Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
An unsatisfied woman suggests a threesome; sex, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Happy Ending
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In HAPPY ENDING, Luna (Gaite Jansen) has pretended for a full year that her boyfriend, Mink (Martijn Lakemeier), has been satisfying her sexually. In fact, she's never had an orgasm with him, and secretly she's resentful. For some reason, she thinks the solution to the problem of her lying is to bring Eve (Joy Delima), an attractive new woman, into their sex life for a threesome. Unsurprisingly, the threesome doesn't accomplish the main goal -- to get Luna to finally tell Mink how to better please her. Neither does the experience show Mink that Luna has been lying to him. The only thing the threesome accomplishes is an orgasm for Luna at the hands of Eve. The encounter also compels Luna to pursue Eve romantically, which also unsurprisingly does nothing to help improve the relationship between Luna and Mink. The result is that selfish and childish Luna continues to expect Mink to read her mind. She cheats on him with Eve, someone who Luna has no real interest in, apart from the fact that Eve can bring her to climax. Eve understands this and sensibly extracts herself from the situation. When Luna finally lets Mink know the secret she's kept from him, he's understandably peeved that she's deceived him for so long. Will they stay together?
Is It Any Good?
Happy Ending makes no sense. Why does a woman who has been pretending to be sexually satisfied by her boyfriend think that bringing another woman into their bed will solve the problem? Wouldn't it be easier to just tell him the sex hasn't been good for her? Maybe she hoped the new person would tell Mink for her.
It's hard to tell what Luna was thinking, because the movie really gives no hint as to why Luna is incapable of honesty. A movie about a childish woman who can't speak her mind and ends up hurting the person she may or may not even love is, ironically, unsatisfying itself. That's because Luna seems willing to try anything to make the relationship work except the one thing that would fix the problem. If Mink is smart, he will dump Luna before she lies to him again.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why it's important to be honest in relationships. Have you ever hidden your feelings from a friend and then been angry that they didn't guess how you felt?
When Luna finally tells Mink the truth, do you think he reacted in a mature way? How might he have handled the situation differently?
Do you think Luna and Mink will be happy if they stay together? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 1, 2023
- Cast : Gaite Jansen , Martijn Lakemeier , Joy Delima
- Director : Joosje Duk
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Romance
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 27, 2023
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