Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Happiness Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 4, 2024

Todd Solondz's "Happiness" (1998) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Todd Solondz and Charlotte Wells; new program with actor Dylan Baker; and original trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The world is full of miserable people, and some of them are perverts. This seems to be the only message of Todd Solondz’s film Happiness. Or perhaps there isn't one. Perhaps Happiness is only an astonishingly bold attempt to gauge just how crude a mainstream film can be and get away with it.

Solondz’s camera follows several characters whose lives are closely intertwined, constantly switching personalities like professional chameleons. Joy Jordan (Jane Adams), a genuine romantic dreamer, has just exited a relationship with a boyfriend (Jon Lovitz) who has shown her indisputable evidence that he is a ticking bomb. The breakup has been so unexpected and shocking that her entire universe has fractured itself into countless little pieces and visibly impaired her ability to stay focused in the present. Allen (Philip Seymour Hoffman) makes ends meet while doing something with computers. However, he spends virtually all of his time fantasizing about a beautiful and single neighbor, Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle), who barely acknowledges his existence. He is also a sex maniac, with a seemingly inexorable urge to masturbate. Kristina (Camryn Manheim) is his neighbor, too. She wants to talk to him and be his friend, maybe even more, but is overweight and unattractive. She also has a secret, the kind of secret that sends one to the electric chair. Dr. Bill Maplewood (Dylan Baker) is a happily married husband and father. He is also a closeted pedophile. His wife, Trish (Cynthia Stevenson), does not know, but his son, Timmy (Justin Elvin), admires him because he teaches him what it means to make love, even when there is no one to make love to. Lenny (Ben Gazzara) has stopped loving his wife, Mona (Louise Lasser), and quite possibly everyone he could love. He has told her, surprising her and himself, and discovered that he feels great for being honest with her and himself. Vlad (Jarred Harris) is a Russian immigrant who drives a taxi and lives with a woman who may not be right for him. He also steals what he can, just as he did before reaching American shores.

All of these characters become moving pieces in a giant puzzle of human dissatisfaction and misery. Gradually, it is revealed that some are family members. Gradually, it is revealed that a few are human wrecks impossible to save. After that, Solondz uses different pretexts to emotionally scar them as badly as possible.

Much of the scarring is done with morbid dark humor, frequently creating astonishing contrasts, and this is arguably the greatest strength of Happiness. However, plenty of the scarring is done with crassness that feels off in more than one way, too. Because of it, it is easy to speculate that Happiness was supposed to gauge the tolerance levels of its audience and of course those of the important critics who had to judge it.

Considering all the odd behavior and crassness that flood Happiness, it seems fair to write that the leads are frequently impressive. They are very good at being very bad and just flat-out repulsive. A few make their characters appear legitimately delusional as well. But this sort of performing very quickly becomes tiring because there is a limit to what can be done before it all evolves into a meaningless mish-mash of grotesque posturing.

It also has to be said that some of the material with the youngest actors is genuinely unsettling. It is undoubtedly the reason Happiness initially received an NC-17 rating.

Criterion’s upcoming 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases of Happiness are sourced from an exclusive new 4K master, supervised by director of photography Maryse Albert.

Happiness Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Happiness arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K makeover of Happiness, supervised by its director of photography, Maryse Albert. The same 4K makeover is also present on 4K Blu-ray. You can see our listing and review of this release here. I viewed Happiness in its entirety in native 4K. After that, I compared various sections of the 4K and 1080p presentations of it.

The quality of the 4K makeover is so good that I cannot imagine a scenario where fans of Happiness are not enormously impressed by it. Delineation, clarity, and depth are exceptional, and colors, both primaries and supporting nuances, look absolutely terrific. I went back and forth between the 4K and 1080p presentations and only in a couple of darker sequences I think that the former looks marginally better. But the discrepancies are very, very small. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. As a result, from start to finish Happiness boasts a very even, very solid organic appearance. It is immaculate as well. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Happiness Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed Happiness in its entirety in native 4K. After that, I compared various sections of the 4K and 1080p presentations of it. The following comments are from our review of the 4K Blu-ray release.

For a dialog-driven feature, Happiness surprises with plenty of diverse and quite effective music. In several areas, there are wonderful dynamic contracts. The dialog is crystal-clear, sharp, and very easy to follow. Stability is excellent, too. While viewing Happiness, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report.

Happiness Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Todd Solondz and Charlotte Wells - in this program, Todd Solondz and filmmaker Charlotte Wells discuss independent cinema and Happiness. In English, not subtitled. (41 min).

• Dylan Baker - in this program, actor Dylan Baker discusses the character he played in Happiness. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by screenwriter and novelist Bruce Wagner, as well as technical credits.

Happiness Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Happiness seeks humor in a place where there isn't any. It is why viewing it can be an unforgettably awkward experience. Regardless of what has been said and written about it, which is a lot and often contradicts itself, it is pretty obvious that it was supposed to scandalize. What isn't entirely clear is whether it was supposed to be anything else, like a meaningful film. Criterion's Blu-ray release introduces a spectacular new 4K makeover of Happiness, supervised by its director of photography, Maryse Albert. A 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack streets with it as well. RECOMMENDED to folks who want a definitive release of Happiness in their collections.