Happiness is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Todd Solondz, that portrays the lives of three sisters, their families and those around them. The film was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for "its bold tracking of controversial contemporary themes, richly-layered subtext, and remarkable fluidity of visual style," and the cast received the National Board of Review award for best ensemble performance.
Trish Maplewood (Cynthia Stevenson), the eldest sister, is an upper middle class housewife happily married to psychiatrist Bill Maplewood (Dylan Baker) and has three children. Unbeknownst to Trish, however, Bill is a pedophile. He develops an obsession with 11-year-old Johnny Grasso (Evan Silverberg), a classmate of his son, Billy (Rufus Read). When Johnny comes for a sleepover, Bill drugs Johnny and then sodomizes him while he is unconscious. Later, he learns that another boy, Ronald Farber, is home alone while his parents are away in Europe. Under the guise of attending a PTA meeting, Bill drives to the boy's house and rapes him. After Johnny is taken to the hospital and found to have been sexually abused, the police arrive at the
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