| 100 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Anybody with a soft spot for fakers, who either identifies with them or just admires their chutzpah, is going to get a kick out of Happy, Texas.
|
| 90 |
Film.com
Sweet and hilarious, a classic crowd-pleaser which elevates rather than eviscerates the homespun eccentrics who make up its cast of characters.
|
| 90 |
Los Angeles Times
A hoot, a hilarious comedy that's smart and caring, yet sexy and ingenious enough that it just might stir up some of that elusive "Full Monty"-style box-office appeal.
|
| 90 |
Time
An easy charm, a cleverly unforced sense of humor and a benignity toward all its genially oddball characters. If moviegoers skip this one, they'll be missing a real treat.
|
| 80 |
Rolling Stone
Keeps the laughs coming, and a dynamo named Steve Zahn is the cheif reason why. It's a one-joke movie, but the cast knows how to sell it.
|
| 80 |
Salon.com
So full of winning performances and so disarmingly uncynical in its affection for its characters, it manages to leave you with a Texas-size grin on your face anyway.
|
| 75 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A fresh, well-written comedy that doesn't lag, casts its actors against type and has a real love for its characters.
|
| 75 |
Mr. Showbiz
Zahn's dazed and confused, droopy-mustached dude steals every scene he's in...a movie that will make you smile and put a lump in your throat.
|
| 75 |
Boston Globe
I can't imagine anyone not feeling entertained by Happy, Texas.
|
| 75 |
New York Daily News
The performances are first-rate, with the always inventive Macy a standout as the hopeful, tormented Chappy, and Zahn a scream as the lovably imbecilic Wayne.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Sun-Times
This is one of those comedies that doesn't pound us on the head with the obvious, but simply lets us share vast amusement.
|
| 75 |
New York Post
It's a funny and occasionally poignant movie.
|
| 70 |
The New York Times
So soft-hearted it wouldn't hurt a fly.
|
| 70 |
Washington Post
Along with a lot of 10-gallon laughs, Happy, Texas rustles up plenty of goodwill for its larcenous, sexually ambiguous leading men.
|
| 70 |
LA Weekly
A very cynical exploitation of the current Hollywood vogue for things queer. Still, the film is a must-see.
|
| 70 |
Variety
Steve Zahn shines throughout Mark Illsley's feature debut, Happy, Texas, elevating this eccentric small-town comedy a notch or two above its level of writing.
|
| 67 |
Entertainment Weekly
A comedy of '90s sexual inclusiveness as effervescent as a cold sody pop -- and about as intoxicating.
|
| 65 |
TNT RoughCut
Bill McLochlin
Zahn, however, is definitely the star of the film, with his quirky portrayal of Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr. getting all of the laughs, and none of the credit.
|
| 63 |
San Francisco Examiner
It's soft-edged fun that loses direction (or, given the scattershot plot, directions).
|
| 63 |
Chicago Tribune
Don't expect a lot, and you'll probably enjoy Happy, Texas, as I did -- mostly. At the very least, Steve Zahn will make you laugh.
|
| 60 |
Film.com
What makes the film ultimately successful, though, is the outstanding comic talents that inhabit it, especially Zahn and Macy.
|
| 60 |
TV Guide
A wonderful premise that delivers solid laughs and has a heart as big as the state in which this farce unfolds.
|
| 50 |
Austin Chronicle
A humble comic fable, puttering along with a sunny grin, a goofy sentimentality, and not much else.
|
| 50 |
Miami Herald
All the right elements for a rollicking farce, except one: The movie isn't funny.
|
| 50 |
Baltimore Sun
Thank heaven for William H. Macy, whose portrayal of Happy's sheriff strikes the only honest note in a film that earns its laughs the cheap way.
|
| 50 |
Charlotte Observer
If we had a story we could believe, we'd be in stitches.
|
| 50 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Illsley's fine cast, with a riotous contribution from William H. Macy as the sheriff who falls for Harry, plays out the comedy without condescension.
|
| 50 |
Chicago Reader
Its charm and humor will be overshadowed for some by the exploitation of gay stereotypes--which is ironic, since their arch usage ultimately allows the movie to be progressive, if only slightly.
|
| 38 |
USA Today
Neither the actors nor their characters engender much affection.
|
| 30 |
Village Voice
Sputters to a dead halt right out of the gate. One labored scenario follows another.
|
| 20 |
Dallas Observer
Scott Kelton James
Screwball mistaken-identity crapfest...it's just utterly plain, a confection so bland you don't even care that it doesn't really make any sense at the end.
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