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Happy Tears (2009)

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Average Rating: 4.5/10
Reviews Counted: 32
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 22

Replete with quirky indie cliches, Happy Tears wastes some fine performances from Demi Moore, Parker Posey, and Rip Torn on stale formula.

Average Rating: 4.3/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 8

Replete with quirky indie cliches, Happy Tears wastes some fine performances from Demi Moore, Parker Posey, and Rip Torn on stale formula.

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Movie Info

Teeth director Michael Lichtenstein takes a sharp turn from teen-oriented satire to mature family drama with this semi-autobiographical story concerning a pair of grown-up sisters who return to their family home in order to care for their ailing father. Jayne (Parker Posey) and Laura (Demi Moore) have long since moved out of their family home when they discover that their father's (Rip Torn) health has taken a turn for the worse. Returning to Pittsburgh in order to care for their slowly

R, 1 hr. 35 min.

Drama, Comedy

Directed By: Mitchell Lichtenstein

Written By: Mitchell Lichtenstein

In Theaters: Feb 19, 2010 Wide

On DVD: Jun 15, 2010

Roadside Attractions

A cringe-inducing, self-consciously kooky indie comedy that's best enjoyed for its taste of Rip Torn, who, judging by his recent alleged bank break-in, comes to loose-cannon stuff naturally.

February 19, 2010 Full Review Source: New York Daily News

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Joe Neumaier

New York Daily News

Top Critic

Writer and director Mitchell Lichtenstein struggles to find the humor in a host of horrors.

February 19, 2010 Comment

Manohla Dargis

New York Times

Top Critic

Happy Tears settles for the usual moments, even at its quirkiest.

February 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune

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Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

In the role of a dialed-down, capable woman, Demi Moore suggests dramatic possibilities for future roles. She projects a kind of calm, and it's attractive.

February 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

A vulgar, happy-as-cancer aberration that takes the dysfunctional family idea to a new low. Whimsical, yes. Happy, never.

February 17, 2010 Full Review Source: New York Observer

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Rex Reed

New York Observer

Top Critic

Other than the guest-starring appearance of Cy Twombly canvases, nothing distinguishes this poor relation of The Savages from all the other emotionally fraudulent Amerindies about familial dysfunction and reconciliation.

February 16, 2010 Full Review Source: Village Voice

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Melissa Anderson

Village Voice

Top Critic

Demi Moore and Parker Posey play polar-opposite sisters dealing with their aging father (Rip Torn) who's showing signs of senility, soiling himself and shacking up with his "nurse" (Ellen Barkin).

July 3, 2010 Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

It's rarely dull and confidently guided by the cast, but it offers little in the way of overall impact, despite creative visual flourishes and a screenplay rooted in the devastating game of personal reflection. It's cold to the touch.

June 17, 2010 Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com

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Brian Orndorf

DVDTalk.com

one of those awkwardly pretentious attempts to seem hip and profound by simply depicting people acting really goofy

March 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

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Jason McKiernan

Filmcritic.com

Reminds one of how bad American independent films...can be.

February 28, 2010 Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion

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Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

You don't necessarily believe these are real folks but boy they sure are entertaining.

February 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Windy City Times

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Richard Knight

Windy City Times

Sometimes dysfunctional families are better kept for personal consumption rather than being unleashed on the world at large.

February 19, 2010 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine

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Richard Mowe

Boxoffice Magazine

Not all of the subplots work, but with its flights of fancy, superb acting and a cockeyed skew of family dysfunction, Happy Tears is a most unusual work of art.

February 19, 2010 Full Review Source: Indie Movies Online

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Kimberly Gadette

Indie Movies Online

An oddball family drama with idiosyncratic characters and a handful of surreal scenes.

February 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice

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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality and Practice

If the plot unfolded in a less formulaic way, this could have been an impressive dark-tinged comedy. But in the end, it's more a case of talented actors trying to find something fresh in a fairly stale tale.

February 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Oregonian

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Marc Mohan

Oregonian

Hollywood's strong female actors have in Lichtenstein a young talent who gives them the roles they deserve.

February 18, 2010 Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly

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Amy Nicholson

I.E. Weekly

Happy Tears is a complete mess of a movie, but Lichtenstein conjures some sweet moments and striking metaphors -- and none more striking than Posey's $500 boots, which look either black or blue, given the available light.

February 18, 2010 Full Review Source: AV Club

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Noel Murray

AV Club

What's worse, the super-tired plot or the pretentious daydream asides? Despite Demi Moore and Parker Posey, the only time I was happy was when I was leaving the theater.

February 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

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Clint O'Connor

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Realism falls victim to quirk yet again.

February 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Metromix.com

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Matt Pais

Metromix.com

It works more often than it doesn't, but it never quite goes where you expect. And that's rare enough to be noteworthy.

February 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Hollywood & Fine

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Marshall Fine

Hollywood & Fine

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Audience Reviews for Happy Tears

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The one thing hard to believe about this movie is that Demi Moore even accepted her role. Family Drama about a dad who has reached the age o really needing nursing care. So Sorry 1 Star is all I'll throw out there.

May 30, 2011

Bruce Bruce

Super Reviewer

Cast: Parker Posey, Demi Moore, Rip Torn, Ellen Barkin, Christian Camargo, Billy Magnussen, Sebastian Roche, Victor Slezak, T. Ryder Smith, Richard Barlow, Tom McNutt Director: Mitchell Lichtenstein Summary: Jayne (Parker Posey) and Laura (Demi Moore) return to their childhood home in Pittsburgh to look after their

February 18, 2010