Parents' Guide to

Happily

By Tara McNamara, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Dark marriage comedy has sex, drinking, smoking.

Movie R 2021 96 minutes
Happily Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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Writer-director BenDavid Grabinski takes what's a snarky aside between some old married couples and tries, unsuccessfully, to turn it into a 90-minute comedy. Unfortunately, starting a joke with the punchline -- ugh, Tom and Janet still have lots of sex after all these years -- is a bit of a problem: There's nowhere to go. A promising supernatural setup takes a left turn at murder, and eventually it's clear that Grabinski doesn't know how to end the tale.

Spooky stories are Grabinski's claim to fame: He's behind the Nickelodeon series Are You Afraid of the Dark? And Happily (which was executive-produced by Jack Black) is clearly the grown-up tale he's had bottled up inside. A message is bubbling up and trying to get out -- but what, exactly, is Grabinski trying to say? If you have bad friends, get new ones? Unhappy people will try to bring down happy ones? Or maybe, yep, you really should've picked another movie to watch.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: March 19, 2021
  • On DVD or streaming: March 19, 2021
  • Cast: Joel McHale, Kerry Bishé, Natalie Morales
  • Director: BenDavid Grabinski
  • Inclusion Information: Queer actors, Latinx actors
  • Studio: Saban Films
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Run time: 96 minutes
  • MPAA rating: R
  • MPAA explanation: sexual content, language throughout and brief violence
  • Last updated: October 8, 2022

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