'Happiness'

Todd Solondz makes me sad. It is frightening and disturbing to watch his movies. They're a train wreck. They are a neverending series of circus freakdom, the world's physically and emotionally deformed.

He makes extremely 1990s films. The 1990s -- extremely underrated for being impeccably lame, some sort of bastardization of the 1980s -- was a soulless era. The style and the pop culture was a sort of evolution of 1980s culture. But at least the 1980s had pizazz. There was dancing. The 1990s was full of self-loathing as Generation X came of age and entered adulthood.
Meanwhile, everyone was desperately trying to be cool and it got out of hand. Solandz captures this desperation. It went, of course, beyond clothes and music, all of which soiled everything from art to religion. Happiness was released in 1998. However, he captures 1993 perfectly in all of his movies. Maybe its the wardrobe or the sickening provincialism and snobbery, despite being completely desperate and sad.

In this world, there is the slightly chubby, sexually frustrated young boy seeking his fist orgasm. His dad, the pedophile. His aunt, the professionally frustrated youngish woman, with no prospects in either her personal or professional life. His grandparents, who find themselves bored with their lives, but without the drive to be alone or seek other partnerships. His other aunt, the successful writer, who pines to live the sexually degrading exploits of her characters and who is obsessed upon by her neighbor, the overweight, socially awkward Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

There are poignant moments for each. The sister walking to work as a teacher, getting rotten fruit and vegetables thrown at her as someone crossing the picket line. The father who admits that he abuses young boys, but only "jerks off" at the thought of his son. The moment that Hoffman's character ejaculates on the wall, only to place a postcard on the wall for it to stick.

Then the boy. Walks into the dining room on Thanksgiving having reached orgasm on the balcony, and tells the family that he came.

If it weren't completely despressing, you might life.