia (collaborative: moderated by pmpfe)
49. Sexual Abuse (collaborative: moderated by Trash Puppet)
50. Dark Side of the Picket Fence (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed)
51. IJ to watch (collaborative: moderated by jennmrqz)
52. Djross seen at the cinema (public: djross)
53. Movies to See (public: gsb)
54. Films to get (public: Scelsi)
55. 2C (public: twisp)
56. Films I watched in 2011 (public: jal90)
57. Owned (DVD) (public: bizarre_eye)
58. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 24 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
59. BF-1990 (public: caffe)
60. List: Filmspotting Ratings Project - Communal Watchlist (public: KasperL)
61. 90lar (public: Ozancan)
62. jeff_h's films to remember (public: jeff_h)
63. Disturbing Movies (public: gudmovies)
64. seen in 2020 (public: sproost)
65. Movies to watch (public: ladycalluna)
66. C-1990 (public: cantahta)
67. My ratings (public: tpbradbury)
68. must watch (public: gintokidai)
69. Late Spring / Early Summer (public: saudade)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 7 |  |
KMcNeil | 10 98th |
|
Ugly, disgusting and really uncomfortable. But somehow still a comedy. Of sorts. How the hell did this ever get made? "Hi studio exec - my name is Todd Solondz and I'm here to depress the hell out of you. Give me some money, please?" One of the greatest things to come out of the 90s.
|
|||
| 6 | citysqwirl | 90 94th |
|
|
A scorchingly harsh movie. Really digs deep into the bleakness of interpersonal relationships and how difficult it is to control any of our own fates. The whole movie plays like a terrible dream that feels entirely true . . . and its humor is so black that you feel awful while you're laughing.
|
|||
| 6 |  |
Boobjuice | 89 90th |
|
Oh god, what the hell! MOM! HELP!!!!!
|
|||
| 5 |  |
Pickpocket | 8 82nd |
|
You should probably watch this with your mom.
|
|||
| 5 |  |
Okkervil | 90 96th |
|
Insanely dark comedy that fits right into the Solondz mould. This is by far my faviourite Solondz film, the humour is brutal and at times even scary making the viewer uncomfortable yet somehow fascinated as to just how far this movie will push it. The dialogue is sharp and the performances are brilliant. In particular Seymour Hoffman's performance is epic. A masterpiece.
|
|||
| 5 |  |
Tweedale | 10 98th |
|
FUCK
|
|||
| 4 | heandhishair | 76 78th |
|
|
If a movie could have balls, this would have the biggest pair.
|
|||
| 4 |  |
Suture Self | 8 81st |
|
Adjective, adjective, adjective, adjective, adjective, adjective, and a lil loco.
|
|||
| 4 |  |
Anomaly | 87 89th |
|
The darkest of black comedies, for when faced with this much awkwardness, ugliness, and angst, what other way is their to cope but to laugh? Made all the more uncomfortable once you find something in it to relate too, in spite of your desire to distance yourself from the characters as much as possible. Baker and Hoffman's performances stand out amongst a group of already strong performances.
|
|||
| 4 |  |
Bown | 93 96th |
|
Fuck me, there's black comedy and there's "Happiness". How can you describe this? Jet-black comedy? An amazing cast, and Solondz really is just an incredibly brave guy.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
Dorkovsky | 10 99th |
|
Once again Solondz finds comedy in truly fucked up situations, and again he does it well. Unlike Welcome to the Dollhouse however, this works as a drama also.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
th_mertens | 89 96th |
|
'It was a crime of passion, ... I'm a passionate woman.' The amount of brilliante dialogues you find in Happiness is amazing. ... You will be blown away by its dark, savage humour, and its uncomforting view on relations and sex. ... Still the best of Todd Solondz's repertoire.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
HalfJapanese | 95 97th |
|
The finest pitch-black comedy in existence. Much better than Welcome the the Dollhouse and free of the annoying stylistic choices that dragged down Palindromes, this is Solondz's finest movie. Equally disturbing and hilarious, you'll be laughing at the very same things that make you cringe.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
Stain | 100 95th |
|
Very funny and disturbing look at the perpetual human ugliness
|
|||
| 3 |  |
Shmendrek | 5 96th |
|
Deeply misanthropic and revolting...yet I loved every minute of its cringe-inducing dialog and (with a few exceptions) the genuinely loathsome/pathetic characters. Far and away the best flick of Solondz's relatively small corpus of work.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
muutanet | 91 97th |
|
This is a story of people who are desperately seeking happiness which is so hard to achieve. There is no shortcut for love. And happiness is so different for different people. We are blocked by exptectations created by ourselves and by other people. Everything is shown through black humour which is pretty serious more deeper you go with it. Many brilliant performances, excellent directing.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
BillyShears | 80 77th |
|
I am champagne. I am champagne. I am champagne. I am champagne. I am champagne. I am champagne.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
TheDeek | 87 88th |
|
A friend of mine watched this with her parents...not a good call
|
|||
| 3 |  |
Piglet | 79 89th |
|
Not much happiness here, but all the more tragedy. I found it greatly entertaining, as it uses humor to highlight the darkness.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
CCLZA | 90 95th |
|
This is a greatly accomplished true black comedy with an amazing array of grey tones. It's difficult to find well-rounded, detailed screenplays that rely on the viewer's intelligence to catch the subtletly, but Solondz and his amazing cast laregly succeed and gives us a sense of watching something that trascends.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
ServantDagon | 98 96th |
|
I think it's really a very dark comedy, but people are too busy being offended to notice. Baker and Hoffman are great.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
angrypierre | 88 90th |
|
Not for the faint hearted. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is particularly unsettling. But brilliant.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
PeaceAnarchy | 92 97th |
|
Really disturbing and yet the comedy still works, so Solondz must be doing something right.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
syvyys | 20 1st |
|
couldn't watch this one to the end, it's SO incredibly obvious and forced. just for calling a film about despaired and broken personalities "happiness" solondz deserves a heavy slap - i mean, that is not even irony, it's just dull. --- though there is some ben gazzara in it, which is always a plus i guess.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
Antikroppar | 89 93rd |
|
Extremely depressing and disturbing. Magnificient.
