Director:Rodney
Evans Producer:
Story by: Screenplay by:Ken
UrbanRunning time:87
minCountry:USALanguage:EnglishGenre:Drama Subtitle:English Starring:Leroy
McClain ... Marcus (as LeRoy McClain),
Sorel Carradine ... Annie,
Charlie Barnett ... Aaron,
Cameron Scoggins ... Stan, Maria
Dizzia ... Mandy
หนังตัวอย่าง:
Two young couples in New York-one black and gay, one white and
heterosexual-find their lives intertwined as they create new relationship norms,
explore sexual identity, and redefine monogamy.
Director Rodney Evans takes a look at bisexuality and open relationships in New
York. At a time when gay relationships are more widely accepted and
even sanctioned, bisexuality may be the last taboo, less understood even within
the gay community. That makes one of this year’s Outfest offerings, The Happy
Sad, especially timely. Director Rodney Evans, who made a strong impression with
the film Brother to Brother a decade ago, continues to explore African-American
gay relationships in a novel way. The film won’t make major waves at the box
office when it opens next month, but it’s a tantalizing picture of some
contemporary conundrums.
The film focuses on two couples
in New York. Aaron (Charlie Barnett) and Marcus
(LeRoy McClain) are two black men struggling
with the challenges of an open relationship.
They are contrasted to a white straight couple,
Annie (Sorel Carradine) and Stan (Cameron
Scoggins), who are going through some of the
same turmoil. While Stan hopes to deepen their
relationship, Annie wants to take a break and
try dating again. It turns out that Stan is
hiding a bisexual side, and he meets Marcus on
an Internet dating site. Their fling challenges
both of them. At the same time, Annie enters
into a lesbian affair with a fellow teacher
(Maria Dizzia). If it seems overly convenient
that both of the ostensibly heterosexual lovers
has a gay or bi side, that may have something to
do with the theatrical origins of the piece. The
Happy Sad is based on a play by Ken Urban, and
within the artificial confines of the theater,
we accept the conceit that the characters on
stage need to connect and interact. But in the
more naturalistic medium of film, it’s harder to
believe that the characters have so many secrets
in common. Their unlikely connections might be
easier to buy in a drawing room comedy by Noel
Coward than in a realistic film surveying a
cross section of contemporary Manhattan. Nevertheless, if you’re willing
to accept the arbitrary nature of the premise,
the film offers some entertainment value. It
helps that the four actors are attractive and
comfortable in their roles. Carradine, the
daughter of Keith Carradine, makes an especially
strong impression. McClain and Barnett give
adroit performances, and Scoggins, who also
wrote and performs several songs in the movie,
has unmistakable rapport with McClain. Yet the
film never probes very deeply into Stan’s sexual
confusion. One wonders how his same-sex
attraction could have been completely hidden
from Annie during the time they spent together.
Annie’s flirtation with Mandy, the teacher,
seems to emanate more convincingly from boredom
and curiosity, but Stan’s bisexual side needs
more trenchant exploration. Similarly, while the
theme of the messiness of open relationships is
promising, the dissection of this dilemma is
disappointingly thin. Some of the best moments in the
film are comic, such as the unexpected meeting
of the main characters on a subway platform.
Annie’s blind dates with other men are also
drolly rendered. One wonders if the film might
have been more successful as an out-and-out
comedy. The happy ending provided for both
couples seems too convenient, though it’s clear
that some of their confusions are still
unresolved. Evans directs energetically, and the
personable actors help to keep us involved, but
the picture skims stubbornly along the surface.