Wackos invade town of 'Happy, Texas'

Heart-warming script along with talented cast sets film apart from others

By ABBI TOUSHIN
Staff Writer

"Happy, Texas" is definitely one of the season's comedic gems. Its combination of homespun whole-heartedness, slapstick physical comedy, feel-good laughs and sensitivity prove that "Happy, Texas" is a satisfying needle in a haystack of big-star, no-plot, run-of-the-mill blockbuster thrillers.

The film, directed by Mark Illsley, successfully combines the witty talents of Steve Zahn ("That Thing You Do"), Jeremy Northam ("An Ideal Husband"), Ally Walker (TV's Profiler), Illeana Douglas ("Stir of Echoes") and William H. Macy ("Fargo").

The story of "Happy, Texas" begins when prison inmates Harry Sawyer (Northam) and Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr. (Zahn) hijack a beat-up Winnebago after their community service clean-up duties in the desert go awry. The Winnebago, which belonged to two beauty pageant-planning homosexual males, is spotted by Sheriff Chappy Dent (Macy) on the outskirts of a Texas town called Happy.

When the convicts are told that the town has been looking for them, Harry and Wayne Wayne Wayne, Jr., decide that the only way to once again evade prison is to assume the identities of the two men whose van they stole. In less than an instant, Harry and Wayne Wayne Wayne, Jr., go from cons to pageant-planning lovers in front of a town that is merely expecting them to put on Happy's Little Miss Squeezed pageant - a pageant in which the little girls of Happy have rarely qualified to enter.

Even though they are highly skeptical, Harry and Wayne decide to play the town for all it's worth. While conning the town into thinking they are highly skilled pageant-planning professionals, they also manage to stake out the bank that they plan to rob before they leave. When love and sensitivity get in the way, however, Harry and Wayne are forced to choose between their newfound love interests - Josephine McClintock (Walker), the town banker, and Miss Schaefer (Douglas), the town schoolteacher - and a heist that would put money in their pockets and place their worries far behind them.

One of the most appealing aspects of the film is that, unlike many of its box-office neighbors, "Happy, Texas" plays off the talents of the actors rather than an abundance of fierce explosions, mind-boggling special effects and blockbuster hype.

The ensemble cast put together for this film goes together like peas and carrots, with exceptional performances delivered by both Macy and Zahn. Macy's portrayal of a sensitive, straight sheriff who comes out of the closet when he meets supposedly homosexual Harry is both heartfelt and hilarious. With every scene he's in, one has to choose between laughing out loud or letting a tear dribble from the eye.

Zahn also brings the character of Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr. to life with passionate detail, transforming the stuttering, foul-mouthed, bearded con into a sweet and sensitive teddy bear who sews costumes for his Happy pageant girls and gets weak in the knees when he sees the girls execute the dance routine he taught them.

Another satisfying part of the film is the sweet, down-to-earth script co-written by Illsley, Ed Stone and Phil Reeves. In a time when the movie market is laden with fantasy violence, melodramatic monstrosities and comedic nightmares, it is nice to see a film that downplays all of these things for the good of its characters.

The film, which is built on a comedic base with a layer of drama here and there, is a sweet coming-of-age story about five small-town residents all stuck at crossroads in their lives, waiting for them to somehow unravel. Because the script itself is so sweet and simple, all the characters manage to develop, thus making the viewer feel as though he or she is a part of the wonderful place that the townspeople call Happy.

With its comforting characters, sweet script, and feel-good laughs, "Happy, Texas" has a shot at winning hearts across the country. It is a definite must-see, and it is guaranteed to put a "happy" smile on anyone's face.

Copyright 1999 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 138, No. 25 (Tuesday, October 5, 1999), beginning on page 7 and ending on page 10.