It's crazy how much time people are spending with family members and how it's looked at as a "new thing". Ceratin cultures revolve their entire lively hood around family time and a tradition that holds true to this day is the "family dinner". While we are seeing more of an influx of families like American Israelis on screen, in Michael Mayers HAPPY TIMES we get to see just how "American" than can be. Every family has it's problems but when it ends up involving shotguns, butcher knives and garbage disposals nothing can compare to mayhem that ensues in this wild dark comedy.
Think YOU'RE NEXT meets any family comedy revolving around the family dinner in the last few years. In HAPPY TIMES we meet the gorgeous Sigal played by Liraz Chamami who with her mafioso styled husband are entertaining guest when all types of things go wrong. All the cliches are present, the family member needing money, the brother who is the "black" sheep of the family. Nothing out of the ordinary but as the film moves along there is no rhyme or reason for the hilarity that kicks off and man does it get violent! There is a back and forth of English and Arabic with the entire cast which also leads to a little bit of the entertainment but more than anything it highlights the background of the main characters. HAPPY TIMES is surprisingly entertaining from the moment the film starts so this will be one to watch with friends for sure.
From some they may not enjoy the wreck-less abandon the film takes towards the end and it's understandable. As I have mentioned before chaos and carnage have their own sub genre in horror and sometimes the more unexplainable the violence the more entertaining the movie. For HAPPY TIMES it will just make you more aware of how you handle yourself at your next engagement!
3.0 / 5
HAPPY TIMES is directed by Michael Mayer and stars Michael Aloni, Liraz Chamami, Iris Bahr, Alon Pdut, Stéfi Celma, Ido Mor, Guy Adler, Shani Atias, Daniel Lavid and Mike Burstyn.
It available now courtesy of Artsploitation Films