Happily Parent Guide

Even 14 years of marriage hasn’t dimmed the spark between Tom (Joel McHale) and Janet. In fact, the couple are so obviously amorous that it fuels no small amount of envy and resentment among their friends. So much so that the pair have been disinvited from a weekend getaway with a few other couples. If only social exclusion their biggest problem…

Things heat up when a mysterious stranger (Stephen Root) arrives at their home and insists that they are, effectively, broken people. He claims that he represents a “higher authority” and demands that Tom and Janet agree to take a strange, glowing injection which will allegedly make them more like the other couples they know. Their refusal to take the injection and his refusal to leave leads to a violent altercation…and then the phone rings. It seems that their friends, Val (Paul Scheer) and Karen (Natalia Zea) have had second thoughts about uninviting them to the getaway. Now Tom and Janet have a secret to keep while spending a weekend with four nosy couples.

I wasn’t sure what I expected this movie to be, but it certainly did not conform to my vague preliminary notions. Thanks to the trailer, I was bracing myself for an exceptionally raunchy sex comedy – which it isn’t. Although sex is a central plot element, almost every instance of intimacy on screen is between a married couple and all sex is portrayed briefly and without explicit nudity. If it weren’t for the sheer volume of sexual content, the individual scenes could probably sneak into a hard PG-13 rating. Since there’s so much sexual material, the Restricted rating is appropriate.

If this isn’t a raunchy sex comedy, what is it? Well, that’s a good question. Comedy is certainly a part of the equation, but Happily is very dark for a comedy. Strange sci-fi and thriller elements throughout certainly kept me guessing, and while the integration isn’t always perfect, it stays interesting – for me, at least. The comedy is usually dry, which I prefer, and the sci-fi is largely a background element, which in this case, I strongly prefer.

Obviously, Happily this isn’t going to provide a cheery viewing experience for everyone. Family audiences are pretty much right out due to the profanity alone (almost 5 dozen sexual expletives), drug use, and sexual content. Date night suitability is going to hinge largely on whether you think you are Tom and Janet (in which case maybe you shouldn’t be dating each other) or whether you’re one of their friends (in which case this might be a bit too much). If you’re looking for a date night movie or a film to watch with friends, you might want something that won’t have you looking around nervously at anyone who’s reaching for your popcorn.