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Happy-Go-Lucky
Miramax Films (Disney)


5.8

based on 34 reviews
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based on 50 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for language

Starring Sally Hawkins, Alexis Zegerman, Andrea Riseborough, Samuel Roukin, Sinead Matthews, Kate O'Flynn, Sarah Niles, and Eddie Marsan

Just how hard is it to be happy? Poppy is an irrepressibly free-spirited school teacher who brings an infectious laugh and an unsinkable sense of optimism to every situation she encounters, offering us a touching, truthful and deeply life-affirming exploration of one of the most mysterious and often the most elusive of all human qualities: happiness. Poppy's ability to maintain her perspective is tested as the story begins and her commuter bike is stolen. However, she enthusiastically signs up for driving lessons with Scott, who turns out to be her nemesis – a fuming, uptight cynic. As the tension of their weekly lessons builds, Poppy encounters even more challenges to her positive state of mind: a fiery flamenco instructor, her bitter pregnant sister, a troubled homeless man and a young bully in her class, not to mention that she has also thrown out her back. How this affects not only Poppy's world view but also the outlook of those around her begs the question "glass half full or half empty"? (Miramax)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Mike Leigh
DIRECTED BY:	Mike Leigh
RELEASE DATE:	Theatrical: October 10, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	118 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

I thought "Topsy-Turvy" was perfection, a spirited evocation of the partnership of Gilbert and Sullivan, plus a blithely definitive depiction of the artistic process. Happy-Go-Lucky is perfection too, assuming you go along with its leisurely pace, which I did quite happily.

100

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Leigh and his actors work mysterious magic in Happy-Go-Lucky. This is a movie about hitting the groove of everyday life and, nearly miraculously, getting music out of it.

100

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

The personal triumphs in Happy-Go-Lucky may be small-scale but its embrace is all-encompassing. It's a wonderfully humane movie.

100

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

As refreshing as it is to find a movie that leaves you smiling, it's something much rarer to discover a film that makes you think about what a commitment to happiness really means.

100

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Won't break your heart -- it will make it soar.

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This is Mike Leigh's funniest film since "Life Is Sweet" (1991). Of course he hasn't ever made a completely funny film, and Happy-Go-Lucky has scenes that are not funny, not at all.

100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

British director Mike Leigh has made the first great comedy for our new depression.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The London universe Leigh creates (employing his trademark improv techniques to unite his ensemble, many of whom make their film debuts) isn't so much a reality as a hope, and an invitation to find joy and grace in everyday moments.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Mr. Leigh has never been an artist for whom happy (word or idea) has been an easy fit. Life is sweet, as the title of another of his films puts it with a heart-swelling yes, but it’s also an eternal fight against doom and gloom, the soul-crushing no.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Leigh pushes the story in a more interesting direction, asking whether people find happiness or simply will it on themselves.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

For all of its laughs and a star-making performance by Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky represents a serious philosophical inquiry by Leigh, who has illustrated a consistently pessimistic view of humankind in his semi-improvised movies.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

There’s something of the harlequin in Leigh’s conception of this bright, manic young woman.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Happy-Go-Lucky isn't one of Leigh's epic social canvases like "Secrets & Lies" or even "Topsy-Turvy"; rather, it's an edgy character study whose message only gradually emerges.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Stays with you like great movies tend to do. It asks you to examine the inner mechanisms of human beings, cheerful and miserable alike. It's not about looking at a glass half empty or a glass half full. It's about drinking down what's in that glass and letting it fill your soul.

Premiere Jenni Miller

Sally Hawkins offers an Oscar-worthy performance as Poppy, the funny, kind-hearted, and mischievous protagonist.

TV Guide Nathan Southern

The picture as a whole benefits not merely from the excellent performances, but from its warm emotional core and its infectious love of people, topped off by a mature (though not jaded) sobriety about human limitations that thoroughly validates everything preceding it.

USA Today Claudia Puig

It is that rare film that is equal parts entertaining, life-affirming and thought-provoking.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

No list of the year's best performances should be made without her (Sally Hawkins).

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

Typically, Leigh withholds his own judgment as to whether Hawkins is a delight or a terror. But he does create a noticeable tension between the audience's expectations and the way the story plays out.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

As is always the case with Leigh's protagonists, Poppy does not fit into a schematic log line, she simply is. She exists with an intensity that few other filmmakers' characters can manage because of the singular way Leigh creates his people.

