A Million Happy Nows Movie Review

『The Weight of Memory Faced with Love and Devotion — Two Women Holding onto Their Happy Present』

🎥 Film Overview

🎬 Title: A Million Happy Nows (2017)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 USA
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Romance / Independent Film
🗓️ Production & Release: Perfect Features, 2017
⏳ Runtime: Approximately 90 minutes
📢 Director: Steve Paley
🖋️ Screenplay: Teresa Hodge
📺 Platform: Amazon Prime Video, Vimeo On Demand, etc.

👩‍💼 Cast: Crystal Chappell as Lainey Allen
Jessica Leccia as Eva Morales

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

💃 The Diva and Her Protector

Lainey and Eva have been partners since the early stages of their careers — Lainey as a daytime soap star, and Eva as her publicist.

• Lainey (The Diva / Central Figure): She is a woman of fame and glamour — self-centered at times and emotionally guarded. Though extroverted in public, she often displays a ‘diva-like’ temperament in private.
• Eva (The Devoted Caregiver): Eva serves as Lainey’s steadfast anchor — a “safe haven in the storm.” Publicly, she manages Lainey’s career, and privately, she supports Lainey’s emotional instability with quiet strength and deep affection.

Together for over a decade, the two have formed a profound bond that blurs the lines between love and codependence.

🧠 The Turning Point — Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

When Lainey is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, their relationship undergoes a fundamental transformation. Eva’s role shifts from lover to full-time caregiver.

• The first challenge they face is the loss of identity. As Lainey begins to forget her lines, she loses her sense of self as an actress and vents her frustration at Eva. Eva, in turn, must confront the fragmented “self” of the woman she loves — mourning the Lainey she once knew while caring for the one before her.

• This leads to a profound reversal of roles. Once fiercely independent, Lainey becomes increasingly dependent, terrified of losing control over her own mind. Eva, once her equal partner, must now become Lainey’s guardian and caretaker, sacrificing her own personal life and emotional needs to provide constant support.

• This shift isolates Eva in a space of lonely caregiving. As Lainey hides her condition from the public, Eva bears the burden alone — protecting Lainey from external scrutiny while silently battling her own despair. Torn between love and exhaustion, Eva endures the painful erosion of their shared life. Ultimately, their bond evolves from romantic partnership into the most profound form of devotion that transcends mortality itself.

💖 Love in the Present and the Transcendence of Memory

The film focuses on how love endures even within the tragic reality of cognitive decline.

• The Meaning of “A Million Happy Nows”: Rather than clinging to past memories or dreading future loss, Lainey and Eva choose to live each moment as a “Happy Now.” Eva documents their shared days so that Lainey can remember, while Lainey occasionally slips into her old soap-opera persona “Vivian,” creating both heartbreaking and unexpectedly humorous moments.
• Humor and Composure: Despite its heavy subject matter, the film finds levity and joy. Whether bouncing on a trampoline or sharing jokes in daily life, the couple’s ability to find laughter amid despair underscores that they have not yet lost their joy of living.
• Ultimate Devotion: In the film’s final act, when Lainey has moved into a care facility, Eva visits her — and Lainey, unable to recognize her, still finds herself instinctively drawn to Eva’s warmth and beauty. Their interaction suggests that their emotional and instinctive connection endures beyond memory, a testament to love’s persistence even when identity fades.

More than a lesbian romance, Lainey and Eva’s story serves as a universal and deeply human portrayal of how love transforms, endures, and ultimately defines us in the face of life’s most devastating trials.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★★