Happy Endings

This comedy-of-life roundelay about several sexually mixed-up Los Angelinos finds writer-director Don Roos returning to the sardonic psychological territory he trod in his stinging black-humor debut The Opposite of Sex. Employing a humorously detached narration style of onscreen captions ("No one dies in this movie. It's a comedy. Sort of."), Happy Endings delves into the lives of a bitter abortion-clinic counselor (Lisa Kudrow), who secretly gave up a baby for adoption at age 16; her gay stepbrother (Steve Coogan), who didn't know he was the father; and a wannabe filmmaker (Jesse Bradford) blackmailing Kudrow into being part of a documentary by claiming to know her son's identity. Meanwhile, a blunt, sultry, free-spirited young gold-digger (Maggie Gyllenhaal) seduces both a sexually-conflicted rich kid (Jason Ritter) and his lonely dad (Tom Arnold). Although these (and other) interconnected stories couldn't stand on their own and sometimes slide in disingenuous directions (often based on sitcom-like misunderstandings), Roos has a gift for drawing good laughs out of human failings and frailties. In addition, he knows how to plumb unsuspected depths in actors (who knew Tom Arnold could emote?), and it's the complicated performances that make this ironically titled picture work. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include an audio commentary (by writer-director Don Roos, cinematographer Clark Mathis, and costar Lisa Kudrow), 10 deleted scenes with optional commentary (16 min.), a “making-of” featurette (12 min.), five minutes of gags with optional commentary, a three-minute montage with optional commentary, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a challenging film.] (R. Blackwelder)