There’s nothing like a well-written, brilliantly acted, creatively directed comedy…and “So Happy Together” is absolutely nothing like a well-written, brilliantly acted, creatively directed comedy. This is the first attempt at filmmaking by the crew behind an online comedy magazine called InsideJoke.tv, and they certainly got off on the wrong foot.
“So Happy Together” is about two seriously mismatched twentysomething roommates: Brian, an uptight prospective medical student waiting impatiently for acceptance to Johns Hopkins, and Neil, a goofy slob who forgets to pay the utility bills, take out the trash, and flush the toilet. Although all of Brian’s friends are convinced that Neil is the nicest guy on the planet, Brian is certain that Neil is actually a devious bastard who is deliberately trying to sabotage his chances to get into medical school.
The problem with “So Happy Together” is no one connected to the project seems to possess anything that could be mistaken for comic talent. Tim Saccardo is credited with directing and writing this film, but the movie lumbers along at such a lethargic pace and is filled with such stupid sight gags (sitting on a used condom, having a cabinet drawer full of coupons open into a shower of price-saving confetti) that is in inconceivable how anyone could consider this to be a mirth generating enterprise. The acting is equally inept, with Jon Murray’s Brian and Kevin Miller’s Neil lumbering about like Romero zombies and plodding over the laugh lines without even a flicker of recognition that something amusing is being crushed underfoot.
However, there are two good things about “So Happy Together”: Stefan Van Engen and Beth Byer, playing very serious detectives investigating the final showdown between Neil and Brian, are so completely lacking credibility in their roles (are they somebody’s siblings or in-laws?) that they are actually funny in a warped way. And the entire sorry enterprise runs a merciful 25 minutes; those seeking evidence of a higher being can use the fact “So Happy Together” was not a feature film as proof that there is a loving God somewhere up there.
