When Muriel, an unhappy young woman, goes missing, her worried sister Amelia desperately searches the Internet for a clue to her sibling's whereabouts.

[3] The critics consensus reads, "Happy Here and Now has a rich setting and some interesting ideas, but the story frustratingly refuses to spark to life.

"[4] The review conceded, "somehow, in the midst of all of these discontinuities and missed connections, Almereyda, miraculously, answers both of his questions, and shapes a cast of characters worthy of the emotional resolution granted them.

"[4] Jason Buchanan of AllMovie gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and described it as "an obscure and disturbing study in the nature of avatars in the age of technological isolation.

"[2] Jeremiah Kipp of Slant Magazine reviewed the film positively, writing "What might seem like a cold and remote, entirely theoretical, and abstract intellectual exercise is given fresh life, even poetry, by the cityscape in which the tale is set: New Orleans.