What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968)

Film Overview
"What's So Bad About Feeling Good?" is a 1968 American funny motion picture directed by George Seaton. The movie is a brilliantly colored satire filled with 1960s counterculture and pop art referrals. It stars George Peppard as Pete, a disillusioned artist, and Mary Tyler Moore as Liz, his girlfriend. The film offers comic commentary on the contagion of joy, societal standards, and human resistance to good feelings.

Plot Summary
Pete and Liz live in a junk-filled loft in Manhattan with a group of disenfranchised beatniks disenchanted by society. Pete's life takes a turn when a magical bird flies into their loft. This bird, left from a zoo, carries a special and safe infection 'Virus of Happiness.' The bird's peck brings about transmittable joy that totally changes Pete's nature. He cleans his loft, shaves, gowns sharp, and instead of his usual grumpy self, ends up being congenially pleasant.

Infection Outbreak
News about this bird rapidly spreads out, and the health department and FBI quickly get included. As people interact with Pete, the infection spreads, making everybody pleasant, energetic, and idyllic. The city is changed into a location of pleasure, friendliness, and happiness, unlike the previous mournful and grumpy state. Panic occurs as authorities attempt to control the spread of joy, misconstruing the favorable modifications it brings.

The Satirical Spin
The movie mocks the rigidity and severity of the adult world, showing the authorities' unwillingness to accept this wave of happiness. The media likewise hypes the 'Happiness Epidemic,' causing distress among individuals. The satire on public reaction to pandemics, the government response, and the hesitation to accept happiness stay pertinent.

Pete and Liz's Love
Liz refuses to get bitten by the bird, withstanding the change to guarantee her love for Pete is genuine and not affected by the virus. However, seeing Pete battle with society's response to his happiness and the city going back to its glum state after the bird leaves, Liz enables herself to be bitten. The movie ends with Liz and Pete becoming the last happy people, continuing to spread pleasure in a world that is doubtful of happiness.

Conclusion
"What's So Bad About Feeling Good?" provides a whimsical and insightful commentary on how society may reject and resist happiness if it arrived in an unconventional method. It slams the bureaucratic bureaucracy, media manipulation, and the stoic adherence to social norms over individual joy, overflowing with sharp, satirical humor that helps balance the underlying approach. The blossoming romance between Liz and Pete and their mission to spread out joy forms the warm heart of this non-traditional tale. The movie recommends that joy is contagious and difficulties viewers to reassess societal perceptions of delight and positivity.

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