RELATIVE HAPPINESS (Deanne Foley). 97 minutes. Opens Friday (April 10). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NN
Where to watch: iTunes
Opening just a week or so after playing the Canadian Film Festival, Relative Happiness features some lovely Nova Scotia scenery and a fine performance by Australian actor Melissa Bergland.
She plays Lexie Ivy, a B&B proprietor trying to find a date (and lose a few pounds) before her sister’s wedding, the better to live up to her family’s expectations.
And then a whole bunch of stuff happens, only some of it interesting and none of it especially funny – which is problematic since Relative Happiness imagines itself a bright, perky comedy.
Four writers are credited with the script (including director Deanne Foley), which might explain the over-complicated plotting, though for all its running around and forced conflict, the movie feels strangely hollow and tentative.
Bergland’s a strong lead, though, and in Lexie’s cranky-caring scenes with best friend Susie (Susan Kent) we can glimpse the much more engaging, and considerably funnier, movie that might have been.
