Andie MacDowell Comedy ‘My Happy Ending’ Acquired By Roadside Attractions

EXCLUSIVE: Roadside Attractions has snapped up North American rights to the comedy My Happy Ending, toplined by four-time Golden Globe nominee Andie MacDowell (Maid). 

The film directed by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon will be released exclusively in theaters nationwide on February 24 — contending on its opening weekend with Uni’s Cocaine Bear, Shout! Studios’ sci-fi dramedy Linoleum, Warner Bros.’ animated title Mummies and Lionsgate’s Jesus Revolution, among other titles.

My Happy Ending follows a famous actor (MacDowell) who goes incognito to seek treatment for a medical issue. While at the hospital, she meets three unique and remarkable women — an aging rocker, a young mother, and a forever-single, retired schoolteacher. Together, they help her face adversity with humor and camaraderie while coaching her for the most challenging role she has ever played…herself. 

Rona Tamir adapted the screenplay for the Israeli/UK co-production, based on the acclaimed Israeli play SOF TOV (Happy End) by Anat Gov. BAFTA winner Miriam Margolyes (The Age of Innocence), Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones franchise), Rakhee Thakrar (Sex Education), Tamsin Greig (Episodes), Tom Cullen (Weekend), Michelle Greenidge (Small Axe) and David Walliams (Little Britain) also star.

The project financed by Media Finance Capital and United King Films was produced with the support of the Israel Cinema Project – The Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts supported by the Israel Ministry of Culture and Sport, The Cultural Administration and The Israel Film Council. Additional funds were awarded by the UK Global Screen Fund – a DCMS fund administered by the BFI.

Talia Kleinhendler & Osnat Handelsman Keren’s Pie Films (The Lost Daughter, Ahed’s Knee) produced alongside Hannah Leader for BBM (Gosford Park) and Daisy Allsop for Archface (Tell It to the Bees). Exec producers included Moshe Edery, Tmira Yardeni, Arik Kneller, Bonnie Timmermann, MFC’s Charles Dorfman and Marlon Vogelgesang, and MacDowell.

“Andie MacDowell is one of the industry’s finest actors,” said Howard Cohen, who serves as Co-President of Roadside Attractions. “We were so impressed with her hugely entertaining, insightful, and moving portrait of a formerly temperamental American movie star having to reconsider everything in her life.”

Producers Kleinhendler, Keren, Leader and Allsop added that they are “thrilled to have Roadside Attractions releasing our film. This has been a true passion project for all of us, and we are delighted that this important story about female friendship and empowerment will be seen in theaters for audiences to experience together.”

Other upcoming films from Roadside include Paul Weitz’s revenge comedy Moving On (March 17), starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin; Ray Romano’s directorial debut Somewhere in Queens (April 21), which has him starring alongside Laurie Metcalf, Jennifer Esposito and Sebastian Maniscalco; and the comedy Fool’s Paradise, marking the feature directorial debut of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day. That film, in which he stars alongside Ken Jeong, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Jason Sudeikis, Edie Falco, Jason Bateman, Common, the late Ray Liotta, John Malkovich and more, is also due for release this year.

Cohen negotiated the deal for My Happy Ending for Roadside Attractions, with WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers. MacDowell is repped by Gersh and RMS Productions.