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Summary: A look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her. (imdb)
"Happy-Go-Lucky" is a very enjoyable film, that also contains an underlying message about the consequences of being happy. I had a great time. Sally Hawkings, but also Eddie Marsan, Sylvestra Le Touzel and Stanley Townsend deliver amazing comedic (?) performances. The film is certainly happy-go-lucky and a joy to behold, but I just wish the excellent Mike Leigh had explored some hidden, more "serious" themes of his film with more intensity.
The leading characters are all interesting and multi-dimensional but there is not much in the way of story development and being entirely character-driven the character development needs to be more dramatic or radical. Inoffensive but not one of Mike Leigh's best films.
A very cute little film, this sweet British sort-of-romance was, at the same time, surprisingly real. Hawkins is irresistible, bubbly and a little naive and yet compassionate and charming. Not really classifiable as a drama, romance, or comedy, this film is a little of each, creating a wonderfully uplifting mix.
Poppy is one of the more interesting characters to come along in quite some time, as Leigh shows his willingness and ability to focus on simple goodness. Few films even attempt this, preferring to wallow in the darkness of the human condition, but Poppy, while a bit too peppy for my taste, takes an optimistic view without ignoring the harsh realities of life. Leigh's film reminds us that while we cannot control our circumstances, we can control our response to them.
The film is well shot and the script is all those things it wants to be: quirky, serious, odd, nice, weird, good, normal... Acting is great, but movie has a serious problem. It's: quirky, serious, odd, nice, weird, good, normal. And never really good. Just average. No point. Maybe I was expecting too much after the really great Vera Drake. Still, it's watchable.
Brilliant. Perfectly imperfect and Mike Leigh knows it. A masterclass in humble, accessible, disarming filmmaking. -- it's so satisfying scoring a film higher than the PSI.