Happy, Texas Review
by Frankie Paiva (SwpStke AT aol DOT com)June 16th, 2000
Happy, Texas
rated PG-13
98 minutes
starring Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn, Ally Walker, Illena Douglas, and William H. Macy
directed by Mark Illsley
A Video Review by Frankie Paiva
This is a madcap comedy that simply does not deliver. While the premise of two escaped convicts stealing a motor home only to find out they are supposed to be gay beauty pageant directors sounds promising, the outcome is dismal. The script isn't nearly as full of life as it might seem, and the actors do nothing to make their characters more vibrant and exciting. This is really a shame considering the cast assembled for this small production.
Harry Sawyer (Jeremy Northam) and Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr. (Steve Zahn) portray the two convicts. They arrive in Happy, Texas where citizens are counting on them to help the town's girls win the Little Miss Fresh Squeezed beauty pageant. While in town, they come up with the idea to rob the bank after harvest checks are deposited. The bank is heavily unguarded. Joe McClintock (Ally Walker, formerly of NBC's The Profiler) runs the bank, and Harry figures the easiest way to get into the bank is to become close friends with Joe. Wayne gets left with the girls to teach and is aided by Ms. Schaefer (Illena Douglas), the girl's teacher. Thrown into the mix is Chappy (William H. Macy) the town's closeted gay sheriff who takes an interest in Harry. He's clueless to the fact that Harry is a wanted man, even though he's received several notices about him.
The film is about the relationships between the characters, as each one of them is falling in and out of love. The love they feel for each other (particularly in Wayne and Ms. Schaefer's case) seems to come out of nowhere, and never reaches any level of believability. Macy is very funny as the gay sheriff, and he's the only member of the cast that seems to be having any fun. In probably the only truly funny scene of the movie, he takes Harry to a gay cowboy bar 2 1/2 hours from town. The awkwardness between the two in this scene is the movie's highlight. The memorable Chappy aside, there is no real reason to see Happy, Texas. Jeremy Northam who lately has been appearing in period films (The Winslow Boy, An Ideal Husband) seems uncomfortable with this modern comedic role. The rest of the cast does nothing with their roles, and the acting (and plot) get worse and worse as the movie goes on. Happy, Texas isn't helped by the bad makeup work and lack of good sound dubbing. Scenes where Wayne hits a man over the head with a dead armadillo, or runs out of a building with a real flaming baton appear contrived and stupid, and I was wondering when the movie was finally going to end. Chappy alone cannot save Happy, Texas, which is too lifeless, laughless, and boring for its own good.
D+
Frankie Paiva
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http://www.homestead.com/cinemaparadise/videoreviews.html
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