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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Happy-Go-Lucky

EMAILPRINTMiramax Films (Disney)

Happy-Go-Lucky reviews
84
8.3 User Score:

Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy  |  Drama

Written by: Mike Leigh

Directed by: Mike Leigh

Release Date:
Theatrical: October 10, 2008
DVD: March 10, 2009

Running Time: 118 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

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)

What The Critics Said

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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100

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

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

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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.

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100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

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

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91

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.

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90

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.

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90

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.

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88

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.

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88

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

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

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88

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.

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88

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.

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88

Premiere Jenni Miller

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

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88

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.

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88

USA Today Claudia Puig

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

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88

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

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

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83

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.

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80

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.

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80

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.

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80

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.

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75

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

It's a powerful argument for optimism.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

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

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75

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.

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70

The Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett

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

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70

Variety Alissa Simon

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

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70

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.

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70

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.

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70

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.

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67

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.

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60

Slate Dana Stevens

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

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60

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.

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40

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.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 212 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Shane C gave it a1:
Learned next to nothing about main character (Polly) over the course of the entire film. After an hour felt more irritated by her than interested or engaged. Scott (psychotic driving instructor) was much more interesting but too little of the plot.

Matthew A gave it a9:
What a charming and funny character study. I went into this film not expecting much, but i got a whole lot more out of it than intended. The leisurely pace may not be for all, but for those who stick with the film may get a lot out of it. Sally Hawkins plays "Poppy" a very friendly and good-spirited girl who interacts with a variety of other characters that can be found in our world. Some of these people who she comes in contact with are the exact opposite of her. This makes for very interesting interactions and funny dialogue. I was reading many of the negative reviews on this film and can understand why those people had a problem with it. They just plain don't like Poppy, and wouldn't like to spend more than an hour in her presence. I found her funny and charming, while others (and this i can understand) find her annoying. However, i feel that her character is undeniably valid, and even though you may not like her character, the audience should be willing to take a step into her shoes. The story is all about Poppy's life, so just be a part of it and SMILE!

Rob C. gave it a9:
I loved this film. A refreshing change from your average Hollywood movie, this one made me think during, and after watching it. Some really interesting stuff in it - I think most people can relate to it.

mike gave it a10:
Very good performances. The man who played scott( Eddie Marsan) was very good. The scene where scott confronted poppy(Sally Hawkins) was so mind numbing.

Fabio P. gave it a2:
One of the most overrated movies i've ever seen. I've rented it after reading so many good reviews by the critics, and i was actually astonished by its emptiness. There basically isn't a story: the film is only made by a bunch of sequences (not always related between each other) where Poppy -quite possibly the most annoying carachter i've ever seen in a movie- just keeps on laughing at people with no reason, blabbling nonsense and telling stupid jokes. There's no laughs, no tears, NOTHING in this movie. I just prayed it could end as quickly as possible, and then i was left with the only desire of punching Poppy on her always-smiling face.

Peter H. gave it a7:
This entertaining film from Mike Leigh is more a portrait than a film, but it still holds up as an entertaining comedy.

Dave W gave it a10:
For once a film that leaves me speechless. The best, most subtly intelligent movie I've seen in at least a year. Don't be fooled by the hype -- I hate sentimentality and forced optimism. That didn't get in the way of my loving this film. Great writing and directing combined with an astonishing cast, especially Sally Hawkins.

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