Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

Memorable, crazy movie

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The positively optimistic mood in Happy-Go-Lucky is infectious. Sally Hawkins gives a spectacular performance as the bubbly "Poppy" who continues to wear rose-colored glasses despite the drama surrounding her. It may annoy some, and it's a bit slow in parts, but I believe the world would be a better place if we had more people like Poppy in it.

The main character is supposed to be a happy go lucky ray of sunshine, but if you look deeper you will see she is nothing but a nasty bully. She doesn't care who gets hurt as long as she can laugh about it. The Flamenco dancer lets everyone know that dancing is her passion and her life, what does Poppy do? Completely ruin the sessions and leaves her in tears. Marsan is an introverted chap whose only achievement is being a good driving instructor. Poppy by refusing to listen to him causes numerous problems and manages to ruin the one thing he is good at. Happy go LuckY? No a nasty little bully who cares for no one around her.

I'm not very good at reviewing movies like these, because they defy description by the usual methods. There isn't a definite plot, but there really is one. It's a comedy and a drama and an unnamed genre of film that has elements of both and none of those. It seems almost pointless at first, but it ends up being meaningful and captivating. Half the time I was bored and wanted to and watch something else, and the other half of the time I couldn't have been torn away. That's probably one of the biggest changes in opinion that I've ever had during the course of one film.I loved the latter half, but I thought the first half of the film was dangerously close to boring. In the beginning, Poppy seems to be happy and optimistic to the point of annoyance, like an overly frisky puppy that won't leave you alone when you've had a hard day at work. Oh, but give Mike Leigh and Sally Hawkins a little more time to work their magic. As the movie goes on, she stops being a caricature and becomes a living, breathing, wonderful person. The kind of person that adds so much more to the world than she takes away. Poppy made me examine myself, to see how optimistic and good-natured I really am. Nothing keeps her down for long, and even when her good intentions don't quite go the way she plans, she manages to make good decisions and do what's best for others. Poppy will go down in history as one of the most likable characters ever written.Sally Hawkins handles the role brilliantly. Similar to Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, there just is never a sense that she's acting. It all seems so natural. She's so authentically dorky and kind and silly that I almost wish that I knew a person exactly like her. It took me a while to warm up to Happy-Go-Lucky's particular charms, but I'm so happy that I gave myself the opportunity to. This movie is most certainly not for everyone, but I know that there's a good chance that anyone with an open mind will love it.

Primary school teacher Poppy is a force of nature; always upbeat and jolly no matter what the world throws at her. In the opening scene she pops into a bookshop and when she returns to where she locker her bike she discovered it has been stolen; whereas most people would have cursed or kicked the railings she just observed that she didn't get to say goodbye to it. Rather than buy a new bike she decides it is time for her to learn to drive; her instructor is her polar opposite; he is uptight and somewhat paranoid…ordering her to lock the door as two black lads cycle past and ranting about CCTV cameras and conspiracy theories. When not taking her weekly driving lessons we see Polly engaging with her flatmate and friends, visiting her sister in Southend and beginning a relationship with a social worker who visited her school to help one of the boys.People looking for a deep plot will be disappointed as there is no plot to speak of; we are merely observing a slice of Poppy's life. To my mind that is no problem as Poppy is such a fun character to watch… although I imagine some viewers will find her perpetual happiness grating. Sally Hawkins does a great job as Poppy and Eddie Marsan balances things nicely as Scott the driving instructor; when he finally snaps his anger feels entirely genuine. The rest of the cast are fine too making the story and characters quite believable. Given Mike Leigh's reputation for making films about people living miserable lives it was a bit of a surprise just how upbeat this film is; there are plenty of laugh out loud moments as even when not laughing I found myself smiling. Overall I found this to be a lot of fun although I suspect this will be loved by some and hated by others with few feeling neutral about it.