HAPPYISH Will Make You Happy-ish

Article originally written for Seat42F.

Thomas Paine was one of our Founding Fathers who inspired revolution against Great Britain. Thomas Payne was a bookseller and publisher, not all the important in the grand scheme of things, but still remembered with a small paragraph on Wikipedia. Thom Payne (Steve Coogan, Philomena) is a little bit of both, an insignificant man who is becoming obsolete, but bristles at the thought and really doesn’t want to let it happen. Showtime’s new half-hour dramedy, HAPPYISH, is his story.

As HAPPYISH begins, Thom is turning 44, not old enough to be an executive like his boss, Jonathan (Bradley Whitford, The West Wing, Trophy Wife), nor is he young enough to be into the social media scene, like the young Norwegians who just bought the advertising company Thom works for. The latter would like to force him, in the nicest way possible, to adapt to their mindset, but Thom just doesn’t want any of it. He’d rather write a book or rant about how things used to be.

It seems likely that Thom’s story will ring rather familiar to viewers of a certain age. Many people may keep themselves from flying off the handle as Thom does, but it has to be frustrating to be asked to keep up with a rapidly changing world on top of everything else going on in one’s life. Thom is married with a young child; he doesn’t have time to be accustomed to twitter, and justifiably thinking it is stupid, why should he? But that’s the position he is in for his career, and one has to keep paddling or drown.

Thom’s home life doesn’t make things much easier. His wife, Lee (Kathryn Hahn, Parks and Recreation), is loving, but not all that satisfied with the way Thom’s ED pills and antidepressants interact, making them less effective. His son, Julius (Sawyer Shipman, Adult Beginners), isn’t a bad kid, but he’s young enough that he still needs a lot of attention from his parents. Neither of them are obstacles per se, Thom glad to have them in his life, but they certainly divide his attention.

Despite all of the misery, HAPPYISH is very enjoyable. Part of that is the cast, which includes recurring players Carrie Preston (True Blood), Andre Royo (The Wire), Molly Price (Third Watch), and co-star Ellen Barkin (The New Normal). Hahn is absolutely fantastic, and the rest all make the proceedings more fun. Thom may be unhappy, but those around him aren’t always, and they are able to play off Thom’s broad actions well. It’s a really good group of players.

Seeing Coogan play the role, it’s hard to imagine Philip Seymour Hoffman as Thom, though Hoffman starred in the original pilot before his death. Coogan, as he must, completely owns the role and uses his talents to help shape the character. Coogan is a different type of actor than Hoffman was, and while HAPPYISH might have been good without Coogan, it would be a different show. I think this version is likely funnier. I’m glad, seeing the product, that Showtime decided to move forward with this project even after losing its star.

It’s funny that HAPPYISH premieres now, so soon after HBO’s Togetherness ended its freshman run. I feel like the two shows share a lot of DNA, having similar themes and quality. While Togetherness is more of an ensemble and HAPPYISH has a stronger, more singular lead, both capture an authentic spirit in a moment where they are especially relevant. I don’t know that both are needed on the air, but I’d be hard pressed to say one should be cancelled over the other.

HAPPYISH premieres Sunday, April 26^th at 9:30 p.m. ET on Showtime.

Ruby Sparks light a fire

Recently released from FOX, Ruby Sparks is the story of a boy and a girl. But it's oh so much more than that. The boy, Calvin (Paul Dano, Little Miss Sunshine), is a young, best selling author who is struggling to find inspiration to repeat his success. At the advice of his therapist, Dr. Rosenthal (Elliot Gould, MASH), he writes about a girl that can accept him as he is. And then the girl, Ruby (Zoe Kazan, Dano's real life girlfriend and the writer of this film), appears in his apartment.

Now, Calvin is not going crazy. At least, he doesn't appear to be. His brother, Harry (Chris Messina, The Mindy Project, Damages), can see her, too, as can everyone else. Once viewers are able to suspend that disbelief, one can really get invested in the tale of this couple, who are made for each other, on one side, quite literally.

But no one is perfect. As much as Ruby is the girl that Calvin imagines he wants to be with, she is also a fully developed person, not just a two dimensional figure on paper. Which means, she has a mind of her own, and can do things that bug Calvin, or make him feel down on himself. Calvin has the power to change Ruby at any time just by whipping his type writer back out. It isn't too long before he gives in to temptation and does just that.

One can tell that Ruby Sparks is written by a woman. Rather than rewriting Ruby for sexual purposes, an option brought up by Harry, but quickly dismissed by the more sensitive Calvin, he just tweaks her personality so that she is devoted to him, and he gets rids of things about her he finds annoying. However, when Calvin begins to remove layers, even with the best of intentions, because, after all, she is his creation, and so it could be argued that he has a right to make adjustments, he also erases the essence that makes Ruby Ruby. She no longer has free will, nor is she the person he wanted to be with. This is a case of over-thinking things.

Ruby Sparks really makes the audience think, too. Surely, many people have dreamed up a scenario such as this, but how many have taken time to really explore what being in this situation would mean? How many consider all the implications and nuanced rules that would go hand in hand with the occurrence? Kazan proves her talents as a writer quite handily, really fleshing out everything in a very believable way.

And does anyone truly want what they consider to be the perfect girl? Not only would this be boring, but how would Calvin ever be challenged to grow? If all he wants is an idea of a woman, the internet and blowup dolls exist. No, he wants a companion, and that means he must take the good with that bad. Those are the facts of life.

All television them song references aside, Ruby Sparks is a fascinating, smart movie that is very enjoyable, but also so much more than mindless entertainment. Buoyed by an excellent supporting cast, each with wonderful featured moments, that includes Toni Trucks (Made in Jersey), Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development), Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood), Steve Coogan (Tropic Thunder), Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show), Annette Benning (The Kids Are All Right), and an amazing turn by Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots), this is a movie that begs repeat viewings.

In fact, if one stops the film about two minutes before the end, I would consider it a near-perfect movie. There's a tag I'm not a fan of; I'd prefer if the next to last scene served as the ending. Others may disagree.

The special features, on the other hand, at least the ones included on the review copy I got, leave much to be desired. There are three featurettes of only a few minutes each in length that are pretty repetitive, just praising those involved. It is pointed out that not only are Dano and Kazan a couple, but so are the directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (both Little Miss Sunshine). But that's about the only thing interesting gleaned from the scant extras. Hopefully, there will be another release in the future that packages a bit more, because, the impression I get is, the story behind the story is probably pretty neat, as well.

Ruby Sparks is available now on DVD and Blu-ray.

If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Check out my website, JeromeWetzel.com! Article first published as DVD Review: Ruby Sparks on Blogcritics.