A Sobering Look at The American Dream Gone Bad in John Goshorn’s THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH
Inspired by its director’s own experience with prolonged unemployment during the 2008 economic crisis and filmed on location using only available light, by a cast and crew who all equally co-own it. The Multicom Entertainment Group-released feature The Happiest Place on Earth is now available digitally, starting with Amazon Prime and Amazon Instant Video.
The Happiest Place on Earth tracks a young couple as they navigate the economic downturn while holding onto their dreams of a home and family of their own. When Jonah, recently fired from his newspaper job, goes mysteriously missing, his wife Maggie has to weigh the hopes of his return against impending financial breakdown. The anxiety of the following days threatens to tip her over the edge, yet she hopes any moment could provide the answer to the puzzle of what happened to her husband.
The film’s festival run included official selections by the Cinequest Film Festival, the Orlando Film Festival, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, and the Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival, among others. In addition to various festival award nominations, it was nominated for Maverick Movie Awards for Director, Lead Actress, Cinematography, and Editing.
Cinequest programming director Michael Rabehl calls the film a “moody, thrilling piece of art … with the heart of a Steinbeck novel and the striking visuals and mood of a John Cassavetes film.” Barry Sandler, screenwriter and producer of Making Love and Crimes of Passion, calls it “a compelling, noir-ish mystery … I was haunted by it.” Various online reviews have described the film as “filled with a palpable, yet often understated, air of anxiety and anticipation” and “a bleak and sobering look at The American Dream gone bad, and how precarious our lives are within the society we’ve created.”
More information can be found at happiestplacemovie.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/happiestplacemovie, and on IMDb.
BIO: John Goshorn was born and raised in a rural Virginia town an hour from the nearest movie theater. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Multimedia Film and Production at Georgia Southern University, having previously taught cinema studies, screenwriting, and film production at Full Sail University and the University of Central Florida. Goshorn holds a Bachelor of Science in Media Arts and Design from James Madison University, a Master of Fine Arts in Film from the University of Central Florida and a professional acting certificate in the Sanford Meisner technique from Truthful Acting Studios.
