After Ever Happy (released in some countries as After Ever After and After Forever) is a 2022 American romantic drama film directed by Castille Landon from a screenplay by Sharon Soboil, based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Anna Todd. It is the sequel to After We Fell (2021) and the fourth installment in the After film series. The film stars Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes Tiffin reprising their roles as Tessa Young and Hardin Scott, respectively.[2]
The film was shot back-to-back in Bulgaria in 2020 with its predecessor, After We Fell.
After Ever Happy was released in Italy on August 22, 2022, in Europe from August 24, 2022, and was released in the United States on September 7, by Voltage Pictures.[3] It was followed by the final installment in the series, After Everything, in 2023.[4]
Plot
A couple of hours after Christian Vance reveals to Hardin he is Hardin's biological father, Hardin returns to his mother's wedding reception with Tessa, where he confronts her about the deception. Vance tries to explain himself, but Hardin storms off with a bottle of whiskey.
That evening, Tessa finds a drunk Hardin breaking into Trish's house and setting the place on fire. He realizes his mistake and tries to put the fire out, to no avail, but Vance arrives and sneaks him out the back to Vance's car as the fire department arrives. Hardin wakes up the next morning and Tessa tells him Vance told the police he had set the fire himself. They drive to a hill where they have sex.
Tessa and Hardin return to their hotel where she confides in Kimberley, Vance's fiancée, about her problems dealing with Hardin's anger issues before discovering he has left the hotel. Tessa tracks him down to a party where she finds him drunk and high. She offers him a chance to leave with her, but he declines and she returns to the US.
Upon returning to her apartment, Tessa finds her father, dead from an apparent overdose. Landon calls Hardin dozens of times to let him know before he finally picks up. He returns to Tessa and tries to comfort her, but she hides from him. Hardin argues with her mom, Carol, about whether he's good for Tessa and how he always abandons her.
Still, Hardin, along with Landon, attends Richard's funeral to support Tessa. They go to a dinner hosted by Hardin's dad, Ken, and Landon's mom, Karen, along with Landon and his friend, Nora, to say farewell to Landon as he moves to NYC for school, where Nora also lives.
After dinner, Tessa brings Hardin outside to talk. She tells him they need time apart to heal from their recent family traumas and she's decided to leave Vance Publishing to move to New York with Landon. Hardin is hurt by the bombshell and nearly hits Landon out of rage for not telling him, but Landon reminds him he is also Tessa's friend as much as Hardin is his brother. Tessa gives Hardin an ultimatum that if he loves her, he'll not follow her to NYC and let them have their time apart, to which he reluctantly agrees.
Tessa moves in with Landon and starts working with Nora at a fancy restaurant and Hardin starts going to AA and graduates from university. Months later, Hardin comes to NYC for work and Landon offers to host him.
Tessa takes double shifts to avoid Hardin, but Landon and Hardin come to her restaurant and request her as their server. Hardin stays until she's off work and they talk about how they've been; Hardin's sobriety and Tessa waiting to get accepted into NYU. Over the next couple of days, they spend time together, slowly reconnecting, during which Landon finally starts a romantic relationship with Nora, much to Hardin and Tessa's happiness.
One night when Landon is at Nora's, Tessa and Hardin give in and have sex again. The next morning after Hardin leaves, Tessa finds a book in his bag, titled "After", documenting their entire relationship. When he returns, she confronts him about the book, not wanting her life to be published for everyone to read about, but Hardin tells her there's already a bidding war for the book. He had read his journal during therapy and a publisher ended up reading it and everything escalated since. Tessa declares that their relationship is officially over.
Sometime later, Hardin's book has been named a New York Times Best Seller. With not many friends at school and Landon having basically moved in with Nora, Tessa reaches out to Robert, Nora's friend, for company. That night, Tessa sneaks into Hardin's book signing without him knowing so she can listen in. She misinterprets a look between Hardin and a woman and as Tessa leaves, Hardin catches a glimpse of her.
In September 2020, a feature film adaptation of After Ever Happy was announced to be in development. Developed at the same time as After We Fell, the films were announced to be directed by Castille Landon with Sharon Soboil serving as a screenwriter. Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin were confirmed to reprise their roles as Tessa Young and Hardin Scott, respectively.[5][6]
Photography took place in Bulgaria and wrapped production in December 2020. Landon stated that the novel series' realistic analysis of love, drew her to join the production, stating that her intent while directing the projects was to show that "romance isn't always beautiful".[8] During production, the cast worked closely together and stayed in a hotel in a more isolated manner, while cameras weren't rolling, due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and protocols.[9]
Release
The film was released in Europe from August 22, 2022,[10] and was later released in the United States on September 7, 2022, with Voltage Pictures another distribution companies.[11]
In August 2022, it was announced that production had commenced on a secret sequel to After Ever Happy. Despite having not much revealed, it was stated that principal photography had recently wrapped and that the official title is After Everything. Langford and Fiennes Tiffin are reprising their roles as Tessa Young and Hardin Scott, respectively. It is intended to be the fifth film in the series.[13][14][15][16]
Another sequel and prequel were in development in 2021.[17] In 2023, Voltage Pictures said that After Everything is the fifth and final chapter of the franchise.
