| Happily | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Directed by | BenDavid Grabinski |
| Written by | BenDavid Grabinski |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Adam Bricker |
| Edited by | Spencer Houck |
| Music by | Joseph Trapanese |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Saban Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Happily is a 2021 Americancomedy thriller film written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski, in his directorial debut. It starsJoel McHale,Kerry Bishé,Stephen Root,Natalie Morales,Paul Scheer andNatalie Zea.
It was released on March 19, 2021 bySaban Films.
Tom and Janet's friends are jealous of their lustful relationship. When a visit from a mysterious stranger leads to a dead body, they begin to question the loyalty of their so-called friends.
In February, 2019 it was announced thatJoel McHale,Kerry Bishé,Stephen Root,Natalie Zea,Paul Scheer,Natalie Morales,Jon Daly,Kirby Howell-Baptiste,Charlyne Yi,Breckin Meyer,Shannon Woodward,Brea Grant andAl Madrigal had been cast in the film, with BenDavid Grabinski directing from his screenplay. Nancy Leopardi, Ross Kohn,Jack Black and Spencer Berman would produce the film under their Indy Entertainment and Electric Dynamite companies, whileKyle Newman and Chuckie Duff would be executive producers under his Common Wealth Media banner.[2]
Principal photography began inLos Angeles in February 2019.[3]
It was scheduled to have its world premiere at theTribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2020.[4] However, the festival was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[5] In November 2020,Saban Films acquired distribution rights to the film.[6] It was released on March 19, 2021.[7]
Review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes gives the film a 70% approval rating based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 6.60/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Happily struggles to fully realize its ambitions, but at its best, this intermittently intriguing drama makes pointed -- and frequently funny -- observations about modern relationships."[8] According toMetacritic, which sampled 11 critics and calculated a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, the film received "mixed or average" reviews.[9]