Happily Ever After

As Alice (Barnett) is rushing out the door in full princess getup to make her first children’s party appearance in too long, she accidentally backs her car straight into the passing and unsuspecting Thomas (Baron) killing him instantly, leaving herself with not just a moral quandary to deal with, but also with the now ever-present ghost of the very recently deceased elderly man by her side.

“S***ing hell, I've killed the John Lewis grandad”

Despite this exclamation, Alice’s immediate concern is less with poor unfortunate gentleman now lying in her driveway but rather her dashed career prospects and possible imminent and ghastly prison attire. But Thomas, sensing a quid pro quo situation here, offers to help her get away with it all, as long as Alice makes sure he isn’t buried in the pre-planned plot next to his overbearing former wife.

“Where would you get enough acid to dissolve a body, Ms Dahmer?”
“Uh, Amazon”

Labelling Happily Ever Afterlife as a dark comedy is certainly apt, however one must not take away from how much more of the comedy spectrum writer/director Susan Moffat manages to traverse. From slapstick to surreal, full of jokes both black and blue and with a fair share of deadpan one-liners tossed into the mix as well, Moffat certainly throws a lot at the wall here in search of laughs and there are a great deal of genuine laughs to be enjoyed.

The film is best when it leans right into its darker side, and the brilliant use of cut shots as well as some of the edgier or more subtle gags really help to make all the ongoing ridiculousness enjoyable. Of course, there are jokes that work for all tastes outside of the macabre, but it’s also not without some that simply don’t; at times its down to the delivery which isn't always quite there, but other times its simply that the joke falls flat altogether.

However, the scales definitely tip more in favour of the ones that do work against the ones that don’t and thankfully as well, Happily Ever After has much more to offer than just plenty of gags. Barnett’s Alice and Baron’s Thomas increasingly warming back-and-forth help elevate everything even further into a somewhat heartwarming story of the fulfilment of one man’s last requests, leading you too root for their success right to the end and beyond.

Happily Ever After might not always tickle the funny bone when it tries, but its unique tale about respecting dying wishes still delivers a good amount of laughs and a hefty amount heart making it well worth a watch.