Happy, Texas is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Mark Illsley, and starring Steve Zahn, Jeremy Northam and William H. Macy. The film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Miramax. It had a limited release in North American theaters on October 1, 1999.
| Happy, Texas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Mark Illsley |
| Written by | Ed Stone Mark Illsley Phil Reeves |
| Produced by | Mark Illsley Rick Montgomery Ed Stone |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Bruce Douglas Johnson |
| Edited by | Norman Buckley |
| Music by | Peter Harris |
Production company | Marked Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $1.75 million[1] |
| Box office | $1.9 million[2] |
Plot
editThree prisoners escape from a chain gang, and two of them, Wayne and Harry, steal an RV. They discover that the RV actually belongs to two gay men who travel around Texas as consultants for beauty pageants. They are apprehended by Chappy Dent, the sheriff of Happy, Texas, who mistakes the escapees for the pageant organizers. Posing as the organizers, Wayne and Harry proceed to help out with the pageant while hiding from the law and waiting for an opportunity to rob the local bank.
The duo's scheme is complicated by the fact that Chappy himself is gay and is attracted to the prisoner Harry. Straight Harry, on the other hand, becomes attracted to Josephine, the president of the bank. Meanwhile, "gay" David, also actually straight, gets involved with the local pageant coordinator, Doreen.
By the day of the big pageant, the third escaped convict has surfaced, leading Wayne and Harry to organize a break-in during the show. Harry calls in more police, and in the process, all three are apprehended. In the last scene, the pageant group that Wayne helped train came to the prison to show them the closing number, in the costumes he made.
Cast
edit- Steve Zahn as Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr. (David)
- Jeremy Northam as Harry Sawyer (Steven 'Steve')
- William H. Macy as Sheriff Chappy Dent
- Ally Walker as Josephine "Joe" McClintock, the banker
- Illeana Douglas as Doreen Schaefer
- M. C. Gainey as Robert "Bob" Allen Maslow
- Ron Perlman as Marshal Nalhober
- Mo Gaffney as Mrs. Bromley
- Paul Dooley as The Judge
- Kim Story as Guard
Production
editWith the exception of a few scenes, the film was shot entirely on location in Piru, California.[3] One scene was filmed at Oil Can Harry's in Studio City, Los Angeles.[4]
Reception
editRelease
editThe film debuted at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Its premiere sparked a bidding war between various film companies including Fox Searchlight, Independent Pictures, which had an output deal with New Line Cinema at the time, and a joint bid by Paramount Classics and Summit Entertainment.[5][6] Miramax won the bid, but reports conflicted on exactly how much the company paid to acquire the film.[5][7] While Miramax maintained they only paid $2.5 million, other reports said the number was closer to $10 million.[5][7][8]
Miramax gave the film a limited release in the United States on October 1, 1999.[9] The film grossed $72,056 in its opening weekend and went on to gross nearly $2 million in the United States and Canada.[2]
Critical reception
editThe film received an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 58 critics' reviews. The site's critics consensus states, "Happy, Texas is a simple, funny romantic comedy that benefits from a very talented cast and a good soundtrack."[10] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 62 based on 31 critics' reviews.[11]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it three out of four.[12] He wrote the film's strong point is its "actors sell the situation so amusingly--and warmly", Zahn is especially funny, and Northam is "a revelation...here is the slick, urbane British gentleman of 'Emma,' 'The Winslow Boy' and 'An Ideal Husband,' playing a Texas convict and not missing a beat".[12] Ebert concluded, "Macy's performance as the quietly, earnestly in love sheriff is the most touching in the movie, another role in which he gets laughs by finding the truth beneath the humor."[12]
Soundtrack
edit| Happy, Texas: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | September 14, 1999 |
| Genre | Country Tejano Exotica |
| Length | 49:08 |
| Label | Arista |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [13] |
The soundtrack album for Happy, Texas features a mix of mostly country music by such artists as Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Lee Roy Parnell, Pam Tillis, Brad Paisley and BR5-49. There are also bits of Tejano (Flaco Jimenez) and exotica (Yma Sumac).
Track listing
edit- "Passin' Through" (Randy Scruggs and Joan Osborne) – 5:16
- "Good at Secrets" (Kim Richey) – 4:20
- "This Little Light of Mine"/"Fort Davis Contestant" (Carly Fink) – 0:17
- "Are You Happy Baby?" (Lee Roy Parnell and Keb' Mo') – 2:27
- "Ordinary Heart" (Emmylou Harris) – 2:58
- "Baila Este Ritmo" (Flaco Jiménez) – 3:17
- "After a Kiss" (Pam Tillis) – 4:10
- "Me Neither" (Brad Paisley) – 3:22
- "Stay" (Alison Krauss) – 3:26
- "Half a Man" (Shannon Brown) – 2:35
- "Gopher Mambo" (Yma Sumac) – 2:17
- "Honky Tonk Song" (BR5-49) – 2:38
- "That Buckin' Song (Saddle Sore Mix)" (Robert Earl Keen) – 3:51
- "Hurdy Gurdy Monkey Shine" (Road Kings) – 2:17
- "Happiness" (Abra Moore) – 4:28
- "It's Oh So Quiet" (Happy Girls) – 1:29
- Cover of song popularized by Björk
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Happy, Texas (1999) - Financial information". The Numbers. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ a b "Happy, Texas". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ Pinsker, Beth (March 1, 1999). "Not Happy". Texas Monthly. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ "Oil Can Harry's – Los Angeles – Our History". www.oilcanharrysla.com. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ a b c Wallace, Amy (January 29, 1999). "'Happy, Texas' Deal Spurs War of Words". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ Hindes, Andrew; Carver, Benedict (January 26, 1999). "Miramax 'Happy'". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Tobias, Scott (October 6, 1999). "Happy, Texas and The Art of Business". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ Konda, Kelly (February 5, 2019). "How the Notorious Sundance Bomb Happy, Texas Led to Blumhouse Productions". We Minored in Film. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ Klady, Leonard (October 4, 1999). "'Double' decks 'Kings' at B.O.". Daily Variety. p. 1.
- ^ "Happy, Texas". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ "Happy, Texas". Metacritic. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c Ebert, Roger (October 8, 1999). "Happy, Texas". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ Happy, Texas at AllMusic