Solondz to Bring More ‘Happiness’
Controversial filmmaker Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Storytelling) has found someone to cough up the cash to pay for a sequel/companion piece to his blackly comic Happiness.
New indie production house Werc Werk Works will finance the project that once had Demi Moore, Paul Reubens and Emma Thompson attached. If it’s anything like the original, it’ll be an ensemble piece of interconnected stories, at least one of which is guaranteed to make you uncomfortable.
It’s been a while since I’ve sat down with a Todd Solondz film and I’m still not sure what to make of him. Does he really have something to say or is he just childishly reaching for shock value? The first time around, Happiness was bitterly funny. The second time through it was a little tiresome.
Whether I see his next film or not, it’s good to know the troublemakers are still in business.
Source: Variety
Filed under: Development, News
Tags: Happiness, Todd Solondz
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I think an original, off-kilter empathy sets Solondz apart from others who are just in the shock game. HAPPINESS has some moments that really, really DON’T work, but I thought it had many more moments that delivered beautifully. I didn’t think too much of STORYTELLING or PALINDROMES, they were more rigid and pre-digested, “thesis” movies, but I’ll always give Solondz a look.
I’m pretty much with Chuck, though I skipped Palindromes for some reason and have been wondering about it ever since.
I remain on the fence. Not sure I want to sit through Happiness again to find out which way to fall, but I’ll keep an open mind about whatever he does next.
I really can’t abide him. It’s a very simple universe he controls.
Dawn Wiener’s little brother playing Satisfaction on the clarinet in the garage is awesome though, you have to admit that.
I don’t deny his ability, he’s just bitter. I really hated PALINDROMES.
I think Palindromes is the best film he’s made so far - a rich, complex piece of work, like a cross between Bunuel and John Waters.
Really admired Happiness. There is a quality of truthfulness - discomforting, cringeworthy - in it that one rarely finds in a movie. I don’t have a sense, at least in this film, of his being bitter.