I am not too happy about Writer-Director Todd Solondz' sequel to his 1998 critically acclaimed 1998 indie film "Happiness". "Life During Wartime" should have been titled "Life During Boretime" because its mind-numbing melancholy tone is a bunch of borea borea! Sure "Happiness" was also melancholy, but it was thought-provoking and compelling; no matter how dreary and repugnant the characters were. "Life During Wartime" plays around with the same characters as the original- sisters Joy, Trish, Helen; pedophile Bill Maplewood straight out of jail; son Billy now in college; plus some new characters including Timmy who is Billy's younger brother and also son of Father Bill. The major shift here is that all these characters are portrayed by other actors; no Phillip Seymour Hoffman, or Cynthia Stevenson, or even Dylan Baker, which all deserved Oscar nominations for their "Happiness" performances. In "Life During Wartime"- Joy is still miserable, Trish is still hypocritical, and Helen is still self-centered. Maplewood is like a dead man walking throughout most of the film, and not like a rehabilitated pedophile striving to change his past ways. The actors do their best, but it was really a battle for them to invoke any authenticity to their characters in their wartime duty because of Solondz' sloppy writing and direction. I am a big fan of Solondz' "Welcome to the Dollhouse" and "Happiness", and included those movies as two of my favorites of the 1990's. But since the millennium, Solondz' archetype style of developing gloomy and despicable characters has run it course; and too many disturbed and sad characters in recent past Solondz' film creations have become a nuisance instead of a revelation. In other words, his Toddatales have become continuous dead-end narratives, instead of insightful character studies. Now some of the performances in "Life During Wartime" were noteworthy including Allison Janney as Trish, Ally Sheedy as Helen, and Paul Reubens as Joy dumpee- Andy. Yes, there is a Pee-Wee sighting in "Life During Wartime" and it's a good one. Reubens' supporting performance as Andy might just very well be the life of "Life During Wartime". OK, I know I need to get a life but I also know that you don't need to get a "Life During Wartime". **Needs Improvement
Review of Life During Wartime
