20
This would-be comedy about a thirtysomething family man (Attal) and his foray into infidelity is probably the worst in the putrid bushel of recent Gallic imports.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
70
Los Angeles Times by Carina Chocano
If this strikes some as some kind of gallingly blasé, ostentatious Parisian sophistication, it's far from it.
40
This look at the assorted struggles of modern hetero coupledom gives off a distinctly moldy aroma.
88
New York Daily News by Jami Bernard
Gives moviegoers a funny, observant, evanescent approach to the mysteries of human desire.
40
Repetitive and needlessly prolonged tale does build to an inspired final scene, but it's too little, too late.
50
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
Attal's characters are one-note position statements, which forces the unsubtle soundtrack - mostly American pop songs that range from the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" to Radiohead's "Creep" - to bear the brunt of clarifying their thoughts and feelings. Without it, you'd be entirely in the dark.
70
The New Republic by Stanley Kauffmann
The most important aspect of the stories about all five characters is the way they are told. Attal and his editor Jennifer Augé have found an attractive playful style: they never let the stories rest, almost juggling them, and keep them gamboling before us.
80
Happily Ever After is an exhilarating, joyous picture, but it's sometimes terrifying, too. It offers a vision of marriage as an adventure we embark on together, alone. If you didn't cry, you'd laugh.
70
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
Nobody does adultery in movies with more style and zest than the French, especially when the mode is frivolous. And anyone who watches Happily Ever After can identify with the grass-is-always-greener daydreams that haunt its characters.
63
You need a scorecard to keep track of who's bedding whom in Happily Ever After, a tres French take on sex and love, in that order.