Another Happy Day
User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6

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  1. jeremyp
    Aug 28, 2012
    6
    This is a very depressing movie about a family reunion at a wedding. At the outset let me tell you that the only sympathetic character in it is a borderline who cuts herself, and she is sympathetic only because we hear such awful things about her before meeting her we are pleasantly surprised to see her presented as the most stable in the family. As a Family Therapist I can tell you this movie would make a great teaching tool. Every kind of crazy making behavior is presented. There are predators galore in many guises, and quite a few victims. Ellen Barkin pulls off a bravura performance as a panicked, put upon mother whose brood consists of the above mentioned borderline and an addicted, self centered, car crash of a son. She gets no help from an empty space of a husband (played blithely by "The Walking Dead's" Jeffrey DeMunn), and plenty of interference from her mother (Ellen Burstyn) a cold disinterested matriarch concerned with her looming widowhood, and her ex husbands wife (Demi Moore) who insists on taking all the credit for raising Barkin's son to perfection., not to mention two sadists masquerading as sisters.
    I credit the movie for not shoving our nose too deep into psychoanalysis and finger pointing. After seeing this be sure to call your relatives and take a moment to love them.    … Expand
  2. movieboy
    Dec 7, 2011
    7
    It's actually quite an interesting film with a swirling cast of dysfunctional characters who kind of compete for who is nuttier. It's more Bergmanesque than comedic and benefits from some great acting. Funny how one major reviewer suggested the only sane person is the family matriarch, played by Ellen Burstyn, but she's as wacky as the rest. It manages to be both enjoyable and rather painful.
  3. nameless
    Nov 27, 2011
    8
    Ellen Barkin is very courageous, she plays a character that is impossible to like. A character so self centered and self destructive that she makes House look like a people person. The difference is she thinks she is rational all the time and perpetually confused as to why she is rebuffed but never gives up in the righteousness of her point of view. It makes you think of people you have met like this. From an audience point of view you want to identify or like someone in this movie but every character is very hard to take. That makes this a tough movie to watch but you think about it for days afterwards... it haunts you.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
46 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 18
  3. Negative: 4 out of 18
  1. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    Jan 12, 2012
    67
    The actors make the trauma in Another Happy Day feel real. But it's too often undercut by directorial fussiness that feels more academic than personal.
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  2. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    Dec 8, 2011
    75
    As Barkin's nemesis, Moore is evil, and that's a good thing - she doesn't back off. Kate Bosworth plays Barkin's fragile daughter and is a pleasant surprise: Who knew she was an actress?
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  3. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    Nov 18, 2011
    80
    The younger Levinson has considerable storytelling talent, an admirable honesty and a streak of ruthlessness.
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