Happy Face Murders (1999)
An eccentric older woman implicates her brutal & controlling lover in the murder of a young girl. Absorbed with "Murder She Wrote" and "Matlock", she creates details of the murder from clues she picks up from the detectives on the case. Implicating herself and sentenced to jail, she then recants her testimony. But no one believes her until clues surface from the real killer that he is still out there, has killed before, and will kill again. He signs his messages with Happy Faces.
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An absolutely awful movie that's only redeeming feature is it's occasional moments of unintentional humour, when dodgy camera effects and ham-handed acting produce giggles instead of drama and suspense. The acting is terrible, the script is worse and the plot is just ridiculous. The only actor doing anywhere near a competent job is Marg Helgenberger, who plays to type as a "street-wise cop". The dialogue is clichéd and stilted and the storyline is so convoluted and outlandish that you'll think you've been teleported into a different movie sometime during the second half. Unless you want to have a bit of a chuckle at this cringe-inducing film that I judge to be the worst I have seen (beating even the horrific "Johnny Mnemonic"), give this one a miss. It's not worth the renting price.
Made-for-cable movie is appropriately quirky and darkly comic. Clues regarding a small-town sex murder leads a wise female police detective and her rookie partner (Marg Helgenberger and Henry Thomas, both excellent) to a twisted grandma who keeps changing her story. Off-putting details and a few nasty sequences made me wince, but the actors certainly don't look embarrassed, especially Ann-Margret as the granny with a whip (she has a ball!). The story threads are complex and engrossing, but I had trouble with the presentation, which borders on smut with a bigger budget. Some funny lines and memorable bits (like A-M referring to her "bad ticker"), but overall just so-so.
"Happy Face Murders" is a below par whodunnit which has little to offer and is very ordinary in almost all respects. Ann-Margaret is not believable as a quirky old woman; Helgenberger isn't believeable as a tough cop; the script is sophomoric; directing abominable; etc. Unless you're really bored and happen upon it on broadcast, don't waste your time.
Richard Anselmo stole the ending of the Happy Face Murders as the plodding newspaper reporter. For this part, Anselmo gained over 50 lbs in weight and is being compared to Robert DeNiro's part in " Raging Bull". DeNiro gained 40 lbs in that role to play the part. Anselmo's interview of Ann Margret was the highlight of a very lackluster movie. The only credibility factor of the movie was Anselmo's true to life interview.