|
|||
| 2 | Tikaz | 100 99th |
|
|
Todd Solondz is a genious. Although not a horror film, Happiness is a terrifying movie. It's brilliance is in how it leads one to imagine the harshest of sexual/emotional deviances yet it never explicitly states or shows them. If one is confident that their sense of humour is sick and twisted enough, this movie is completely worth seeing.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
NathanDarko | 92 87th |
|
Happiness is the snappiest, darkest, most ironical and cynical Movie I've seen in years. And this is great. Celebrate the misanthropy! I guess Nietzsche would have a crush on this one.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
chemical404 | 87 99th |
|
What a movie! The whole package: story, style, cinematography is very distinct. It might have to do with it being the first movie by Solondz I have seen, but it really surprised me. It is really, REALLY fucked-up social satire, but also funny and smart (kind of like me). Afterwards I read articles proclaiming Solondz to be the patron saint of pessimism or self-conscious misanthrope. So OK, it's not a movie for everyone, but if you'll like it, you gonna love it.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
kevinjoseph | 68 67th |
|
I'd like to think that I'm pretty desensitized to a lot of things but this movie made me reeeeally uncomfortable. (Which I guess is the point, but it didn't really use it to any end, in my opinion)
|
|||
| 2 |  |
JaiGuy | 95 98th |
|
One of the most uncomfortable experiences of having to suppress laughter in a theater full of people who just didn't get it. I love this movie. I've kept returning to it over the years. The most unabashed movie about sexual perversity and darkly comic throughout.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Harmonica | 84 78th |
|
It was this film above all the others that had me distraught and completely at a loss when Philip Seymour Hoffman died. I don't think anyone else on the planet could achieve what he does in this. Haven't seen it for a long time, and not sure when I'll ever watch it again, but it sticks in the memory. Recommend that you watch this only with friends that you trust emotionally and intellectually, but do watch it with someone so you can talk it through afterwards!
|
|||
| 1 | slackerish | 85 80th |
|
|
Would have been perfect if it was maybe 20-30 minutes shorter.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Derekstar | 80 68th |
|
Nervous Giggling: The Movie
|
|||
| 1 | IHateMovies | 85 60th |
|
|
The most noteworthy part of this movie is definitely the tongue in cheek Marla Maples cameo. Kidding!
|
|||
| 1 |  |
drawkward86 | 79 53rd |
|
Occasionally takes a false step by going for cheap shots and even gets the tiniest bit sitcommy (especially when LFB's on screen), but it somehow manages to sidestep bashing you in the face with its misanthropy -- the fact that the film managed to go this far and not simultaneously try way too hard is a minor miracle. The writing is, those few aforementioned biffs aside, pitch-black and pitch-perfect, and several of the performances (Manheim, PSH, and especially Dylan Baker) are phenomenal.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
begoniabol | 90 95th |
|
Stuffed with dark humor, awkwardness and some nasty bits. I friggin loved it
|
|||
| 1 |  |
pavementSAW | 90 94th |
|
One of the funniest comedies about unfunny things. Things get worse and worse for everyone. Even the happy ending is fucked.
|
|||
| 1 | ToddBolondz | 85 71st |
|
|
Agnes Varda's finest work, IMHO.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Rufam | 90 97th |
|
Mercilessly cynical combination of dark humor and dead-on social commentary. Scenes that would appear 'cute' in other contexts (Baker -fantastic in this- awkwardly trying to please his romantic interest via tuna sandwiches) are twisted in unforgettable ways -questioning the way we view both film and reality itself. Solondz isn't always above clunky juxtaposition, but his demolition of social facades as well as his search for humanity in even the 'sickest' situations is piercing and hilarious.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
hellboy76 | 74 90th |
|
Awkwardness abounds in this freak show of human depravity and general sadness. Not for the feint of heart or easily offended. Well acted all around.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Gnalkhere | 100 99th |
|
This movie is timeless. I will never not love or get bored of a movie like this. So much to explore and know.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
comepelicula | 60 52nd |
|
This movie covers some hard subjects about sexual psychology not often covered in movies. All this subjects covered together make it a very ambitious and how they are approached is interesting. But I don't think it has aged well and feels outdated, nevertheless it has some interesting dialogues and performances.
|
|||
| Average Percentile 67.54% from 2939 Ratings |  |