Gooden Worsted is now Taking Requests!  Happiness My Rating: Sheer Video Perfection! Gooden Worsted's Bitable Bytes: "Try this one out." "The definition of dark comedy."   Henry Fool My Rating: Ever so close to wonderful! Gooden Worsted's Bitable Bytes: "... credible acting ... surprising plot."   Canadian Bacon My Rating: Sheer Video Perfection! Gooden Worsted's Bitable Bytes: "Moore is ... blowing the whistle on this nation's short-sightedness."   A sick weekend with Gooden Worsted - 10 stars! Thursday night, my throat felt sandy and dry no matter how much water I drank. Friday morning, my head felt like a melted video cassette. When I managed to drag myself out of bed, I used all my energy to get to the video store for supplies to see me through the weekend illness. I've got a lot to cover with you all, but before I jump in, allow me to pre-conclude that nothing is better for fighting a flu than VIDEOS! (This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. Videos are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease. Consult your physician if symptoms persist. And avoid Oliver Stone.) Happiness Even if you think you will be put off by another too-hip, dark comedy, try this one out. The film uses consistent care in portraying the stories of its dozen characters. All are fleshed out­too much in some cases­for a totally engaging experience. One of the sickest characters in the movie still manages a completely trusting­and believable­relationship with his son. Subtle this film is not, and yet there is a great deal of nuance in the exploration of these crossing relationships. The film ends on a line that is the definition of dark comedy; both joyous and terrifying at the same time. Happiness is both funnier and darker than most films of this genre including Henry Fool The scenario I imagine is that Hal Hartley wrote this film with Martin Donovan in mind. The main character could have been played better by Donovan, one of Hartley's main actors. But, in my imaginary scenario, Donovan read the script and felt the shallowness of the story, noted the strange rash of plot holes that infect this script, and decided that it would be too much like playing himself. It didn't read like Hartley, but like pseudo-Hartley, with none of the intensity or soul that lives in films like Trust or Surviving Desire. And so Donovan passed and went for the easy buck with Holly Hunter in Living Out Loud. I still respect Donovan, believing that he took the easy money­because why not?­but refused to go halfway with this halfway Hartley harangue. Situations unrealistic. Characters unsympathetic. Still good for 9 1/2 stars due to semi-credible acting, a demi-interesting story, and hemi-surprising plot twists. Canadian Bacon 9 1/4 stars Michael Moore wrote and directed this thinly disguised indictment of the U.S. media, U.S. government, U.S. corporate culture, U.S. small-town culture, and Canadian beer. The story stretches to the tearing point over these statements like a pair of dainty fishnets over the enormous legs of John Candy. And agree as I might that the government is a tool of corporate money; that corporate owners have sold their souls; that television can sway public opinion in minutes; and that Canadian beer is, in the main, flavorless; I'd much rather see Moore's persistent puss doing the art of documentary than see him try to bury his agendas in a form that's trying to be more accessible. 9-1/4 stars because Moore is trying to do good by blowing the whistle on this nation's short-sightedness, albeit clumsily in this film. By the way, this is Candy's last film and should have been Rhea Perelman's.   Want to share a happy story with Gooden? ©1999 by Randy Shandis Enterprises. All rights happily reserved.