Plot
Jayne and Laura play sisters helping their crude but endearing father Joe deal with age-related health and mental problems. Wealthy by marriage, Jayne is otherwise psychologically fragile. Conversely, Laura has her hands full with domestic responsibilities but is considerably more grounded. Upon returning to their childhood home to help their father, they face difficult, frequently comic situations. The home, their deceased mother's effects, and their father's eccentricities evoke memories and sentiments, especially for Jayne. The sisters bicker over the seriousness of their father's condition. They also contend with a romantic dalliance between Joe and his equally eccentric, wigged-out "nurse" Shelly. The struggle to balance familial duties with their own strained lives suggests a more meaningful family connection they may not have had as children.Cast
Production
The shooting schedule was completed in 2008 and included locations in and around Philadelphia including Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, Prospect Park, Center City, Philadelphia, Center City and Cabrini College.Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 27% rank based on 33 reviews, with an Weighted arithmetic mean, average rating of 4.4/10. The site's consensus states: "Replete with quirky indie clichés, Happy Tears wastes some fine performances from Demi Moore, Parker Posey, and Rip Torn on stale formula". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of a 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Noel Murray of ''The A.V. Club'' described ''Happy Tears'' as "a complete mess of a movie", but also mentioning that "Lichtenstein conjures some sweet moments and striking metaphors". Michael Phillips (critic), Michael Phillips of the ''Chicago Tribune'' wrote that "[the film] settles for the usual moments, even at its quirkiest". In an interview for ''The New York Times'', Manohla Dargis said that "writer and director Mitchell Lichtenstein struggles to find the humor in a host of horrors". According to Leslie Felperin of ''Variety (magazine), Variety'' magazine, the film is "a contradictory creature, both insightful and dumb". ''Slant Magazine''s Nick Schager gave the film a half star explaining his reasoning for it as "[''Happy Tears''] succeeds only at suggesting the incompatibility of returning-home dramedy and surrealistic flights of fancy". David Fear of ''Time Out (magazine), Time Out'' managed to give a film at least one star, writing "Not even the reliable Posey can salvage this slag heap". Melissa Anderson of ''The Village Voice'' wrote "Other than the guest-starring appearance of Cy Twombly canvases, nothing distinguishes this poor relation of The Savages from all the other emotionally fraudulent Amerindies about familial dysfunction and reconciliation". Despite all the negative criticism of the film, Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' praised the film, calling Demi Moore's role as "kind of calm", "attractive", as well as "dialed-down" and "capable woman".References
External links
* *{{IMDb title, 1219828 2009 comedy-drama films American independent films Films shot in Pennsylvania Roadside Attractions films American comedy-drama films 2009 independent films Films about father–daughter relationships Films about sisters 2000s English-language films 2000s American films