A Strange Brand of Happy

I thought the movie was OK..nothing spectacular. Joe Boyd is locally known in Cincinnati for doing superb improv but 'Happy' isn't where his talents shine. The Joyce Heller character played by Rebecca St. James is dry and unfeeling even though her character is supposed to be one that is delivering kindness with a teaching vibe. She just doesn't show much warmth, in my opinion. Joe Boyd is a great teaching pastor and a great speaker but the scripted word just isn't his strong suit. The parts of the movie that were supposed to be funny that were performed by Boyd are his best parts. His seriousness in the movie just feels strained. The story line is good and the message is there, the execution just doesn't do it for me.

It's interesting that the people who wrote the preview description of this movie on Netflx chose to leave the spiritual subtext of it out of their copy. In fact, had I known about the subtext going in, I may have clicked past it. But I enjoyed this film and it definitely doesn't hit you over the head with a faith message. The characters and acting are engaging, though not amazing. I agree with another review that the Joyce character/actor is a bit wooden and removed to really make me want to care about her. But the two male lead characters are well played and there is an interesting group of elderly sub-players including a great performance by Shirley Jones aka Mom Partridge. Part rom-com, part quirky, offbeat indy film, and part "hmm" thought provoker on faith and spirituality, this is a more than worthy way to spend an hour and forty minutes.