There is no such thing as a Shortcut to Happiness (2007).  You might also be surprised by how true of a statement that almost was.  Upon doing a little research, it appears that the film was plagued by a myriad of problems, which eventually led to scrutiny from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).  It was meant to be Alec Baldwin’s directorial debut, but because of these issues, he removed his name and there is a pseudonym in its place.  Yet, the movie does exist, unless I have been hallucinating for the past hour and a half.  That, too, tracks with the content.  I am not one for conspiracy theories, but I suspect one of the reasons for its lack of success is because of its reliance on a Judeo-Christian conception of good versus evil.  As a practicing Catholic, I have no problem with such conceptions and thus enjoyed it more than did the critics.  I hope you will feel the same after reading this review.

Speaking of reading, Shortcut to Happiness starts with struggling writer Jabez “Bez” Stone (Alec Baldwin narrating the end of his newly completed novel.  We see it played out, too, with a little boy being blaming his new bike for an injury that happens to his best friend, and wanting to get rid of it so as to make everything return to normal.  It is the concluding scene in his tome, and he is prepared to send it to big time publisher Daniel Webster (Anthony Hopkins).  He announces this over the phone to his friend and fellow author, Julius Jensen (Dan Aykroyd), who has had a little more success than Bez.  The planned meeting with Daniel that Bez claims to have is a fabrication, but Bez goes to Daniel’s office anyway, giving a false name that happens to be on the guest list, and miraculously gaining access to the owner’s office.  Bez feels strongly about his work.  While Daniel has heard it all and receives hundreds of submissions, Bez claims his manuscript will stand out by sheer dint of his passion.  Daniel calmly, but firmly, tells Bez to go home and pen something better.  Bez is not exactly discouraged by this, telling his other writer friends that it is more of an invitation.  Meanwhile, Julius announces that he has just gotten a large advance on his own book, and a contract for a couple more.  This is all confirmed by Daniel’s editor-in-chief, Constance Hurry (Kim Cattrall).  Bez is shocked by the development, but happy for Julius.  However, it is just one more sign of bad luck for him.  Earlier, he had been fired from his job at an upscale clothing retailer for being too nice to an elderly customer.  Then, on the way home from hearing about Julius’ big news, he is mugged.  In the attack, Bez’s laptop containing his manuscript is stolen.  Looking at his battered reflection in the mirror, he remarks that he would sell his soul to be successful.  Next, he starts keying words on a typewriter, only for it to break.  Now angered, he flings it out the window, only for it to land on an old woman, killing her.  As the emergency develops, there is a knock at his door.  Though he does not immediately recognize her for who she actually is, it is the devil (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who has come calling.  She proves her identity by magically fixing the broken window out of which the typewriter was flung, and reviving the woman he inadvertently struck.  Still, with some trepidation and questions as to what will happen to him, he agrees sell his soul to her in exchange for ten years of fame and fortune, a contract sealed with a kiss.  This is the first of many direct Biblical references, but I digress.  They end up sleeping with one another, but in the morning, it is he who has the major publishing deal, not Julius.  In working with Constance, she connives to make some changes to the prose against Bez’s better judgement, one of which is using the title to Julius’ book but changing the order of the words.  Julius confronts Bez about this at the book’s opening, but is cut off by the devil, in speech and in action when she arranges for Julius to be killed by being hit with a taxi.  From here, Bez continues to enrich himself with Constance’s cynical guidance, it taking more of his time away from him than he would like.  This is most felt by the writer’s friends with whom he used to consort.  The distance that has come between he and them is brought to the fore when one of those one-time close associates, Mike Weiss (Barry Miller), tries to set up a time to talk to his old companion about an important topic.  Bez forgets about the agreed upon rendezvous and is surprised when Mike shows up.  The exchange gets heated and Mike leaves before saying the reason for his arrival.  Not long thereafter, another member of that circle, Molly Gilchrest (Amy Poehler), calls to inform Bez that Mike has died of cancer.  Instead of attending the funeral, Bez goes to an award’s show where he talks about Mike’s memory and how he feels like a fraud.  Afterwards, he goes outside to shout to the world that he wants out of the contract he made with the devil, and she appears at that moment to laugh at him.  Rather, he turns to Daniel, who has her tail hanging on the wall of his office, something he had seen there in his first meeting.  Hence, Daniel knows much about the situation Bez is facing.  Daniel’s solution is a trial, something he has seemingly done a number of times.  Facing a jury of famous authors, and with Julius as the judge and Mike the star witness, Daniel argues that Bez is a good man that had been duped.  Ultimately, the jury finds in Bez’s favor and we are brought back to the beginning of the film.

Given that Bez had been in a battle for his soul in Shortcut to Happiness, you can imagine why a Catholic film reviewer would be interested in such a film.  There are lots of good things it has to say on this matter, but the most revealing bit is when Bez admits to not being aware of his soul’s value.  This can be said of any of us, no matter the quality of our character, when we sin.  If we knew not just how much our immortality was worth not just to ourselves but to God, sinning would be out of the question.  Anything that leads us away from an eternity with Him is worthless.  There is an interesting ancillary argument to this notion brought up by Daniel during the trial.  He posits that it is good to have such stark reminders like the devil as to the threat evil poses in the world.  Her rebuttal, though, might be one of the most honest descriptions of modern culture I have heard or seen.  She claims that people go to her because they believe that God has not given them enough to function in this world.  For example, if you were to judge Bez’s life solely on the one day that leads to him making the deal with the devil, you would conclude he does not have what it takes to achieve his goals.  However, God sees the whole, as we should also strive to do.  To this end, one moment I glossed over is when Bez gets fired from the clothing store.  The reason for the dismissal is basically because he treated an older customer with charity.  As his boss lectures him, he buys the tie the old man had been eying to purchase.  Further, his first act upon suddenly having riches is to tip a delivery person a $100 bill.  Finally, it takes living a life of luxury to know how empty it can be.  Remarkably, this initial person he turns to in order to fix the situation is the devil.  Yet, what all this underscores is that we do not know what we really need or want.  The cliché is that money cannot buy you happiness.  Rather, based on what we see here, it should read that you cannot have happiness without God.  It may be an indirect route to Him, but Bez gets to where he is by turning away from evil, the opposite of God.

The opposite of God can be considered the devil, though I wish Shortcut to Happiness further explored this idea.  There are also some strange choices in it in terms of the technical aspects of filming.  Otherwise, I think this is a good movie to watch to be reminded that God is enough by Himself, and that anything we get is an incredible blessing.