to playwright Robert Patrick, Quentin Crisp stated, "[Happiness] mistook pleasure for happiness and was quite absurd". In his review in Time Out New York, Andrew Johnston observed, "As repulsive as some of the characters are, Solondz makes most of them deeply sympathetic. And every scene works on several levels at once: The film's most hilarious moments all have poignant undercurrents, while the saddest--and most disturbing--are frequently sidesplitting at the same time." On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 82% approval rating based on 49 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Happiness is far from a cheerful viewing experience, but its grimly humorous script and fearless performances produce a perversely moving search for humanity within everyday depravity." On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 81 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Awards 1998 Cannes Film Festival – FIPRESCI Prize, Parallel Sections 1999 Golden Globes – Nominated for Best Screenplay (Todd Solondz) 1998 National Board of Review, USA – Best Acting by an Ensemble 1999 Independent Spirit Awards – Nominated for Best Director (Todd Solondz), Best Male Lead (Dylan Baker), Best Supporting Male (Philip Seymour Hoffman) 1998 São Paulo International Film Festival – International Jury Award 1998 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival – Critic's Choice Award: Best Actor – Dylan Baker; Best Film 1998 Toronto International Film Festival – Metro Media Award 1999 British Independent Film Award – Best Foreign Film, English Language 1999 Fantasporto – Directors' Week Award – Todd Solondz Music Robbie Kondor wrote the film's score. Solondz had originally approached Michael Nyman to work on the soundtrack, but ended up discarding the material Nyman composed. Eytan Mirsky wrote the title track "Happiness". Actress Jane Adams sings it in a scene in the film; Michael Stipe and Rain Phoenix sing it over the credits. The following music is played in the film: "Soave sia il vento" from Così fan tutte (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) "Concerto for Guitar in D Major" (Antonio Vivaldi) "Happiness" (Eytan Mirsky) – Jane Adams "Requiem" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Piano Concerto (Samuel Barber), movements I and II "Mandy" (Richard Kerr and Scott English) – Barry Manilow "You Light Up My Life" (Joe Brooks) – Mantovani and Anatoly Aleshin "All Out of Love" (Graham Russell and Clive Davis) – Air Supply "Eternal Lighthouse", composed and performed by Vladimir Mozenkov, Lyrics by Yevgeny Davidov "Happiness"