History Film / ShortcutToHappiness

* HornyDevil: Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt plays a sexy devil who seals her deals with her marks by sleeping with them.

* AbsoluteCleavage: The night the Devil buys Jabez Stone's soul, she is wearing a LittleBlackDress with an ''extremely'' plunging neckline: all revealed by SexyCoatFlashing.

* HotAsHell: The Devil is played by Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt and first appears to Jabez Stone wearing a LittleBlackDress with AbsoluteCleavage: all revealed by SexyCoatFlashing. And she seals [[DealWithTheDevil the bargain for his soul]] by sleeping with him.

* LittleBlackDress: When the Devil turns up to buy Jabez Stone's soul--a deal that is sealed by the two of them having sex--she is wearing a little back dress with AbsoluteCleavage, which she reveals to him via SexyCoatFlashing.

* SexyCoatFlashing: While making her deal with Stone, the Devil strips off her orange leather trenchcoat to reveal a LittleBlackDress with AbsoluteCleavage underneath.

In Manhattan, ambitious writer Jabez Stone (Baldwin) is a complete loser. He is not able to sell his novels, he lives in an awful apartment and he does not have success with women. When one of his friends, Julius Jensen (Creator/DanAykroyd), sells his novel for one hundred ninety thousand dollars to an editor, Jabez feels envious and promises to sell his soul to the devil for success and accidentally kills a woman with his typewriter. The devil (Love Hewitt) knocks on his door, fixes the situation, and seals a contract with Jabez. His low-quality novels have bad reviews but become best-sellers; Jabez enriches; has success with women, but has no time for his friends. Jabez meets with publisher Daniel Webster (Hopkins) who offers him a chance to break the contract with the devil.

* VomitIndiscretionShot: Mike visits Stone to tell him that he is dying of cancer. However, before he gets a chance to do so, he throws up over Stone's coffee table and carpet. Stone still doesn't figure out what's going on until after Mike angrily storms out. It is this event that triggers Stone's HeelRealization

''Shortcut to Happiness'' is a 2007 film adaptation of the Creator/StephenVincentBenet classic short story ''Literature/TheDevilAndDanielWebster''. It stars Creator/AlecBaldwin, Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt and Creator/AnthonyHopkins. Baldwin also directed the film.

In Manhattan, ambitious writer Jabez Stone (Baldwin) is a complete loser. He is not able to sell his novels, he lives in an awful apartment and he does not have success with women. When one of his friends, Julius Jensen (Creator/DanAykroyd), sells his novel for one hundred ninety thousand dollars to an editor, Jabez feels envious and promises to sell his soul to the devil for success and accidentally kills a woman with his typewriter. The devil (Love Hewitt) knocks on his door, fixes the situation, and seals a contract with Jabez. His low quality novels have bad reviews but become best-sellers; Jabez enriches; has success with women, but has no time for his friends. Jabez meets with publisher Daniel Webster (Hopkins) who offers him a chance to break the contract with the devil.

* GoingCommando[=/=]VaporWear: The Devil reacts angrily to Stone's scar survey, and rolls out of bed naked, pulls on her trenchcoat and storms out of the apartment with nothing on underneath it.
* GreenEyedMonster: Jabez Stone is jealous of the success his friend Julius Jensen is having: having just signed a three book deal for a huge amount of money. At the end of an extreme HumiliationConga, he yells to the sky that he would sell his soul to trade places with Julius Jensen. Then there is a crack of thunder and a knock on the door...
* HeelRealization: Mike visits Stone to tell him something important, but never quite manages to get it out because they keep being interrupted by Stone's entourage. Thinking his friend needs money, Stone offers him cash. Mike get angry and storms out. It is only then that Stone puts the clues together and realizes that Mike was trying to tell him he was dying, and that he has just blown off his dying best friend in favour a photo shoot for ''Architectural Digest''. It's further hammered home when Kee tells him "the light's gone" (referring to the photo shoot). Stone realizes that the light '''is''' gone from his life and he has become a horrible person. He starts trying to put things right before his 10 years are up and [[DealWithTheDevil the Devil comes to collect on her deal]].

* HumiliationConga: In the space of one day, Jabez Stone loses his job (for being nice to a customer); has his manuscript rejected by his idol Daniel Webster; learns his best friend has just signed a three book deal with a lucrative advance that will increase with each subsequent book; discovers he is broke due to a spiteful act of his {{Jerkass}} brother; is mugged by a gang that severely beats him and steals the laptop containing the only copy of the manuscript for his novel; tries writing on an his old electric typewriter only for it to break; and finally he [[ApplianceDefenestration flings the typewriter through his window]] where it hits an old woman in the head and kills her. Small wonder he [[DealWithTheDevil accepts the Devil's offer to buy his soul]].
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Early in the movie, Mike tends to cough every time he lights up a cigarette. This leads to a RunningGag between him and Stone, as every time he does this, Stone sarcastically tells him to "have another cigarette". Eventually, after a particular bad coughing fit, Stone takes the cigarette out of his mouth and throws it away. The viewer later learns that this was the moment when Mike quit smoking. However, the coughing is an early symptom of the lung cancer that eventually kills him.

* MadnessMantra: After learning that his friend Julius has been given a $190,000 advance for his next novel, and then being mugged and having his laptop (which comtains the manuscript for his own novel) stolen, Stone breaks down, hauls his old electric typewriter out of the closet and starts typing 'ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS' over and over again on a sheet of paper. Then the typewriter breaks and he resorts to ApplianceDefenestration.

* StoryWithinAStory: The film opens with an extract from Jabez Stone's novel, alternating between his typing and the secene being acted out. (It's possible the title of the novel may be [[MetafictionalTitle ''Shortcut to Happiness'']], but this is never conclusively established.)

* VomitIndiscretionShot: Mike visit's Stone to tell him that he is dying of cancer. However, before he gets a chance to do so, he throws up over Stone's coffee table and carpet. Stone still doesn't figure out what's going on until after Mike angrily storms out. It is this event that triggers Stone's HeelRealization

* DramaticThunder: When, during a fit of pique, Jabex Stone decalres that he would sell his soul to trade places with Julius Jensen, there is a single bolt of lightning from a clear sky and a dramatic crack of thunder.

* AlanSmithee: Creator/AlecBaldwin used the name Harry Kirkpatrick as both director and producer was finally released in 2007 (six years after the film was made, due to legal issues over the production) and featuring extensive recuts against his wishes.