Media Mike's Archive

Don't Worry...See "Happy....Texas!"

"HAPPY TEXAS"

Right off the bat let me say any movie that has the music of Robert Earl Keen, Emmylou Harris, BR-549, Southern Culture on the Skids, Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys, all Media Mike favorites, scores major points. Add to that, a script that it is a knee-slappin', gut-grabbin', dead armadillo-scrappin' laughfest and you have a 100 minutes of what a movie comedy should be. None of that Robin Williams, tears of clown, "I use humor to cover my despair" garbage we usually get in the fall. Plus, any movie that lampoons Texas is a godsend to anyone who has had to spend an hour in that "inferiority complex masked by bravado" town of Dallas. "Happy, Texas" is that godsend. A "Some Like it Hot" for sh** kickers.

It is the story of two escaped convicts (Jeremy Northam and Steve Zahn as "Harry Sawyer" and "Wayne Wayne Wayne, Jr."), who end up masquerading as gay pageant directors in Happy, Texas. Happy is a town of a few hundred good folk, who put aside any uneasy feelings they have toward "the homosexuals," for a chance to have one of the little towns girls named "Miss Fresh Squeezed." Our heros are a bit cool to their new identities, until they see the bandbox that passes for a bank in Happy. So until an opportune time comes for a robbery, it's Showtime, Folks!

"Happy, Texas" is highlighted by the exposed wire of a performance by Zahn. His "Wayne Wayne Wayne, Jr." is a cross between Charles Manson and Corky St. Clair. From that steely Texas upper lip, with the marbles-in the-mouth effect, to his matted hair and most unusual moustache, "W3, Jr.'s" transformation from "West Texas" punk to dance leader is masterful.

Northam's "Harry Sawyer" has the thankless task of carrying most of the water of the plot. He is the Dean Martin of this "Martin and Lewis" tandem. He gives a good performance, but we all came to see Jerry eat the crayons.

Kudos go to the rest of the cast including Illeana Douglas as Wayne's pageant assistant and Ally Walker, the bank owner, who catches the eye of Northam. A special mention goes to William H. Macy, who plays the sexually awkward sheriff of Happy. If there has been a better actor the last five years, let me know. From Fargo to Boogie Nights to Happy, Texas, he plays the tormented everyman flawlessly. He is the rare actor that can make you laugh and make you cry at the same time.

Sometime the next couple of weeks, when you need a few hours away from the kids or the wife/husband go see "Happy, Texas." It won't change you life, but you will feel a bit better. And to me, that is what the movies are for.

p.s. I went to CD NOW, to check out the soundtrack and I was sadden to see that the tracks from Big Sandy and Southern Culture were NOT on the album. It still looked like an enjoyable sound treat, but not the must-have it could have been.

THE SKINNY: On the Randlemanland scale of one to ten, "Happy, Texas" gets a eight.