Happy, Texas (film)
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| Happy, Texas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Mark Illsley |
| Written by | Ed Stone Mark Illsley Phil Reeves |
| Produced by | Mark Illsley Rick Montgomery Ed Stone |
| Starring | Steve Zahn Jeremy Northam William H. Macy Ally Walker Illeana Douglas |
| Cinematography | Bruce Douglas Johnson |
| Edited by | Norman Buckley |
| Music by | Peter Harris |
| Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release date | October 1, 1999 |
Running time | 98 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Budget | $1,7 million |
| Box office | $2,891,228 |
Happy, Texas is a comedy film released in 1999 directed by Mark Illsley, and starring Steve Zahn, Jeremy Northam and William H. Macy.
It was a positively reviewed film, and was a box office hit, grossing $3.7 million against a $1.4 million budget, and is now considered a cult classic.
Plot
Three prisoners escape from a chain gang, and two of them, Wayne and Harry (Zahn and Northam) run away to Happy, Texas, where they pose as the gay organizers of a beauty pageant. They put on a show with the small girls of the town while hiding from the law and waiting for the opportunity to rob the local bank.
Their scheme is complicated by the fact that the local sheriff (Macy) is gay, and he's attracted to the prisoner Harry. Straight Harry on the other hand is sure attracted to lady banker, Josephine (Walker). Meanwhile, "gay" David gets it on with the local pageant coodinator, Doreen (Douglas).
Cast
- Steve Zahn as Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr. (David)
- Jeremy Northam as Harry Sawyer (Steven 'Steve')
- William H. Macy as Sheriff Chappy Dent
- Ally Walker as Josephine 'Joe' McClintock the Banker
- Illeana Douglas as Doreen Schaefer
- M. C. Gainey as Robert 'Bob' Allen Maslow
- Ron Perlman as Marshal Nalhober
- Mo Gaffney as Mrs. Bromley
- Paul Dooley as The Judge
Production
With the exception of a few scenes, the film was shot entirely on location in Piru, California.
Reception
The movie received a rating of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 83 critics, stating, "it's nothing epic or grand, but it's a simple, funny film that kicked off Steve Zahn's career." It also holds a rating of 7.2/10 on imdb, and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun, gave it 3/4. Steve Zahn won three awards for his performance in the film.
Soundtrack
| Untitled | |
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
The soundtrack album for Happy, Texas features a mix of mostly country music by such artists as Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Lee Roy Parnell, Pam Tillis, Brad Paisley and BR5-49. There are also bits of Tejano (Flaco Jimenez) and exotica (Yma Sumac).
Track listing
- "Passin' Through" (Randy Scruggs and Joan Osborne) – 5:16
- "Good at Secrets" (Kim Richey) – 4:20
- "This Little Light of Mine"/"Fort Davis Contestant" (Carly Fink) – 0:17
- "Are You Happy Baby?" (Lee Roy Parnell and Keb' Mo') – 2:27
- "Ordinary Heart" (Emmylou Harris) – 2:58
- "Baila Este Ritmo" (Flaco Jiménez) – 3:17
- "After a Kiss" (Pam Tillis) – 4:10
- "Me Neither" (Brad Paisley) – 3:22
- "Stay" (Alison Krauss) – 3:26
- "Half a Man" (Shannon Brown) – 2:35
- "Gopher Mambo" (Yma Sumac) – 2:17
- "Honky Tonk Song" (BR5-49) – 2:38
- "That Buckin' Song (Saddle Sore Mix)" (Robert Earl Keen) – 3:51
- "Hurdy Gurdy Monkey Shine" (Road Kings) – 2:17
- "Happiness" (Abra Moore) – 4:28
- "It's Oh So Quiet" (Happy Girls) – 1:29
- Cover of song popularized by Björk
