If you are familiar with Todd Solondz' work, his latest film follows up on the fractured families we previously encountered in Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness, but with entirely re-cast characters, which is thematically related to his previous film, Palindromes. Actually, these films all take place within the same bleak universe. The film is set several years after the events of Happiness, although in Solondz' fractured universe, the timeline doesn't quite make sense if you think about it too hard. However, the characters' development is as beautiful as they themselves are grotesque.
Ciaran Hinds' portrayal of Bill Maplewood, the pedophile father originally played by Dylan Baker is superb, as is the rest of the cast. Of particular note is Paul Reubens as Jon Lovitz's ghost who appears to Joy Henderson (played by Shirley Henderson): casting Pee-Wee Herman as a not-so tortured soul (or possibly a manifestation of Joy's neurosis) is an absolute stroke of genius on the director's part. Another standout is the always amazing Allison Janney, it is completely believable that the oh so perky Cynthia Stevenson would turn into this love-starved small-minded medicated woman after the events of "Happiness." This is not an easy, date movie. This director's films never are.
Ciaran Hinds' portrayal of Bill Maplewood, the pedophile father originally played by Dylan Baker is superb, as is the rest of the cast. Of particular note is Paul Reubens as Jon Lovitz's ghost who appears to Joy Henderson (played by Shirley Henderson): casting Pee-Wee Herman as a not-so tortured soul (or possibly a manifestation of Joy's neurosis) is an absolute stroke of genius on the director's part. Another standout is the always amazing Allison Janney, it is completely believable that the oh so perky Cynthia Stevenson would turn into this love-starved small-minded medicated woman after the events of "Happiness." This is not an easy, date movie. This director's films never are.