Review by Raymond Murray
By: Raymond Murray
In-House Review - Jul 18 2013
Lust, sexual identity and wandering eyes combine to create a real cluster-fuck of a situation for four young people as this witty drama, produced and directed by Rodney Evans (Brother to Brother), delightfully demonstrates.
The story fol...
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Lust, sexual identity and wandering eyes combine to create a real cluster-fuck of a situation for four young people as this witty drama, produced and directed by Rodney Evans (Brother to Brother), delightfully demonstrates.
The story follows two couples - one white and straight(ish), the other black and gay. There is musician Stan (Cameron Scoggins), whose cheeriness is wiped off his face when his girlfriend Annie (Sorel Carradine) announces that she needs a break from their relationship. Meanwhile, longtime lovers Aaron and Marcus (Charlie Barnett and LeRoy McClain) face a rocky road when Marcus announces he wants an open relationship.
The cracks in these two couplings soon allow for a cavalcade of bed-hopping adventures, as various sexual pairings are played out. Annie beds a girlfriend, only to find she prefers Stan; while bi-curious Stan hooks up with Marcus much to the frustration of Aaron - who, in turn, reevaluates his belief in monogamy.
The Happy Sad is a thoroughly entertaining drama about redefining one's sexuality and the desperate search for elusive happiness. Director Evans, a visiting professor at Temple University utilized many of his students in the making of the film - which also features indie rock songs by The Whiskey Collection, whose lead singer is actor Cameron Scoggins.
Review by Joseph Baneth Allen
By: Joseph Baneth Allen
Just finished watching "The Happy Sad" by Miasma Films and released by Ariztical Entertainment.
I honestly wish that I could say that Playwright Ken Urban - who also wrote the screenplay for this movie - has presented viewers with a penetrating ...
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Just finished watching "The Happy Sad" by Miasma Films and released by Ariztical Entertainment.
I honestly wish that I could say that Playwright Ken Urban - who also wrote the screenplay for this movie - has presented viewers with a penetrating look at the fluidity of love, desire, and lust between two Millennial couples in New York City and how it affects their lives. Urban fails because Stan, Annie, Marcus, and Aaron suffer no real consequences for their actions, interactions, and departures amongst one another.
We first meet Stan and Annie at a cafe where they are supposed to be having brunch. Stan arrives a bit late because he stopped off to buy Annie a piece of artwork that she had admired while they where strolling by a gallery. Annie is hesitant to accept the piece because the day marks their six-month anniversary and its time for her to tell Stan that he's nice, it's not him, its her.
Justifiably angry, Stan asks if Annie is seeing another man. Unable to admit the truth to Stan - she's bored with him - Annie lies and says that she'd been dating Mandy - her co-worker. Stan leaves the cafe in a huff.
Meanwhile, Aaron, who is a waiter at the cafe where Stan and Annie just broke up, and his boyfriend Marcus have just agreed after six years of monogamy - well you can't count the time Aaron accidentally cheated on Marcus with an actor friend of his who he was helping rehearse for a part - don't ask, it's only mentioned - have decided to open up their relationship to sex, but no falling in love.
Marcus takes full advantage of the new arrangement and hooks up with...drum roll please...CuriousMusician28...who is...that's right...Stan. Stan likes gay sex so much that he and Marcus hook up a few times more.
Annie confesses to Mandy what she told Stan, and Mandy, who is gay, ultimately ends up in bed with Annie.
Let's cut to the chase here, shall we? Stan, Annie, Mandy, Marcus, and Aaron all end meeting coincidentally at a subway platform. Stan and Annie end up back in bed with each other where Stan, in a rare pique of honesty, confesses that he likes being ridden by Marcus. Annie really likes having sex with women. So they make a pact that neither one has any intention of sticking to, and it all falls apart when Marcus decides he's in love with Stan, tells him and gets a black eye for his efforts because Stan declares "I'm not gay. We're just two guys getting off." Right....
Anyways, let's fast forward to the happy ending where everyone is happy to be at the venue where Stan and his band are performing and appear to be happy with each other. Oh yes, Stan and Annie plan on finding another bi-sexual couple like them so that they can love each other. Cue the credits.
Cameron Scoggins is credible as closeted bi-sexual Stan. So is Charlie Barnett as Aaron - Marcus' forlorn boyfriend. Aaron is perhaps the most likable character in the movie.
"The Happy Sad" could have been a penetrating look at how people are to confront their personal truths when reality's cold mirror is held up in front of them; but if falls way too short by skirting how far people hurt themselves by getting at their own individual truths.
"The Happy Sad" does have a few fine moments where it soars; but those moments are too few and far.
Two-and-a-half Stars.
Review by Amos Lassen
By: Amos Lassen
In "The Happy Sad" we meet two couples who deal with the new norms of modern relationships. One of the couples is straight and white; the other is gay and black. These couples are creating these new norms as they redefine monogamy and explore sexual ...
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In "The Happy Sad" we meet two couples who deal with the new norms of modern relationships. One of the couples is straight and white; the other is gay and black. These couples are creating these new norms as they redefine monogamy and explore sexual identity.
Annie (Sorel Carradine) is a teacher who thinks a lot about social mobility. Stan, her boyfriend does what she says. Annie wants to take a break from their relationship so she pretends to be dating Mandy (Cameron Scoggins), her co-worker. This breaks Stan's heart and tries to get over her by seeing Marcus (Leroy McClain) who is involved in an open relationship with Aaron (Charlie Scoggins), his long-term boyfriend. Aaron an Marcus have been together for six years and now Marcus feels emotionally vulnerable with Stan who is having his first gay relationship and Marcus finds himself braking the one rule that he and Aaron share.
Mandy is somewhat fragile and realize that she is a lesbian when he starts to develop feelings for Annie. By chance, the two couples meet and this them to re-evaluate their ideas about fidelity and relationships. Directed by Rodney Evans, the film deals with the important issues of sexual identity, monogamy and honesty.