Director: John McKay
Stars: Karen Gillan, Stanley Weber, Ian De Caestecker, Amy Manson, Henry Ian Cusick
Jane (Gillan) is an unhappy writer who finally gets a break with a small publishing house run by Tom (Weber). After her book receives much critical acclaim she’s all set for the follow-up, but there’s a problem. When she’s happy she doesn’t write, so Tom has to try and make her miserable without her knowing.
Not Another Happy Ending is an abysmal movie that I feel insulted by. It’s flawed on so many levels that it’s difficult to know where to begin, and I honestly felt dumber after watching it.
Firstly the whole romance between Jane and Tom is based on a montage at the beginning of the film, and after this we’re supposed to believe that they had some deep feelings for each other. Then, when he changes the title of her book without telling her there’s a big argument and the two swear that once their contract is done they’re not going to have anything to do with each other. But the whole film relies on the conceit that they have this strong romantic bond, and I never felt convinced of this, which made the whole thing a pointless exercise.
Jane ends up with another man played by Henry Ian Cusick who is working on the screenplay to the movie adaptation of her book. But again, they’re only together because the script calls for it. They have no chemistry and there’s barely any interaction between the two of them, so this love triangle collapses before it even begins. There’s no tension and no drama.
Gillan actually manages to salvage some grace, especially in the scenes with her father, but overall it’s all so lacklustre. The attempts by Tom to generate a state of melancholic bliss come off as mean and cruel, and it seems unnecessary since she wrote the bulk of the book without those methods. Oh yeah, and one of her protagonists comes to life and starts talking to her, but since I had no idea what the book was actually about this had zero impact as well.
There’s just no charm to this movie at all. It really frustrates me as well because why are movies like this being made? The characters are flat, the dialog is bland, the plot beats are hackneyed (ooohhh a film about a writer struggling with writer’s block how f**king original).
This movie is a complete waste of time and space. It feels like less than a first draft. I’ve put more effort into writing this review than the people that wrote the film. Hang your head in shame people behind the scenes for Not Another Happy Ending is going in the pile of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. At this point I’ve seen almost 3100 and this is definitely in the bottom five at least. Another thing I hate as well is that the title makes you think it’s going to subvert expectations but in fact it’s clichéd and predictable.
Do yourself a favour and do not waste your time on this sorry excuse for a movie. Shame on Netflix as well for even having it available to view!
