140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
In some ways, a meet-cute rom-com of the sort you’ve seen many times. But it’s Karen Gillan…and chemistry with Stanley Weber wonderful…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Not Another Happy Ending:
Since the Chicago Cubs failed to fulfill the Back to the Future, Part II promise of winning the 2015 World Series two nights ago (I couldn’t even talk about it yesterday), I need some cheering up. So why not take a look at an under the radar romantic comedy starring my favorite Doctor Who companion, Karen Gillan.
(Aside: how like the Cubs is it to get eliminated from the playoffs on the very day they were predicted to win it all? It was their “density”! That’s so Cubs…)
Not Another Happy Ending is a partially crowdfunded 2013 indie comedy filmed in Glasgow. The Scottish setting is lovely and refreshing. DP George Geddes films a collection of beautiful scenes. And the costume design by Louise Allen is amazing – Gillan’s outfits are Annie Hall style trend-setting. Or at least they should be…
Gillan is a wonderful actress and this is one of the few times she’s really been allowed enough time to show it. I’m not going to be watching her horror film (Oculus), and they cancelled her ABC comedy Selfie, so this is a film I’m going to be returning to in order to watch her work.
(Aside: Selfie was not a good TV show, but it had potential. It was DOA, earning a spot on most critics “first to be cancelled” prediction lists, and not without reason. But I would have liked to see it get more of a chance. The whole thing was a little too obvious and self-aware, trying too hard, but John Cho and Gillan were wonderful together and both really deserve a great show.)
The synopsis of the film is correct but a little incomplete, which took me out of the film-watching experience a bit. I was thinking back to the story I expected instead of just watching the story that was actually on screen. In an effort to prevent others from this same experience, my quick recap is going to be a little longer than usual. I don’t think I’m spoiling anything, just clarifying. The summary, that an editor finds that his best author can’t write when happy so he tries to make her sad, is fantastic; it’s a perfectly good blurb on the film. However, that storyline doesn’t really start until halfway through the picture.
Written by David Solomons, Not Another Happy Ending tells the tale of Jane Lockhart (Gillan), an author struggling to get her first novel published. Tom Duvall (Weber), editor of a small publishing company, spots a diamond in the rough and the two fight and flirt through the process of editing her highly personal, almost memoir. The gruff, impersonal Frenchman and the quirky, earnest Scot have great chemistry, sparks obvious to everyone but themselves. They fall out regarding the title of the novel, vowing never to work together again; then the book is a hit.
So the excellent pitch that he needs to unblock the author takes place over a much more rich and interesting backdrop than may be expected from the premise. There’s lots of great stuff about Lockhart’s new-found success and the separate struggles of Lockhart and Duvall.
The cast is fantastic; I’ll stop gushing about Karen Gillan, lest I lose any remaining credibility as an impartial critic. Stanley Weber is a wonderful foil – dreamy and full of Gallic intensity, he handles scenes of quiet and bombast equally well.
Iain deCaestecker (Fitz from Marvel’s Agents of Shield) steals every scene he is in as Roddy, Tom’s best mate. Similarly, Amy Manson impresses as Darsie, Jane’s come to life protagonist. Gary Lewis as the senior Lockhart is nicely subdued, expressing the range of a father’s emotions with a performance rather unlike anything I think I’ve seen before. It’s quietly impressive.
Not Another Happy Ending is an easy recommendation. It’s a rom-com, so if that isn’t your cuppa, you know to steer clear. But it is a very good one that sparkles because of the leads and a refreshingly unique storyline.
As is becoming an annoying trend, the 2013 film didn’t hit the states until appearing late 2014 online and on DVD in January of this year. I don’t think it ever saw theatrical release in the US. But it is readily available online from a number of services; I encourage you to give it a try…
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Pass
The Representation Test Score: B (8 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Karen Gillan Jane Lockhart Stanley Weber Tom Duval Iain De Caestecker Roddy Amy Manson Darsie |
| Rating | 12A |
| Release Date | Fri 11 Oct 2013 UTC |
| Director | John McKay |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
| Plot | When a struggling publisher discovers his only successful author is blocked he knows he has to unblock her or he’s finished… |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 102 |
| Tagline | Sometimes Love Needs a Re-Write |
| Writers | David Solomons |
| Year | 2013 |
