Sunday, February 5, 2012

Not as happy as it sounds

If you haven't yet watched Another Happy Day, then don't be fooled by the title, it's one of those sarcastic little things that you need to be able to pick up on. Like that movie Happiness; remember?

Well, don't get me wrong, Another Happy Day is one damn good movie; written and directed by a very talented Mr. Sam Levinson and with a cast that will take your breath away. From Ezra Miller and Ellen Barkin, to Ellen Burstyn and Demi Moore, this is a flawless movie, hissy fits included and all. It's not just a movie about a family falling apart, it's a movie about real families, and how real families have all kinds of craziness but all kinds of beauty within them too. This is a movie about the woman who wants her family to get along, about the boy who wants to be a part of, about the girl who needs a father, about the ex husband who has gone so far and grown so cold that he barely knows how to communicate with his loved ones. This is a movie about what happens with a family when honesty, tenderness and understanding walk out the door, because love is still there, but it's nothing more than an old idea or a dusty memory.

Don't be discouraged though - this is a movie that still manages to maintain its good spirits, for the most part. There is sense of humour within all the madness, there is irony too, just like our lives. Well, raise your hand if you never experienced one of those "well ain't this perfect!?!?" moments? As i thought, no hands went up.

Another Happy Day is a great movie because it hits the right chords for the right issues. Yes, not all families are that dysfunctional, but this is not the point. The point is, that there are people like that around us, constantly, we go through situations just as bad throughout several occasions in our lives. If we haven't yet, we surely will soon, so why not open our eyes and minds and examine something that is given to us by fictional characters, is entertaining, causes no pain and could very well prepare us for those not so happy moments?

This movie is all about reaction, it's an episode in the life of a family, and within that episode we are shown  a lifelong history of bad reactions. Separations, conversations, addiction, mental disorder, lies that come out and truths that are hidden, all of those bring out emotional and erratic reactions from each of the characters. Ellen Barkin's Lynn even tries to keep it together, but because of the way she reacted to things in the past, there is no way of fixing it anymore, she has set precedents and taken wrong decisions and now it's too late. It's too late for her and for all of them, this so called family hasn't been an actual family in a long time.

See, all our lives are based on how we carry ourselves and the actions we take. Every bad action will generate a bad reaction. In theory. As human beings equipped with brains that we are, we are capable of making decisions and controlling our emotions, however, some of us forget about that and allow for our emotions to take over and react on situations that could have had a much brighter outcome had we taken the time to ponder and make the right decision.

If this movie doesn't make you think about life and how you behave in your family and in society, than I don't know what will, and hopefully this was the goal here, because it's more than time for us all to pick up that long awaited wake up call. The phone is ringing, what will you do?