October 28, 2023 – I ran across this title in an article in workandmoney.com where this film is listed as “the most underrated movie of all time.” But that is deceptive because it isn't underrated at all, it just has not been widely seen.

“Happiness” is rated very high by critics (“universal acclaim” rating of 81 at Metacritic) because it is one powerful movie. The article also said it is hard to find a copy of the movie to watch, but I very quickly found it in a place where it is free to stream or download (more on that below).

Happiness is rated NC-17, which means it got a very limited theatrical reception, and out-of-production DVDs of this movie are evidently hard to find, too. I checked back on my top 10 list for 1998 and saw a note that I had not seen this movie at the time I made that list. I did see it later, perhaps in 1999, and I was very impressed with it.

Among the characters in the film are Allen (played by the late Philip Seymore Hoffman) who makes dirty phone calls, Kristina (played by Camryn Manheim) who hates sex so much she goes all black widow on a guy, and Bill Maplewood (Dylan Baker) a child molester. The cast includes such other notables as Jon Lovitz, Louise Lasser, Molly Shannon, Ben Gazzara, Jane Adams, Marla Maples and Lara Flynn Boyle.

This dark comedy is about loneliness and the spaces between people that keep them apart. In one scene Allen, and the object of his desire, Helen Jordan (Lara Flynn Boyle) sit on opposite ends of the couch, and may as well have been a mile apart. After Helen rejects Allen, he goes next door to sleep with another woman who he knows is a murderer.

Bill Maplewood and his wife, Trish (Cynthia Stevenson) are thought to have a perfect marriage. It is far from that. One of the most powerful scenes in the movie is between Bill and his young son, Billy (Rufus Read) where the tortured father reveals his true sexual nature to his son.

Lenny Jordan (Ben Gazzara) tells his wife, Mona (Louise Lasser) that he wants a divorce. She thinks it is because he is in love with another woman, but instead, he is a loner, the very embodiment of existential ennui.

Joy Jordan (Jane Adams) breaks up with one man, breaking his heart, only to turn to a taxi driver, Vlad (Jared Harris). She thinks she has found true love in Vlad, but it turns out she is not important to him. Everyone in this movie is searching for happiness, but they never really get close to it. This movie is filled with keen, often ironic observations on human feelings and behavior.

What makes this movie so effective is how it humanizes characters who are often marginalized or dehumanized by society. It shows us that the reason we avoid, ridicule, even hate people like this is not because they are so different from us, but because of our shared humanity. It rates an A.

I found this movie on one of the many free streaming sites, but it is also in the Internet Archive (archive.org) where it is available for free streaming or download (including as a 1.3 gigabyte Matroska media container). Subtitles for this film are also available for free at opensubtitles.org.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2023 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at