Happiness

"You want. He wants. She wants. But nobody wants what I want."

1998 2h 20m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🍅

84%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.7

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 991🍅84%Rotten Tomatoes●81Metacritic★7.7IMDB · 78,716

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.

“You want. He wants. She wants. But nobody wants what I want.”

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Cast

Jane Adams
Joy Jordan
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Allen
Dylan Baker
Bill Maplewood
Lara Flynn Boyle
Helen Jordan
Cynthia Stevenson
Trish Maplewood
Louise Lasser
Mona Jordan
Ben Gazzara
Lenny Jordan
Camryn Manheim
Kristina

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Todd Solondz
Writers: Todd Solondz
Languages: English, Russian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 93% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Happiness Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Todd Solondz, shot by Maryse Alberti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Robbie Kondor. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alan Oxman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Todd Solondz directs. Maryse Alberti behind the camera. Robbie Kondor scores. Alan Oxman cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 93% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
328 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.
5Part of the "Happiness Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Todd Solondz, shot by Maryse Alberti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Robbie Kondor. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Alan Oxman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Jane Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Dylan Baker carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "You want. He wants. She wants. But nobody wants what I want.".
11IMDB entry: tt0147612 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 32 themes, including "pedophilia", "depression", "suicide", "secret love".

The technical file

Cinematography: Maryse Alberti
Original score: Robbie Kondor
Editing: Alan Oxman
Production design: Thérèse DePrez
Costume design: Kathryn Nixon
Makeup / hair: Nicki Ledermann
Sound: Damian Volpe
Runtime: 140 min · 2h 20m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,000,000
Box office: $2,800,000
Return: 93% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NC-17
IMDB: Happiness (1998)
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 81/100
IMDB rating: 7.7/10 · 78,716 votes
MPAA: NC-17

Awards

12 wins & 27 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Happiness Collection

Life's little struggles are magnified in Todd Solondz's quirky duology.

Also by

Todd Solondz

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Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb154355192021-04-28
★ 7/10
Simply too hard to watch due to the subject matter. But... it is clearly an excellent film, I just can't recommend anyone watch it. Enter at your own risk.
ARGMAN2024-02-25
★ 2/10
weird is not necessarily creative
loi2poisson2026-02-20
Great film, but I won't be watching it again anytime soon woops... Yes, enter at your own risk TW: read the keywords