In “Happiness Is,” the third part of a South African romantic drama series, we meet Princess. She is a successful gallery owner, and Forbes has recognized her on their 40 Under 40 list. As she approaches her fortieth birthday, she faces new challenges. Her life seems carefully planned – she has a successful job, a lovely daughter, and a friendly co-parenting relationship with her ex-husband, Leo. Despite her success, she feels a deep emptiness that makes her hesitant to celebrate this achievement.
Princess goes to her mother’s house in the countryside when her best friend Tumi insists on throwing a big party. Tumi moves the whole party to a new location where a storm keeps everyone inside. Among the guests are Leo and his new love Nelly, who is Tumi’s “situationship” partner Sabelo’s sister. Being close together brings out many hidden issues: Nelly’s pregnancy, ongoing conflicts, and old grudges revealed through sharp toasts and thrown cakes.
Each character must confront their definitions of happiness and fulfillment as the weekend becomes a crucible of emotional reckonings. Princess might find a new start with Mawethu, the chef whose presence offers a different view on happiness, thanks to the carefully staged confrontations that the film uses to explore the delicate balance between past attachments and future possibilities.
Portraits of Midlife Turbulence: A Character Study
The “Happiness Is” ensemble cast presents a kaleidoscope of middle-aged worries resembling romantic relationships. Princess represents a common situation for many successful women in their forties. They seem accomplished on the outside, but inside, they often wonder if they feel whole.
Her character journey is less about finding love and more about her struggle to control her life as it goes in unexpected directions. Her experience of denial, anger, and finally acceptance is dramatic, like a soap opera, but it also shows the real fear of feeling unimportant that comes with big birthdays.
Tumi acts as a catalyst and a mirror, with her own “situationship” with Sabelo reflecting deeper wounds from previous mistakes. Her obsession with planning Princess’s party hides her failure to deal with emotional vulnerability. Leo is more than just a normal ex-husband. His journey through overcoming addiction and growing as a father adds depth to his character, making him more interesting than he could have been. Princess is forced to confront the reality of his moved-on life by his relationship with Nelly, which causes the ideal storm of problems.
The supporting characters do more than just help move the story along. Timing and readiness issues are raised throughout the narrative due to Nelly’s pregnancy. Sabelo’s sincere search for love contrasts with the princess’s trip, while Tumi is unsure, suggesting that people can approach the same emotional challenges differently. Mawethu, initially introduced as Princess’s possible new love interest, presents more of a catalyst for her introspection than a solution to her problems.
The interactions between these characters weave a complex web of motivations and conflicts. Each relationship serves as a funhouse mirror reflection of the others, distorting and highlighting different aspects of the same fundamental questions about happiness, fulfillment, and the courage to accept change. Their dynamics show how past experiences affect middle-aged relationships, creating a dance of attraction and, fear, desire, and hesitation.
The Elusive Nature of Happiness at Forty
Through the lens of approaching middle age, “Happiness Is” examines the changing meaning of contentment, though it occasionally veers off course. Happiness is portrayed in the film as a dynamic concept that changes with age, suggesting that what makes someone happy at thirty might not feel satisfying at forty.
The narrative explores the difference between external achievement and internal fulfillment through the Princess’s reluctance to celebrate her milestone birthday, and it raises the question of whether traditional measures of success represent happiness.
Although the film manages to address real concerns about aging and relevance, its treatment of self-discovery relies heavily on forced confrontations and manufactured drama. The princess’s journey from fighting against things to accepting them is common, but it raises important questions about what society expects from women nearing forty. According to the narrative, happiness is coming to terms with life’s flaws rather than a goal.
The film looks at how our past experiences affect our decisions today. Relationships can be both a barrier and a path to contentment. Beyond just romantic fulfillment, the concept of love has expanded to include issues like compatibility and timing. The story examines how emotional baggage affects relationship dynamics well into middle age through Tumi’s fear of commitment and Princess’s fight to let go of her ex-husband.
