‘Happy Face’ Premiere Fails to Make Dennis Quaid a Believable Villain

“There’s a real element of fun playing a villain — because it’s delicious.” Of all the Hollywood names you could surmise saying such a thing, Dennis Quaid was probably not the one you were thinking of. Starting his career 50 years ago, the American actor tended to find success in the drama and comedy genres. Such titles like 1998’s The Parent Trap and 2002’s The Rookie prove this to be true. But just like all the others who found themselves the least bit typecasted, he wasn’t satisfied with himself. He wanted to try something outside the box and be great at it.

Horror was something that Dennis Quaid would sporadically step into — but these acting experiments had awful results. 2009’s Pandorum flopped at the box office and 2019’s The Intruder failed more on a critical level. In a new true crime drama on Paramount+ called Happy Face, Quaid steps into the shoes of Keith Hunter Jesperson, a real-life serial killer from the early 1990s. Does this show finally create a rewarding space for the actor in the violent villain category? Or is it just another amateurish attempt?

‘Happy Face’ Has a Lot of Potential

Happy Face

3
/5

Release Date

March 20, 2025

Network

Paramount+

Directors

Michael Showalter

Read Our Review

Clocking in at about one hour each, the first two episodes of Happy Face premiered on March 20 to average reactions. While the series primarily revolves around Melissa, the daughter of the infamous murderer (played by Annaleigh Ashford), and how she balances life with a monstrous parent, Quaid’s Jesperson haunts audiences from inside the prison. The first episode, titled “The Confession,” explores the fact that Jesperson killed one other person not on the known victims list and also explores who knows/doesn’t know that Keith is Melissa’s dad.

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“Killing Shame” then shows how Jesperson has put innocent lives on death row and also how this dynamic changes Melissa’s perspective on the public knowing her connection to the case. Let’s be clear about something, though. While Ashford, James Wolk (The Crazy Ones), Tamera Tomakili (Fruitvale Station), and the rest of the cast are just fine in their roles, Dennis Quaid is the anchor of this show that everyone came to see. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t carry the gravitas of a serial killer onto the small screen. He comes across as more like a petty thief who doesn’t understand the trouble he’s in.

Is Dennis Quaid Believable in ‘Happy Face’?

This may all very well be a case of Happy Face slowly building up its most vile character. The behind-the-scenes team may want the audience to feel comfortable around Quaid’s character to get the shock of their lives later on. That would surely be the best course of action, seeing how the father/daughter history is being played up. But, as of right now, the suspense and trepidation are just not there, which is evident from the first 20 minutes. The first mistake was introducing the audience to Jesperson through a phone call.

He calls the same TV studio where Melissa works and requests to talk to her in person. Such a scene should be slow and intoxicating in the most terrifying of ways. The camera work should be dragging and methodical. The dialogue should be cautious and short-worded. Most of all, the killer’s presence, even if it’s through a speakerphone, should be slow and calculative. Quaid lets too much casualness show.

Jesperson’s informality was possibly trying to show us how deranged he is, but instead, it comes off as threatless. Even though this gets better when Melissa meets her father in person (in the next two interactions), the levity of the situation is still less than it should be. There is a sense of danger, but Quaid doesn’t know how to push the scene forward into uncharted territory. The facial mannerisms, the crooked smiles, and the wide eyes only take the persona so far. The spectrum of emotions needed to be played around with more.

This True-Crime Series Needs To Bring the Heat

Surprisingly, the second episode only has about a minute of Jesperson — but he’s a bit more comfortable here than the last time around. With a sadistic grin, he’s telling the other inmates (while playing cards outside) that his confession about having a ninth victim is actually saving someone else from getting the death penalty.

He’s in the same type of situation, actually, sitting at a table with people across from him, but the cruel killer aspect that we should all fear comes across a lot smoother. It could be because Quaid is tending to something with his hands, but there is just more of a flow to be had with his depraved nature.

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His words show us that this is a different Jesperson than the one we saw talking to Melissa. This side needs to take over for the audience to actually be intimidated. The overall villainous performance in this very short sequence is something to take note of here. The character’s twisted mentality and the actor’s own delivery luckily merge here in an almost unhinged fashion. The dedication put forth by Quaid to that of a killer’s mind is still in its infancy, but hopefully, this tease of a true Jesperson continues to come through. The overall performance will be better because of it as well. Happy Face is currently streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering every Thursday.

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