''Another Happy Day'' is a 2011 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by Sam Levinson, in his feature directorial debut. The film stars an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

including

Ellen Barkin Ellen Rona Barkin (born April 16, 1954) is an American actress. Her breakthrough role was in the 1982 film ''Diner'', and in the following years, she had starring roles in films such as '' Tender Mercies'' (1983), '' Eddie and the Cruisers'' (1 ...

Kate Bosworth Katherine Anne Bosworth (born January 2, 1983) is an American actress. Following minor roles in the films ''The Horse Whisperer (film), The Horse Whisperer'' (1998) and ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), she had a leading role in movie ''Blue Crush' ...

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy A ...

Thomas Haden Church Thomas Haden Church (born Thomas Richard McMillen; June 17, 1960) is an American actor. After starring in the 1990s sitcom '' Wings'' and playing the lead for two seasons in ''Ned & Stacey'' (1995–1997)'','' Church became known for his film work ...

Jeffrey DeMunn Jeffrey P. DeMunn (born April 25, 1947) is an American stage, film, and television actor known for playing Captain Esteridge in '' The Hitcher'' (1986), Sheriff Herb Geller in '' The Blob'' (1988), Andrei Chikatilo in '' Citizen X'' (1995), Harry ...

Siobhan Fallon Hogan Siobhan Fallon Hogan ( ; Fallon; born May 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her collaborations with director Lars von Trier, she has appeared in three of his features to date: ''Dancer in the Dark'' (200 ...

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supp ...

Ezra Miller Ezra Matthew Miller (born September 30, 1992) is an American actor. Their feature film debut was in '' Afterschool'' (2008), which they followed by starring in the dramas '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' (2011) and '' The Perks of Being a Wall ...

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...

, Diana Scarwid and Daniel Yelsky. It had its world premiere at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

on January 23, 2011. It was released on November 18, 2011, by Phase 4 Films.

Premise

Lynn attempts to reunite with her estranged son at his wedding, but it only serves to expose painful truths and family secrets.

Cast

as Lynn Hellman *

as Alice Hellman *

as Doris Baker *

as Paul *

as Joe Baker *

as Elliot Hellman *

as Patty *

as Bonnie * Michael Nardelli as Dylan * Daniel Yelsky as Ben Hellman * Eamon O'Rourke as Brandon * Lola Kirke as Charlie *

as Lee * Diana Scarwid as Donna * Pepper as Pinkybones the dog

Release

''Another Happy Day'' was screened at the 27th Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2011. The film also screened at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

on March 18, 2011; at the

Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto in the Hudson Valley region of New York. The festival takes place each fall in the towns of Woodstock, Rosendale and Saug ...

on September 23; at the

Mill Valley Film Festival The Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) is an annual film festival organized by the California Film Institute. It takes place each October in Mill Valley, California, and welcomes more than 200 filmmakers, representing more than 50 countries, each ...

on October 12; and was given a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

on November 18.

Critical reception

''Another Happy Day'' holds 47% approval rating on review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 34 reviews, with an average of . The site's critical consensus reads: "''Another Happy Day'' features outstanding performances (Ellen Barkin's especially) but the characters are too unpleasant to endure." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film holds a rating of 46 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Barkin received critical acclaim for her performance, with Gabe Toro of '' IndieWire'' writing that it was one of the best female performances of the year. Chris Bumbray of ''

JoBlo JoBlo.com is an anchor website of the JoBlo Movie Network focused on news, film reviews, and film trailers. The network has YouTube channels that focus on trailers, movie clips, celebrity interviews, original content, and film distribution. H ...

'' wrote: "A searing look at the modern family dynamic, and the way love and hate can be inter-changeable at times. Ellen Barkin is Oscar worthy". John DeFore of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' gave the film a positive review, writing: "Laugh-laced dark drama of family angst overcomes the hurdle of its wedding-weekend setting." Leah Rozen of ''

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...

'' also gave the film a positive review, writing: "Altmanesque in its sprawl and sympathetic attitude toward even its most flawed characters, ''Happy Day'' marks a mostly promising debut for director-writer Sam Levinson."

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' gave the film a negative review writing: "Both anguished and histrionic and in its strongest moments very, very good. But it is also overpopulated, strident and constitutionally unable to step back and scrutinize itself." Moira McDonald of ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' also gave the film a negative review writing: "''Another Happy Day'' becomes increasingly difficult to watch, despite its intelligence and strong cast. You wish this family well, but you're grateful to see the last of them."

References

External links

* * * *
Another Happy Day Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Another Happy Day 2011 films 2011 comedy-drama films American black comedy films American comedy-drama films 2010s English-language films Films about dysfunctional families Films about weddings in the United States Films scored by Ólafur Arnalds Films set in Maryland Films shot in Michigan American independent films 2011 independent films Films directed by Sam Levinson 2010s American films English-language comedy-drama films English-language independent films 2011 directorial debut films