September 30, 2024
FILM: ANOTHER HAPPY DAY
DIRECTED BY: NORA FIFFER
STARRING: LAUREN LAPKUS, JEAN ELIE, MARILYN DODDS FRANK
RATING: 1 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
If you read a lot of my reviews you’ll note that I am generally pretty generous to low-budget, independent films. I really want such works to succeed in a crowded marketplace where there is an abundance of movies and television shows for people to view. Often independent films can be daring, original, and far from the cookie cutter productions Hollywood makes that don’t have anything to really say or make us think about. But then along comes a film like Another Happy Day. To write about this one is to attempt to find something positive out of a lifeless film about post-partum depression.
Lauren Lapkus stars as Joanna, a woman who has recently given birth to her first child. Right from the start it is clear that Joanna has gotten herself into something she wasn’t prepared for. She doesn’t come across as depressed per se but more so cold, lost, and unhappy. She has dreams that are exaggerations of the anxiety she feels inside and she tries to find things to do, such as head to the company that serves as her only design client. There she meets with Irene, played by Carrie Coon in what is one of the only scenes that has any spark to it. Coon is great and the dialogue between them is crisp but she only appears in this one scene – a disappointment as she is billed as one of the leads.
Instead much of the film is devoted to her aunt-in-law Miriam (Marilyn Dodds Frank), a kooky, miserable woman who is a bit of an eccentric actress. The character has even less charm than Joanna. Neither are developed enough to carry the narrative of the film. There’s just not enough movement or arc in either character, leaving a slow, quiet experience that never really comes to life in any significant way.
Much of the film is shot with a number of long takes which is fine but some of the scenes don’t warrant their lengths. Then there are other scenes and characters, such as the aforementioned Irene and a very brief one featuring former SNL cast member Tim Kazurinsky as a director, that if expanded could have added much more to the story.
The film was shot in the Chicagoland area. Having lived in the region my whole life it is also disappointing to see how little of the city and surrounding communities are featured. Chicago is definitely not a character here. The story, such as it is, could have taken place anywhere in the U.S.
Perhaps I am the wrong target audience for a film about post-partum depression but I do appreciate good character studies and themes that, when well-developed and have something to say, strike some sort of universal chord. Another Happy Day is inert and lacking in anything really solid to hold onto.
Another Happy Day will be available on digital platforms beginning tomorrow.
FILM: ANOTHER HAPPY DAY
DIRECTED BY: NORA FIFFER
STARRING: LAUREN LAPKUS, JEAN ELIE, MARILYN DODDS FRANK
RATING: 1 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
If you read a lot of my reviews you’ll note that I am generally pretty generous to low-budget, independent films. I really want such works to succeed in a crowded marketplace where there is an abundance of movies and television shows for people to view. Often independent films can be daring, original, and far from the cookie cutter productions Hollywood makes that don’t have anything to really say or make us think about. But then along comes a film like Another Happy Day. To write about this one is to attempt to find something positive out of a lifeless film about post-partum depression.
Lauren Lapkus stars as Joanna, a woman who has recently given birth to her first child. Right from the start it is clear that Joanna has gotten herself into something she wasn’t prepared for. She doesn’t come across as depressed per se but more so cold, lost, and unhappy. She has dreams that are exaggerations of the anxiety she feels inside and she tries to find things to do, such as head to the company that serves as her only design client. There she meets with Irene, played by Carrie Coon in what is one of the only scenes that has any spark to it. Coon is great and the dialogue between them is crisp but she only appears in this one scene – a disappointment as she is billed as one of the leads.
Instead much of the film is devoted to her aunt-in-law Miriam (Marilyn Dodds Frank), a kooky, miserable woman who is a bit of an eccentric actress. The character has even less charm than Joanna. Neither are developed enough to carry the narrative of the film. There’s just not enough movement or arc in either character, leaving a slow, quiet experience that never really comes to life in any significant way.
Much of the film is shot with a number of long takes which is fine but some of the scenes don’t warrant their lengths. Then there are other scenes and characters, such as the aforementioned Irene and a very brief one featuring former SNL cast member Tim Kazurinsky as a director, that if expanded could have added much more to the story.
The film was shot in the Chicagoland area. Having lived in the region my whole life it is also disappointing to see how little of the city and surrounding communities are featured. Chicago is definitely not a character here. The story, such as it is, could have taken place anywhere in the U.S.
Perhaps I am the wrong target audience for a film about post-partum depression but I do appreciate good character studies and themes that, when well-developed and have something to say, strike some sort of universal chord. Another Happy Day is inert and lacking in anything really solid to hold onto.
Another Happy Day will be available on digital platforms beginning tomorrow.