Happiness (1998 Film) - Plot

Plot

Trish Maplewood (Cynthia Stevenson), the eldest Jordan sister, is an upper middle class housewife happily married to psychiatrist Bill Maplewood (Dylan Baker) and has three children. Unbeknownst to Trish, however, Bill is a pedophile. He develops an obsession with 11-year-old Johnny Grasso (Evan Silverberg), a classmate of his son, Billy (Rufus Read). When Johnny comes for a sleepover, Bill drugs Johnny and then sodomizes him while he is unconscious. Later, he learns that another boy, Ronald Farber, is home alone while his parents are away in Europe. Under the guise of attending a PTA meeting, Bill drives to the boy's house and rapes him. After Johnny is taken to the hospital and found to have been sexually abused, the police arrive at the Maplewood residence to question Bill. After alerting his wife to the police presence, Bill begins by asking the two detectives, "So, you wanted to talk about Ronald Farber?" The two detectives, looking puzzled, say nothing. Bill then stammers, "I mean, Johnny Grasso." Out on bail, he tearfully admits to Billy that he abused the boys, that he enjoyed it, and that he would do it again. When Billy asks, "Would you ever fuck me?", his father replies, "No. I'd jerk off instead."

Helen Jordan (Lara Flynn Boyle), the middle sister, is a successful author who is adored and envied by everyone she knows, and can have any man she wants. Her charmed life leaves her ultimately unfulfilled, however, and she despairs that no one wants her for herself, and that the praise regularly heaped upon her is undeserved. She is fascinated by an unknown man who makes obscene phone calls to her apartment and tries to seek out a relationship with her. But she is disappointed when she finds out the man is her neighbor Allen (Philip Seymour Hoffman), whom she is not attracted to. Allen ultimately sinks into depression as Helen's rejection ruins his fantasies, and he realizes that a woman who truly cares for him (Camryn Manheim) has been right under his nose all along.

Joy (Jane Adams), the youngest sister and struggling musician, is seen by her family as overly sensitive and lacking direction. She works in telephone sales, but leaves to do something more fulfilling: teaching at an immigrant-education center. Her students call her a scab because their original teacher was striking, and she begins to feel empty in that job too. Joy is also constantly let down in her personal life. After a rejected suitor, Andy (Jon Lovitz), calls her shallow at the beginning of the film and then goes on to kill himself, Helen tries to set her up with other men. Expecting to hear from a suitor, she instead gets an obscene call from Allen. Later one of her Russian students, Vladimir (Jared Harris), offers her a ride in his taxi and they end up having sex. She is initially smitten, but she soon realizes Vlad was using her and that he may be married. After being attacked by his wife and lending him $500 in return for her musical instruments, she is back to being alone.

Finally, the sisters' parents, Mona (Louise Lasser) and Lenny (Ben Gazzara) are separating after 40 years of marriage, but will not get divorced. Lenny is bored with his marriage, but does not want to start another relationship; he simply "wants to be alone." As Mona copes with being single during her twilight years, Lenny tries to rekindle his enthusiasm for life by having an affair with a neighbor. It is no use, however, as Lenny eventually finds that he has become incapable of emotion. The only person who seems happy at the end is Billy, who throughout the movie attempts to make himself ejaculate and finally succeeds.