HAPPY HERE AND NOW (Michael Almereyda, 2003) R

Reviewed: February 9th, 2003

"If there was a point there'd be no story," remarks David Arquette's character, and while there's the obvious temptation to impose that idea onto Almereyda's whole film, it'd be an incorrect application. There is most definitely a point here, but whether it's something as simple as telling us to live in the moment, to embrace the here and now or a more complicated mediation on the inherent disconnect that technology -- and specifically the internet -- is currently inflicting on human interactions (i.e. happiness requires personal contact, or maybe even that's ruined by now also [ref: opening exchange, 'if we met in person would that change anything?']), I can't be sure. Not without a second viewing at least (this is the kind of film which requires it), upon which it certainly may turn out that this movie is asking us to consider both of those thematic headings. My experience here reminded me much of the first time I watched Donnie Darko (a good omen, considering my eventually fervent love for that film) and both feature odd, touching, cross-cutting endings which force you to reconsider everything that's come previous (but are not at all twisty in the conventional sense). There is also, however, some important truth to Arquette's quote, and that's that one must embrace the journey of this movie as if the journey in and of itself is actually the entirety of the film's (in that case modest) aims. Live in the here and now while watching, in other words, don't get too wrapped up in the central missing girl mystery (like some of the characters themselves do), don't get too wrapped up in (absent?) connective tissue, don't get too wrapped up in thematic spelunking (save that for afterwards, like I'm doing now) but rather appreciate the individual scenes for their own, singular pleasures (droll disc jockey; hip New Orleans vibe; homespun, high-tech gizmos; Eddie Mars; funny and wacko avatars; Ernie K-Doe; great score; lots of termites). This is, of course, how movies should always be watched, but when narratives are confusing a viewer's first instinct is to jump ship, climb to the roof of the nearest skyscraper (sorry to mix land/water metaphors), stare down at the city and try and struggle to figure out the bigger picture. Yet Happy Here and Now's final voice-over (which I'm convinced holds the keys to unlocking the movie, if such a thing can indeed be done) essentially tells us that jumping ship is what we should never do. It says that humans are weak and sometimes confused, yes, but we must embrace the weakness, we must ease up and let go and happiness can be found wherever that leads us. (Begin Spoiler: I'm not sure how this dovetails with most of the characters since none of them ever do seem to be happy [or maybe that is the tie-in; maybe that's why they aren't happy]). Maybe the idea is that Muriel got up and left and went to do here own thing and just live in the moment, while everyone else is so wrapped up with finding her -- which in their opinion would be helping her, since they wrongly assume she's been kidnapped -- when in fact she's now better and more content than ever. End Spoiler.) Almereyda's aesthetic here reminds me of Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks a bit, with Almereyda seeming to have taken his cue from Lynch in more ways than one (and even if he's nowhere near the level of Lynch's craft right now, at least he shows the promise to be eventually). I still have no clue what the fuck Gloria Reuben's character has to do with anything, though.

Return home.