Welcome to Happiness is a 2015 American comedy film written and directed by Oliver Thompson (director) and starring Kyle Gallner, Olivia Thirlby, Nick Offerman, Keegan-Michael Key, Brendan Sexton III and Josh Brener. It was released on May 20, 2016, by FilmBuff.

Welcome to Happiness
Theatrical release poster
Directed byOliver Thompson
Written byOliver Thompson
Produced byBay Dariz
Kyle Gallner
Molly Quinn
Oliver Thompson
StarringKyle Gallner
Olivia Thirlby
Nick Offerman
Keegan-Michael Key
Brendan Sexton III
Josh Brener
CinematographyJustin Talley
Edited byLilly Grabowski
Music byOliver Thompson
Production
company
Minutehand Pictures
Distributed byOrion Pictures
FilmBuff
Release dates
  • April 27, 2015 (2015-04-27) (NBFF)
  • May 20, 2016 (2016-05-20) (United States)
Running time
109 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5,083[2]

Plot

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Woody Ward is a writer of children's books whose rented apartment has a door in the closet that people can go through to undo mistakes they have made in their lives. When his career and romantic life both hit crises, he becomes dissatisfied that he himself cannot go through it.[1][3]

Cast

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Release

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The film premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 27, 2015.[3] It was released on May 20, 2016, by FilmBuff.[3]

Following the premiere, Kino Lorber bought the rights to release it on DVD.[4]

Reception

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On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 31% based on 16 critics, with an average rating of 4.90/10.[5] On Metacritic, Welcome to Happiness holds an approval rating of 29 out of a 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[6]

Matt Fagerholm of RogerEbert.com gave the film 2 out of 5,[7] while Jared Mobarak of The Film Stage gave it a "C+".[8]

Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times called Welcome to Happiness "an airy fantasy of a film" as well as "a little too determined to be eccentric".[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b Linden, Sheri (June 8, 2016). "'Welcome to Happiness': Dances with Films Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  2. ^ "Welcome to Happiness". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c McNary, Dave (April 12, 2016). "Kyle Gallner's 'Welcome to Happiness' Gets Distribution from FilmBuff". Variety.
  4. ^ Yates, Erik (May 24, 2017). "DVD Review: Welcome to Happiness (2015)". Zeke Film. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "Welcome to Happiness". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  6. ^ "Welcome to Happiness". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  7. ^ Fagerholm, Matt (May 20, 2016). "Welcome to Happiness". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  8. ^ Mobarak, Jared (May 17, 2016). "[Review] Welcome to Happiness". Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  9. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (May 19, 2016). "Review: 'Welcome to Happiness', With Kyle Gallner Seeking Answers". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
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