SYNOPSICS
Happiness Runs (2010) is a English movie. Adam Sherman has directed this movie. Joni Barth,Kirsten Berman,Mark Boone Junior,Joseph Castanon are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2010. Happiness Runs (2010) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
A young man named Victor (Mark L. Young) realizes the shortcomings of the Utopian ideals on the hippie commune where he was raised. Victor's mother (Andie MacDowell) is funding the commune where the guru Insley (Rutger Hauer) hypnotizes and seduces women with a technique he calls "running". Insley manipulates the minds of these women so that they give him their bodies and all of their worldly possessions. Victor's childhood love, Becky (Hanna Hall), returns to take care of her deathly ill father. Victor, haunted by visions of Becky's death, is desperate to save her and himself by escaping from the cult. Preoccupied with Insley's free love philosophy, the adults of the community overlook the painful reality that the self destructive behavior of their children is most certainly due to early exposure to sex and drugs. To afford an escape, Victor tries to sell marijuana, but is cut out by rivals competing for Becky's affection. Finally, Victor is torn between getting money from his mother...
Happiness Runs (2010) Trailers
Same Actors
Same Director
Happiness Runs (2010) Reviews
Fantastic, if you can relate
Fantastic movie... if you've experienced countercultures. If you haven't, you might not get it. This film makes no effort to bring in uninformed audience members. (In sharp contrast to Saving Private Ryan, where a war journalist character, for our sake, knows nothing about war.) It's human nature to compete and/or differentiate ourselves. This commune homogenizes everything, removing traditional channels of competition and expression. (I've lived in a town like that!) If this film had shown character development, it would have been forced and faked. What it does explore is how how self expression prevails, albeit in a warped and perverted form, despite these constraints. It's a very interesting film.
The trailer is better than the movie
I watched the trailer and was excited to watch a movie about what goes down in a commune. It seems so mysterious to me. I wanted their insight to their world. I will agree that the artistic images are very beautiful and acid trippy. I was disappointed because the characters are not developed. Yeah, I get it...they do drugs, they have sex, OK this is clear and this one kid wants to get out and leave. He wanted money that belonged to him. His mother is wealthy.I wanted to know what the hang up was with his mother. and Becky? so many people seemed affected by her. These kids all have this dark side to them. Not much different than troubled teenagers out here in this world. I might not watch this movie again. It lacked a plot. I would have also liked to see what Victor does out in the real world on his own. What was this movie about? The communal living? Victor? Becky? the other children? Insley resembled Timothy Leary...and don't get me started on symbolism. If you want to watch this movie, go ahead and decide for yourself, you may enjoy it you may not. I felt empty after I watched it. It has the potential to be so much more. I am not a movie critic I am just a regular person.
Utopia becomes Dystopia
Utopia becomes Dystrophy. Free love becomes sex without meaning or commitment. Drugs become a means of not insight and enlightenment, but of dulling the daily grind of meaninglessness. The Commune, the group, becomes isolated loneliness. You all say you are together, but without meaning, commitment, or attachment, you are alone in a crowd. Reality becomes someone else reality, and your own disconnect from reality. This is not a comedy. This is not an action movie. This is not a Hollywood blockbuster. This is a dark gritty drama, and if you like that sort of thing, which I do on occasion, then you will like this movie. But ...no... it is not for everyone, and absolute not for the 'blockbuster' crowd. This is grim cold reality. The movie does not have a lot of highs and lows, though there are certainly moments of drama. I guess one could call it a "Slice of Life", but as mentioned, it is a grim empty life wearing the cloak of Utopia. Excellent job by the lead character - Mark L. Young as Victor. He conveys the desperateness and detachment of Victor very convincingly. And very good jobs by the supporting characters. On acting alone this movie is worth a look. I expect powerful things from Mark Young in the future. So, whether this movie is for you, only you can tell. If you like the dark and gritty, and something off the mainstream, then you will be satisfied. But if you are locked into 'blockbusters' and 'teen sex romp comedies', I feel this movie will be a bit too grim for you.
Interesting and all should be warned about a particular scene
I found this movie interesting. It was probably healing for the man whose experiences it was based on. I read several negative reviews when I took a break in the middle of the movie. Apart from the burn scene, I liked it (I saw a spoiler and skipped that scene). I felt the main character, Victor, was likable and expressed well by the actor. All of the young actors did a great job in my opinion. I felt the same about Andie McDowell as I always have, she comes off like she is reading her lines. I was just wondering where Rutger Hauer was the other day and this movie popped up in my suggestions box. I feel he portrayed Insley as well as could be expected with the limited amount of screen time. Others have said this movie could be so much more- it was from the youth perspective. We could have seen Insley and the other adults more if it were about them, but it wasn't. It was about the pain the creator felt growing up in a half utopia. The commune creators got parts of it right (lots of cannabis and open sex and nudity, sharing everything), but missed other important facets to utopian life like equality, avoiding chemicals, open dialogue that involved all members of the society including children, and likely natural parenting with attachment parenting (oh and not brainwashing through hypnosis is a biggie). The kids seemed messed up like the kids I grew up with, not what I would expect from a supposed utopian society. I would recommend it as interesting.
Best movie that I've seen recently
Wow! That was a masterpiece, a piece of art. I am very much delighted. Wonderful photography, beautiful music, the lost generation was nicely shown. I would give an Oscar to the man who made this movie and to the girl who played Becky. The movie was flowing with my soul - an art - that's what that was. Everything was portrayed poetically. I am a kind of person who hates vulgar things and nudity but that wasn't bothering me at all in this movie. I am putting it to my favorite movies collection. I just re-watched it for a second time and I enjoyed it again. It really is one of the best movies I've ever watched, I don't remember any other movie which would be a pure ART like this one. The whole movie is like a beautiful video clip painting sad emotions perfectly. I could relate a lot with the main character Victor.