Why AMERICAN BEAUTY and not HAPPINESS?

Discuss.

You’re talking about Todd Solondz’s film Happiness, not actually happiness. right?

I think he’s talking about why title it American Beauty and not American Happiness.

why? why?

Threads that start off with a guessing game annoy me. You can’t possibly be any clearer?

I think you’re both wrong. I believe Not Happiness is an obscure film from Korea dealing with such themes as American suburban life.

I’ve caused a big mess here.

Firstly, please do not refer to me as ‘he.’

Secondly, the CAPS default made it confusing.

I’ll start again:
Why AMERICAN BEAUTY and not HAPPINESS?

Why did AMERICAN BEAUTY break through, and not HAPPINESS (a far superior and subversive film about suburban life)?

Gee, it takes a real rocket scientist to figure out what Psychonappy is saying, jeesh! I’m afraid, Psychonappy, you’re suffering from the prevaling snootiness that permeates Auteurs. Anyway, two great films, but I prefer American Beauty solely for the fact I connected with it more, but I’m a big fan of Solondz’s work, and “Happiness” was a great film, albeit downright dark and depressing as hell, whereas American Beauty left you, or at least me, with a positive message. Some people hate the type of films that try too hard to hammer these messages into the viewing audience, but in this case, I embraced it.

I think people didn’t like Happiness, primarily, because of the pedophilia.

In part, I’d say it had to do with the more controversial, less commercial subject matter of Happiness, which caused it to receive an NC-17 rating, which meant that it was harder to market and played on fewer screens.

Why do filmmakers always have to paint suburbia as hell on earth? I’m a surbanite and, quite frankly, I love my life, and my wife, and I don’t diddle kids, either

Despite the NC-17 rating, it is my feeling that Happiness would have never really “broken through” due to the content itself. I am not a huge fan of the film. I know enough people who are, though. I just couldn’t get past that sinking black hole it made in my gut. Uncomfortable. That said, it certainly sticks with me more that American Beauty.

I don’t know what film you’re watching, Lester. Solondz? Hammer in a message? Doubt it. Less syrupy, doesn’t mean snooty or preachy. If you’re going to make fun of the vapidness of suburban living, I thought Happiness was more effective.

That storyline in Happiness wasn’t about pedophilia, ray, if you watched the film at all, though on the surface it seems like it.

American Beauty ‘normalizes’ suburban pathologies. Solondz doesn’t bother. It’s okay that his characters are beyond repair. He isn’t pandering to suburbia unlike Ball/mendez. I’m not much for sunny commercial films like American Beauty. But most people like Lester are, I guess.

Yeah, but American Beauty at least attempted to make one think and was a little more even ended, whereas Solondz depends merely on shock value to affect his audiences, imo. Not that he doesn’t hit on very real topics, I just prefer a little balance, and have a problem with shit bombs being continually hurled at me.

@ Lester:

Suburbia is just like anywhere else – heaven, hell, or something else. If Solondz felt that he was cluing “us” in to some seamy undebelly of life, I think the film is an utter failure. Anyone who reads a newspaper knows that there are pedophiles, and some of them live in suburbia. Beyond that, I was never able to find any other point in the film, and cinematically it was blah. Torture in art, with no point beyond the filmmaker’s shallowness (or sadism) is pretty much useless, in my opinion at least. I will give him points for that very funny Lovitz opening scene. After that, it was downhill fast.

I wasn’t so crazy about American Beauty either really. I’ve only seen it once, when it was released, and I should probably give it another chance. At the time, the overall feel of it kept reminding me of Ice Storm (which I thought was far, far better, and which was far less successful commercially), so it certainly suffered in what was perhaps an unfair comparison. I thought there was a lot of forced sentiment – stuff with the closet-case neighbor I could see coming a mile away, and that put me off, and the hype around the film seemed a little Crash – like to me, very self-satisfied.

It’s obvious the movie wasn’t about that, Psychonappy.

But that’s the main thing that sticks out, isn’t it?

Lester you’re paranoid. I’m new here. I’m not out to get you or anything. Just discussing film, that’s all.

Now, I don’t get what you’re saying about ‘shock value.’ Life is frequently shocking. If you look at the most tame individual long enough, you’ll find something completely unexpected that will blow your mind. Nothing in Happiness was designed to merely shock, but make you think deeply about the interconnectedness of the characters and what they wanted in life, and what they lacked.