NPR Bob Mondello

So relentlessly upbeat that it won't take long before you're wondering just how the director plans to wipe the smile off her face.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Leigh has been giving actors their tongues for decades, and of all his films, Happy-Go-Lucky is the easiest, the least labored.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

It's a powerful argument for optimism.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

The key to enjoying the film is warming up to the heroine, Poppy.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

While any or all of the events related during the course of the film might seem to form the backbone of an unendurably boring motion picture, everything comes alive because of Poppy.

The Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett

As surprising as it is delicious with an indelible performance by new star Sally Hawkins.

Variety Alissa Simon

Mike Leigh's mellowest work yet, and his most purely entertaining.

The New Yorker David Denby

The movie is not an argument for chaos; it's an argument for making one's way through life with a relaxed will and an open heart.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

At the very least, the spectacle of Poppy's devotion and desire, not to mention her all-around sunny disposish, left this viewer feeling unaccountably happy--at least for the moment.

Time Richard Schickel

The results are unique in the contemporary cinema -- behavioral honesty and intensity raised to a flash point. If this be comedy, it is so only in the nominal sense that no one dies at the end of the picture.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

While it's being sold as "an effervescent comedy," Happy-Go-Lucky is nothing of the sort. It's rather grim, the laughs are few.

Slate Dana Stevens

The trouble is that the movie in which Poppy does, in fact, exist never quite rises to her level.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Is it possible to enjoy the company of the world's most irritating woman? Mike Leigh's surprisingly sunny dramedy makes a pretty good case that, in fact, it is.

Austin Chronicle Josh Rosenblatt

That's the film's problem: Leigh's creation is fixed and unchangeable, admirably optimistic as a person but completely unengaging as a movie character.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.8 (out of 10) based on 50 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Lin Lamb gave it a7:
This is one of those odd movies you might find yourself liking better a couple of days later than you did while watching it. (While watching it, you sometimes want to wring Poppy's scrawny little neck.) Later, you recall Poppy's verve and loyalty and determination to persevere in a crappy world, and you really wish her the best. At times, the actors' improvising is all too obvious, as when the misanthropic driving instructor's rants go on and on and on. Great acting by Hawkins, so different from our glam and airbrushed U.S. starlets.

Frank C gave it a1:
Affectation is not acting. The film is one long reaction shot focused on Poppy, and Hawkins's attempt at portraying happiness falls flat; her breathy, fake laughs grate and her voice prickles. Huge disappointment.

Ross W gave it a3:
This is an extremely bad movie, made seemingly worse by the misleading critical reception. Neither the favorable reviews nor the trailers share what you're really getting from this film: a showcase for a better-than-average David Brent (UK's The Office) impersonation from Sally Hawkins. We left halfway through and skimmed through the rest after downloading it at home. Just terrible. Make sure your evening has a backup plan if you leave the house to see this one.

Happy-Go-Lucky Storm gave it a2:
After seeing that this film received a rating of "universal acclaim," I expected it would be a buoyant tonic to the holidays. But no, it's a long, aggravating affair, with an inane and irritating main character and the equally irritating and vapid people who comprise her circle of friends, relatives, and professional (?) associates. Poppy dresses like a cheap hooker and has the depth of a three year old. We are supposed to love her for her cockeyed optimism, but she comes across as an optimistic idiot who wanders into seriously dangerous neighborhoods for no apparent reason, bounces on a trampoline, lives in chaos, and has a double-digit IQ at best.

Daniel R gave it a9:
A delightful, charming little movie. Hawkins' performance is miraculous. How this movie can't make you happy is beyond me.

Bob E. gave it a9:
A brilliant film. Sally, who at first seems silly and gullible, later proves to have solved many of the subtle problems connected with being happy, e.g. what to do with disappointment, loss of her bike to a thief, and surly folks who turn aside her innocent friendly gestures with anger. The real test is her wrathful driving instructor: exquisitely well-portrayed. Sally Hawkin's is so gentle with him! But his pain is so deep she can't reach him. And here we come to the essence of the story: She must choose to put some limits to her compassion - and move on with her life. That she does this with such grace is a marvelous piece of acting. She is a fascinating character. There is a great deal for a Buddhist to think about in Happy-Go-Lucky. Please see this film.

Joseph gave it a10:
Glad to see that this film got several Golden Globe nominations. Can't believe some of the scores and comments about this film. I guess most people are so used to being spoon fed the story and plot that when they actually have to think it is beyond them. Well, at least the Golden Globes got it right!!!

Happy-Go-Lucky Miramax Films (Disney)

Happy-Go-Lucky
Miramax Films (Disney)