Happy Endings: Movie Review

Best quote: When you're a gay man, you have to feel good about yourself when a urologist says, 'Yeah. I pick you.'

We saw this 2005 release last night. The movie is an ensemble cast comedy, and it carries itself well for the most part. At 2 hours, it comes in slightly long for a comedy, with a few added story lines that weren't necessary.

I read a recent review on this movie that suggested it was about losing children. Losing a child to adoption, to abortion, having to face your son's gayness, etc. To me, the movie wasn't so much about filial relationships. Sure, that was a part of it. As was homosexuality, with 2 gay couples and 1 lesbian couple among the ensemble cast. However, the movie felt more like a portrayal of the secrets and quirks of completely ordinary people you meet.

Lisa Kudrow has one of the main roles in this movie and this is the first time I've seen her and not immediately felt like I was watching Phoebe on a Friends rerun. She ditched her blond locks, resisted Phoebe-scrunching her nose, and portrayed a troubled person realistically. Her role is that of an abortion counselor dealing with her own past teen pregnancy.

Maggie Gyllenhaal was awesome, as always. She makes you hate her for being a moocher, though she eventually grows to care for her moochie. Hers is one of those characters that makes you squirm and wish her away. But she does it so well! The real punch from Maggie, surprisingly, is her voice. She sings three songs (that I can recall) in this movie, and she has a beautiful and raw voice that makes you want to hear more. Who knew she could sing so well?! I was ready to buy the soundtrack from Amazon till I read that a couple of the songs from the movie aren't on the CD.

I don't think anyone else stood out for strong character portrayal in the movie, but it was still worth the watch.