Hey, Happy!
Society as we know it may have been lost, but sex and dancing are still in style in this outrageous post-apocalyptic satire. In a not-so-distant future where a variety of environmental disasters have led to the final collapse of Western civilization, sexually ambiguous hipster Ricky G. (Johnny Simone) leads an encampment of rave kids who have created a makeshift city on the outskirts of Winnipeg. One of the community's leading citizens is porn-merchant and disc jockey Sabu (Jeremie Yuen), whose inexhaustible sexual appetite has led him on a mission to seduce 2,000 men before a looming flood destroys the village. Sabu is close enough to hitting the magic number to have chosen the special man he wants to be Mister 2K -- Happy (Craig Sftanas), an attractive if socially inept science buff who is able to communicate with alien life forms. However, Sabu has a rival for Happy's affections -- body-modification advocate and hair stylist Spanky (Clayton Godson), who tries to foil Sabu's plans by abducting Happy. Hey, Happy! was the first dramatic feature from Canadian independent filmmaker Noam Gonick. ~ Mark Deming, RoviThe film's action takes place on the desolate outskirts of Winnipeg, on the eve of what could well be the Apocalypse. Pot-smoking, amyl nitrate-sniffing DJ Sabu (Jeremie Yuen) works at an open-air porn emporium, mixing beats and the moans and groans of smut-movie soundtracks with random radio transmissions warning of the second coming of the Great Flood. Apocalypse or no apocalypse, DJ Sabu is on a personal mission: He's determined to sleep with 2,000 guys, and he's just one fling away from reaching his goal. That fling, Sabu has decided, will be Happy (Craig Aftanas), Winnipeg's version of the village idiot, who finds numerological patterns in men's room graffiti and receives communiques from other astral planes. Or maybe it's just the side effects of the toxic waste Happy slurps and sniffs. Sabu propositions Happy at that night's rave on Garbage Hill, and Happy, once he overcomes his virginal shyness, is eager to oblige; the alien voices tell him they can't make physical contact until he has sex with Sabu. So the stage is set for something like romance, until Sabu's nemesis, the evil-genius hairdresser Spanky O'Niel (Clayton Godson), and his goon squad of chubby beauticians nab Happy and force him into love slavery. This ready-made midnight movie probably won't stand the cold light of day, but under the right conditions, it's goofy (if not entirely wholesome) fun. It's the kind of shock flick that revels in its own offensiveness and even goes so far as to reenact one of the more disgusting moments from John Water's seminal PINK FLAMINGOS (don't worry, it's not that one). Gonick transfigures Winnipeg into an industrial junkyard filled with colorful freaks and transsexual disco superstars, a place where everyone seems to be at least one of several shades of gay. Clearly, it's not for everyone. Extra points for a great electronic soundtrack, striking widescreen cinematography and an unapologetically freaky attitude. leave a comment --Ken Fox
psychedelic