Friendship is a complicated part of the story; it can be both helpful and overwhelming. This duality is best illustrated by Tumi’s insistence on throwing the party despite Princess’s wishes; it’s a show of love that almost crosses the line. This complexity stretches to the support systems around each character, highlighting how community can help and hinder personal growth.
The film explores acceptance more nuancedly than its romantic elements, suggesting that real happiness comes from accepting life’s imperfections rather than striving for perfection. Through its interconnected character arcs, the narrative presents personal growth as an ongoing negotiation between desire and reality, ambition and reality.
Visual Splendor Masks Narrative Shortcomings
With its immaculate cinematography and emphasis on aesthetics over emotional authenticity, “Happiness Is” presents a visually polished picture of upper-middle-class South African life. The film uses beautiful images, especially of the mother’s house and the countryside. These places are not just backgrounds; they represent important settings where the characters’ inner battles unfold, set against beautiful landscapes and well-designed rooms.
The production design creates an impressive world of wealth and elegance, but sometimes, this shiny look makes it harder to connect with the story’s more personal moments. Every scene, from the beautifully presented food to the stylish outfits, is carefully planned to look great on Instagram, creating a gap between the characters’ unkempt emotional landscape and their immaculately kept environment.
The film has trouble keeping the story moving throughout its length. While scene changes frequently favor visual appeal over emotional coherence, the characters’ forced confinement due to the storm seems more like a convenient plot device than an organic development. The dialogue shifts between real talks and ones that explain character motivations too directly instead of showing them naturally.
With confrontations and statements timed for maximum dramatic effect rather than psychological truth, the emotional progression follows a predictable path. The film’s gorgeous framing and lighting are examples of its technical prowess. Still, these elements can sometimes distract from the real story, creating a glossy sheen that distances viewers from the characters’ real problems.
A Glossy Window into South African Affluence
Focusing solely on the country’s upper-middle-class elite, “Happiness Is” presents a highly edited slice of modern South African life. The film takes place in Johannesburg and examines wealth and success from an urban African perspective. However, it often feels more like a travel ad than a genuine look at the culture.
The move to the countryside introduces a compelling urban-rural dynamic, but this difference is mostly just a pretty backdrop for drama rather than a deep look at the social geography of South Africa. The characters live in a world of art galleries, fancy homes, and extravagant parties. Although this reflects a real social group in South Africa, it doesn’t give much understanding of the wider cultural issues.
Characters’ concerns focus on relationship drama and personal fulfillment rather than engaging in larger societal issues as social dynamics unfold within a narrow band of privilege. While the film captures its chosen setting well, it presents a somewhat sanitized view of South African life, where class differences are largely ignored in favor of more universal themes like love and self-realization.
Threading Romance Through Cultural Crossroads
“Happiness Is” stands out in romantic dramas by adding unique South African elements to common themes in the genre. The film follows well-worn paths of self-discovery and romantic entanglements. Still, its setting in Johannesburg’s affluent circles provides a new viewpoint on universal love, romance, and fulfillment themes.
The story’s emotional core connects with universal feelings about aging and achievement across cultures. However, the best parts of the film come when it lets its South African background shape the narrative rather than just adding to it. Princess’s story highlights a time in South Africa after apartheid when many people who were once treated unfairly were now able to seek their happiness.
The film continues to influence people by showing African wealth and success as normal, even though it sometimes skips a more detailed look at culture to reach a wider audience. Though this balancing act sometimes dilutes both elements, it places itself as a bridge between local storytelling and international romantic drama conventions.
The Review
Happiness Is
"Happiness Is" provides a polished look at middle-aged romance that, despite its predictable plot twists, provides real insights into the challenges of achieving contentment. Strong performances and careful character development lift the film above typical romantic fare despite the film's polished aesthetics and narrow social focus, occasionally undermining its emotional authenticity. Even though its cultural elements are mostly superficial, the South African setting offers a novel background. The result is interesting, if sometimes superficial, as it reflects on love, aging, and finding oneself in modern Africa.
PROS
- Strong performances from the lead cast
- Visually stunning cinematography
- Polished production values
CONS
- Predictable plot progression
- Superficial treatment of cultural elements
- Over-reliance on manufactured drama
