Murky and humorless.
Happy Here and Now (2002)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:9
Rotten:11
Average Rating:5.1/10
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Michael Almareda (NADJA) delivers another difficult and rewarding film that refuses to deliver on genre conventions. This time, a girl (Shalom Harlow) is missing, and her sister, Amelia (Liane... Michael Almareda (NADJA) delivers another difficult and rewarding film that refuses to deliver on genre conventions. This time, a girl (Shalom Harlow) is missing, and her sister, Amelia (Liane Balaban), is desperately trying to locate her. Former CIA agent Bill (Clarence Williams III) is helping her, and the only clue they have is on the disappeared girl's computer: a program that allows the user to chat under an assumed identity. Karl Geary, Isabel Gillies, Ally Sheedy, and David Arquette also appear in this suspenseful film that makes the most of its New Orleans location and the oddball characters the city is known for. [More]
Starring: Karl Geary, Shalom Harlow, Ally Sheedy, Gloria Reuben
Starring: Karl Geary, Shalom Harlow, Ally Sheedy, Gloria Reuben, Clarence Williams, David Arquette
Director: Michael Almereyda
Director: Michael Almereyda
Get This Movie
Reviews for Happy Here and Now
The film is resolutely committed to its affectations of deepness and meaningfulness, but all it imparts is a sense of tediousness.
Casts an undeniable and lingering spell for those who enjoy their cinema spiked with adventure and philosophy.
The future is quieter, emotionally subdued and grayly mysterious, at least in the small hop forward imagined by filmmaker Michael Almereyda.
Even if you're not quite down with Almereyda's digital-age existentialism, he has impeccable taste in music.
This is a droll, laid-back film noir steeped in Crescent City atmosphere and music that culminates in the colliding worlds of genuine and virtual reality.
Michael Almereyda's muddled Happy Here and Now should have stayed on the shelf -- where it's been gathering dust for several years.
Michael Almereyda's futuristic mystery isn't a complete misfire, but it does leave you with the same baffled blankness that suffuses his isolated, techno-dependent characters.
Mourning and gloom weigh upon most of the characters in Michael Almereyda's convoluted and numbingly pretentious Happy Here and Now
This small masterpiece has been one of the best films around not to secure a proper theatrical release.
Set in New Orleans, this collection of loosely connected set pieces was written and directed by Michael Almereyda, who is perhaps best known for his 2000 iteration of Hamlet.
The dialogue is much like a bull session in a college dorm room, right before the munchies set in.
When Amelia takes the full multimedia plunge in the movie's final moments, Happy becomes something inexplicably (and metaphysically) beautiful.
A rich kaleidoscope of sights and sounds that sing out in their vitality.
Almereyda is tripped up by this grab at cosmic profundity, and lands in a sticky puddle of pretension.
To make an inexact analogy, 'Happy Here and Now' is to New Orleans as 'Mystery Train' was to Memphis...
While technically brilliant and gorgeous to watch, Happy Here and Now feels as unfocused and uneven as it is ambitious and intellectually frustrating.
The film transcends what occasionally seems to be oddness for its own sake.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 67% 67% | Bruno |
| 47% 47% | My Sister's Keeper |
| 66% 66% | Is Anybody There? |
| 82% 82% | Thirst |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Happy Here and Now at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic


