‘Happily’ marries murder, rom-com
“Happily” counts as a very ironic title considering the body count. But its originality for Joel McHale is why it was irresistible.
“I really got into this,” McHale, 50, said of writer-director BenDavid Grabinski’s script, “because the jumping off point was a married couple that had been together 14 years and were having sex three times a day! And they didn’t think there was anything unusual about that.
“And their friends hated them for it. I had never seen that in Hollywood — where a committed couple for multiple years is still wild about each other. It kind of sounds like the beginning of some sort of Lifetime movie.”
“Happily” has McHale’s Tom and his wife Janet (Kerry Bishé) join their friends (Natalie Morales, Breckin Meyer, Natalie Zea) for a weekend vacation rental at a high-end mansion.
“It’s really crazy,” McHale (“Community,” “The Happytime Murders”) acknowledged. “You have one of the funniest casts I’ve ever been a part of and it starts off kind of like a romantic comedy. Then turns into a murder mystery perhaps and then somewhat science fiction. So I don’t think you can really just go with one thing.”
As for what “Happily” is really about, “Well, I think ultimately — and this is gonna sound so cheesy,” he answered, “but it’s about love.”
Which is something McHale knows intimately — he’s been married to Sarah Williams. They have two sons. “It’s 25 years this July.
“I’m from Seattle,” he added. “I know people are just amazed that you’re still together and you live in Hollywood. I’m like, the divorce rate is the same in Seattle.
“So yeah, it’s funny, it’s all the (expletive) relationships in Hollywood that get 100% of the coverage. You never go like, ‘Hey, Kevin Bacon’s marriage to Kyra Sedgwick is still going great!’ You never see articles like that.
“I mean I still look at my wife and I’m like, Wow! This person has agreed to live with me and she likes me and we get to sleep in the same bed together.
“I still have those feelings and thoughts so I can’t thank her enough for putting up with me.”
Because he spends half the movie in and out of bed with Bishé, McHale wanted Sarah to know.
“I tell her about every script. She knew what I was getting into here and it’s one of those things where if she didn’t like it, I wasn’t gonna do it.
“So that’s why,” he added, smiling, “I married the coolest person on the planet.”
“Happily” is in theaters, digital and on demand Friday.