American Beauty on the other hand, felt shallow and more palatably designed for the masses, in comparison.

David, comparing the Ice Storm to American Beauty is like comparing apples to steak. Though I agree, Crash is a mess.

I think Happiness is better than American Beauty, cuz Solondz doesn’t hide anything and isn’t afraid to say what he wants (which obviously effects his fanbase). I imagine he most of had a horrible childhood (LOL). His movies are comparable to the likes of Kids-Gummo-Bully, a lot of teen themes (about teens that are f-d up). I agree with Psyconappy, Solondz movies/Happiness are better and he has a bigger body of work that he doesn’t pull any strings.

I agree that Happiness gave me a bit of a stomach-ache because of the pedophillia themes, but I love American Beauty, truth be told I was only 9 when it came out, but I loved it.

My instinct is to throw in my hat with the people who liked American Beauty because its portrait of suburban life was more well-rounded… a place where you find glimpses of hope and drama, alongside the mundane and the downright depraved. This is my own experience, not only of suburbia, but of life in general. There are times when I feel that I live in a broken, depraved world (shown explicitly in Happiness and hinted at in American Beauty), but there are also times when I feel a touch of the sublime in my life (represented in American Beauty, but entirely absent in Happiness).

Of course, this is arguing merit based on the film’s accordance with my own experience. That’s not a very critically-informed point of view to take up. Objectively, I’d say American Beauty was a stronger film, because of its formal qualities – the repeated visual themes, the stronger production value – but not by much. Happiness was a very strong film in the gritty realist tradition.

Of course, the discussion is complicated, because it’s easy to blame tastes and evaluations on “fear” (are we all “afraid” to face the truths in Happiness?) and on our appetite for mass-market reassurance.

Happiness is a bit more interesting than American Beauty. I thought AB was great when it first came out but over the years, with at least one more viewing, it has diminished to the point of it seeming like a long, slow episode of Married with Children wherein Al Bundy is attracted to Kelly and hijinks ensue.

Happiness, i’ve only seen once, but I’d be willing to give it another chance. The main interest for me was the way he used a subtly Hitchcockian style to make you identify with the molester. That was quite disturbing. I think the part of the problem with the rest of the film, for me, can be encapsulated in the title. From his title on he had nothing specific or personal to say, he just want to comment on the impossibility or impermanence of “happiness.” With this approach to storytelling you’re bound to end up with shocks, but no surprises.

" it has diminished to the point of it seeming like a long, slow episode of Married with Children wherein Al Bundy is attracted to Kelly and hijinks ensue."

. . . ending with Steve murdering Al because he couldn’t deal with his attraction to him.

American Beauty is just ironicized Capra melodrama. Happiness, on the other hand, I think people fail to recognize as comedy (albeit very brutal black comedy_). J. Hoberman called it “psychological slapstick.”

Also, Happiness is, narratively speaking, quite a bit more complex than Beauty, and doesn’t allow the viewer an easy point of identification as Beauty does with Lester. Some of Lester impulses:

are pretty similar to those played out in Happiness, and if he’d acted upon them, a lot of people would have had a much tougher time with the film.

Psychonappy – This is where I tend to get the lashing from the many cinephiles on this site, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with pandering to the masses – it’s one of the things that makes film such an effective medium. I believe there is a common thread that connects us all, despite our individuality, and I think American Beauty at least attempted to make that connection. Some of us figure it out, but most of us don’t. But at least it leaves one with a very optimistic idea that I felt, in this case, worked. I know it didn’t work for a lot people, but to each their own. I prefer films that try and say something, and with Solondz work, I feel the only thing he’s trying to say is that life is one big miserable shit bucket and people, overall, are mostly unhappy, and that’s the way it is, and we all just have to accept it. I think this is reflective of Solondz own life. His films mirror his own values. I still think it’s a good film, but American Beauty was more up my alley, despite its many flaws that so many point out: one-dimensional characters, overly didactic, etc.

I’m not sure where you’re coming from by calling me “paranoid,” Psychonappy. Perhaps there’s a miscommunication here somewhere.

Neither.

@Lester
She thought when you said something about shit bombs being thrown at you you meant her posts, not the film :)

Ahh! Thanks Mike!

Psychonappy – I wasn’t talking about your posts, I was referring to Solondz himself and the content of his films – the dark and disturbing content.