AFI FEST

by Ari

The Secret Life of Happy People - Stephane Lapointe
 
The Secret Life of Happy People is quite obnoxious and irritating - a comedy that takes the wrong turn at every opportunity. The central premise is highly unlikely and downright silly, an idea that may sound amusing on paper or in a pitch, but nothing that should be developed into an actual feature. The Secret Life of Happy People has unrealistic characters doing unrealistic things in unrealistic situations. Thinly layered thematic ideas about age and marriage and romance are meant to be explored, but the end result is empty and absurd.

Thomas (Marc Paquet) is a shy, quiet young man finishing up his last year of College. He comes from an upper-class family that hardly understands him or believes in him, providing him with opportunities they feel he’ll never be able to attain himself. Thomas’ life is turned upside-down when he meets the beautiful and wild, Audrey (Catherine de Lean) - a mysterious woman who immediately takes an intense liking to him. However, Audrey is a woman of secrets, and when Thomas suspects she’s seeing another man, the truth begins to reveal itself.

And what a truth it is. There were two directions writer/director Stephane Lapointe could’ve taken with his debut feature: The ugly, sappy Garden State route of complete artificiality, or the even sillier, more ludicrous path of intense, somewhat erotic and serious drama. Lapointe opts for the latter, sending his stilted comedy into an abyss it can’t escape. The first twist is that Thomas’ parents paid Audrey to become his girlfriend so he can unwind a bit and finish his last term with success. The major twist is that Audrey has an affair with Thomas’ father, ruining the family and splitting everyone apart. From there, it just gets worse and worse and worse. The Secret Life of Happy People seems to believe its making a point about the complexities of relationships, but the absurdity on display is far too distracting to get anything from the story.

This is amateur filmmaking in every possible way.