Snap judgment: Mika's 'Happy Ending' video
Sep 20, 2007, 10:00 AM | by Kate Ward
Categories: Music
I love Mika. I love him like I love a bowl of Half Baked after a long day. If his songs came in a pint of Ben & Jerry's, I would eat them. Seriously.
But just as I love my Half Baked, I love my Mika sweet and sugary. So when I found out he released a video for "Happy Ending" — a track off Life in Cartoon Motion that I neglected to purchase because it wasn't "happy" enough for me, ironically — my expectations for a lively and colorful video were minimal.
But boy, was I wrong. In what is probably his most psychedelic video yet, Mika delivers a mesmerizing dream sequence that carries the singer through his roof and above the Earth while he solemnly sings about "no hope, no love, no glory." And though what seems to be a sober song about being dumped translates into an inspired and imaginative video, I can't seem to get over what happens about 1:53 through, when the hands appear. Doing its best Labyrinth impression, the last half of "Happy Ending" shows Mika surrounded by dozens of disembodied hands — a sequence that I find much more creepy than dreamy. Pair that scene with the first one, where the singer floats against a backdrop of animated room decor (where wallpaper plays its biggest role since Garden State), and you've got a music video that officially elevates Mika's usual sugar high to an acid trip.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Did you find the video to be a great work of artistry, or just downright disturbing? And were you expecting orange puppets to show up and start rolling heads as much as I was?
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