RunPee

The app that tells you the best time to

run and pee during a movie without missing the best scenes.

100% free (donation supported) Apple App Store | Google Play Store

Read Time:4 Minute, 20 Second

happy-face

Happy Face is an awesome film. I just had to get that off my chest right from the get go.  It’s not a laugh a minute rib tickler, it’s not an edge of the seat thriller, and it’s not a mind bending thought provoker. It’s a drama about the lives of a group of people who attend a therapy group and how they are affected by each other, as well as their treatment.

There are, however, laughs, thrills, and thoughts do get well and truly provoked.

——Content continues below——

The World’s Most Indispensable Movie App

The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.


As seen on

Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)

Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store       Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store

Read more about the RunPee app.



Back in 1932, Tod Browning made a film with a magnificently insensitive title… Freaks. It was set back in the days when people with a visible disability had only one way to make a living and that was to join a freak show, which either toured in its own right or was appended to a circus. People would then come along, pay a few pennies, and gawp at the people being shown off. People who nowadays would be being given support for their conditions, so that they can live their lives with some semblance of dignity — rather than being treated like an animal in a zoo.

So What Do We Have Here?

Happy Face is, as I said, set in a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) group for people with facial disfigurements. The group have a variety of conditions. Some evident from birth, some due to accidents, and others caused by an illness acquired during their lifetimes.

The therapy group is led by Vanessa (Debbie Lynch-White), who doesn’t have a facial difference, but says she knows how they feel because she is morbidly obese and is a second class citizen in the same way that they are, because she, too, is judged on how she looks.

However, our group members are tough cookies, probably due to everything they’ve had to put up with in their day to day lives, and are quite capable of pointing out that they are not in the same boat at all.  As the marvellous Maggie (Alison Midstokke) puts it, no amount of exercise will sort her face out so she can pursue her dream of being a model.

Happy-face-movie-poster
Don’t worry, be happy.

In the middle of this group sits Stan (Robin L’Houmeau), with bandages around his twisted features. He doesn’t seem to be contributing much to the group and it turns out that there’s a reason for it… his twisted features are caused by Sellotape wrapped tightly around his face, and the bandages are just there to hide the tape. Underneath it all he is actually a strikingly handsome young man. So why is he there? What does he want? Does he get away with it?

Watch it if you get the opportunity; it will be worth your time.

What people are saying
about the RunPee app.

AmyGatten, 06/15/2023

Best app ever!

RunPee is the only app we use before movies and afterward. not only does RunPee tell you when it’s a good time to leave the theater, kids these days ask if there’s anything during/after the credits, and RunPee lets parents know when there might be some thing that a kid might miss!

RunPee has tidbits, ratings, leave the theater times, and lengths. This is THE VITAL APP for watching any movie!

We used it when my wife was pregnant, and we have recommended it to every pregnant gal we know! How else can you enjoy a movie when you have to go out so often?!

View all reviews: Apple App Store | Google Play Store

Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store     Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store

And Who Are Our Other Players?

All of the actors playing the facially disfigured roles are, in effect, playing themselves — in that there are no prosthetics being used.

There is Jocko (E R Ruiz), a police officer who was in a traffic accident and got severely burned. He is only at the group because his insurance insists that he attend.

Beckie or Buck (Cyndy Nicholsen) is covered in what look like warts, but her biggest problem is her own mother, who is ashamed of her and is not afraid to tell her that.

Then there is Ronald, who is a sommelier, but has lost his nose due to skin cancer. His worry is that when he goes back to work his prosthesis will fall off and drop into the wine as he sniffs it.

There’s Dangerous Dave (Daniel Boloten) who used to be a racing and stunt driver and everyone thought he was cool until he had the accident, which meant his eyes were no longer level.

There are more people (I couldn’t catch all the character names), but one that I did catch was Otis played by David Roche. Otis is my hero. He really does the heavy lifting when it comes to the drama and humour in this film; all that in his debut.

I said somewhere that this has the potential for being an uncomfortable watch…

First thoughts would be because of liberal/socialist guilt for the plight and suffering someone has to endure through no fault of their own — but it very quickly becomes apparent that the people shown here don’t want or need your sympathy, empathy, or pity; they have strength and inner resolve in spades. All they want is to be treated the same as the next person along.

The discomfort arises from seeing how they are treated. If they’re not being openly mocked, they’re being quietly tucked away, in a corner, out of sight. The discomfort comes from realizing how badly the society of which we are a part treats some of its members, just because they look just that little bit more different to everyone else.

Movie Grade: A-

Pin Posts

Exclusive Movie Interview with Luz writer-director Jon Garcia

Movie review : Brothers

RunPee Shop

Don’t miss your favorite movie moments because you have to pee or need a snack. Use the RunPee app (Androidor iPhone) when you go to the movies. We have Peetimes for all wide release films every week, including Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, DUNE part II, King Fu Panda, The American Society of Magical Negroes and coming soon , Godzilla x Kong: The new Empire  and many others. We have literally thousands of Peetimes—from classic movies through today’s blockbusters. You can also keep up with movie news and reviews on our blog, or by following us on Twitter @RunPee. If there’s a new film out there, we’ve got your bladder covered.

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Immaculate

Immaculate blew me away. I did not prepare myself adequately. I want to first address the graphic…

Netflix’s Three-body – first episode review

First, let me start with some context. I’m a born and raised in China kind of Chinese…

Movie Review – Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

I didn’t have high hopes, but this was better than I expected. That isn’t a surprise…

Adam Savage Tours the Ghostbusters “Frozen Empire Firehouse” with director Jason Reitman

In this fascinating YouTube video, Adam Savage, known for his work on MythBusters, takes a tour of…

Movie Review – The American Society of Magical Negroes

“Welcome to the American Society of Magical Negroes!” is said to Aren (Justice Smith) as his world…

Movie Review – Love Lies Bleeding

Love Lies and Bleeding was bloody awful. I’ve become quite the fan of A24 Productions and they…

Movie Review – Knox Goes Away

Knox Goes Away was a fantastic movie. It kept you engaged for almost two hours. It gives you hope…

Movie Review – Arthur the King

If you’ve seen the trailer for this movie then you know pretty much everything you need to…

Comments

2 responses to “Indie Movie Review – Happy Face”

  1. Totally one of the best movies of 2020 — I really got the biggest kick out of the group’s shenanigans. Brave and likeable souls. Maggie and Otis were my favorites.

    Or should this be considered a 2021 movie since that is when it was officially released?

  2. I’m counting it as a 2021 release because I’d already down up my best of list for 2020 before I saw it!

Leave a Reply

RunPee