Happily (2021) Movie Drinking Game
Take a Drink: whenever Tom and Janet have sex
Take a Drink: whenever a character does
Take a Drink: every time Joel McHale is shirtless
Take a Drink: whenever Karen hits on Tom
Take a Drink: when the circle of chairs is shown
Do a shot: every time a puzzle is shown or mentioned
Do a shot: when someone’s secret is revealed
By: BabyRuth (Four Beers) –
Tom (Joel McHale) and Janet (Kerry Bishé) have been married for 14 years, but you’d never guess it from the way they can barely keep their hands, and every other body part, off each other. Their friends find the couple’s never-ending honeymoon phase to be strange and irritating, to the point they stop including them in the group’s activities. In addition to their insatiable sexual appetites, Tom and Janet rarely seem to fight, and in the occasional case they have a minor disagreement, it’s resolved immediately with, you guessed it, more sex. Their marriage is unsettlingly perfect. Neither feel that is anything out of the ordinary; they’re simply in love – what’s wrong with that?
One random morning, the couple receives a visit from a mysterious stranger (Stephen Root) brandishing a briefcase. Inside it are two syringes full of an unidentified serum. The man explains that they must inject themselves immediately to correct a “defect in the system” and will be become “normal” as a result. The pair understandably refuse (though, he did offer to pay them…) and things escalate quickly.
Hoping to escape their bizarre encounter, among other things, Tom and Janet are more than happy to accept an invitation for a weekend getaway to a beautiful rental mansion with their friends, an invitation previously withdrawn due to their annoying coital shenanigans, but suddenly reinstated. Once there, they begin to second guess that decision as things just don’t seem right. Could the peculiar visitor have been part of an elaborate prank gone wrong? Or is something supernatural going on?
A Toast
Happily’s greatest strength is its impressive and jam-packed ensemble: McHale, Root, and Bishé are joined by Natalie Morales, Jon Daly, Paul Scheer, Natalie Zea, Charlyne Yi, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Breckin Meyer, Shannon Woodward, and Al Madrigal, who each bring their own flavor to the mix and make the very most of their screentime. McHale and Bishé’s chemistry is believable, as is the interaction between the extended cast.
It’s a highly stylized film, with great set design and interesting visual choices. The score and music complement everything well, creating a tense and foreboding atmosphere.
Beer Two
An original, compelling concept and an outstanding cast is a great start and going in, for me, this had an anticipated vibe of a comedy-thriller along the lines of Clue, Game Night, and the excellent genre-mashing Search Party series. Unfortunately, Happily never quite gets there. Despite the many comedic talents involved, there isn’t much actual comedy. (Special shout-out to Breckin Meyer, who has the most thankless role of all. Why even bother casting him?) Likewise, the setup to the thrills is effective, but the payoff is a letdown.
Beer Three
The film has a strong beginning as it establishes the plot, picks up at the introduction of Root’s character, and there are several suspenseful moments once the action moves to the couples’ getaway (due to the winning combination of a single location, events unfolding in real-time, and entire cast together), but unravels and loses steam the longer it goes on. Once it reaches the climax and finally seems like we’ll get a satisfying conclusion to the many questions introduced, it just abruptly ends.
Beer Four
Happily sets up a mystery and presents many questions, most of which go unanswered. It plays out like an outline – whether that is due to edits or lack of a fully realized screenplay, it’s a frustrating experience. It likely made perfect sense in writer/director BenDavid Grabinski’s mind, but is lost in translation to the audience. Of course, movies are not required to spell everything out for the viewer, often the themes and end result are the more important takeaways; however, in this case, those are just as muddled and not very groundbreaking. So, every couple has problems no matter how good things seem on the surface? Humans are flawed?
Verdict
This was an odd one. Grabinski definitely has a unique style and is a filmmaker to keep an eye on, and I would recommend this to completist fans of any of the cast members, however I feel many viewers will expect something different and come away unsatisfied. It’s an intriguing watch, but ultimately a disappointing one, because it could have been so much more.
Last Call: stick around after the credits for a bonus scene.
Happily is available on VOD beginning March 19th- today!
