Happy, Happy (2010)

Wonderful Movie

Really Surprised!

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Well, I'll try to elude subjective views as I lived in Sweden - I know this movie takes place in Norway, but anyone whom has lived in either of these countries would say that they are very similar culturally speaking.So, the main character is Kaja, a young, vivid women living with her husband and son in a remote place. Everything seems to be perfectly normal, in appearance... until a young couple coming from the city moves in next door.And then, the "faithful heterosexual family" norm is all falling apart, everybody is trying to get attention from the wrong person and it results VERY funny and critical regarding the so-called egalitarianism of Scandinavian countries.I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to have a laugh and open its mind.

HAPPY,HAPPY (dir. Anne Sewitsky) The film is an off-beat examination of two failing marriages in a very isolated, wintry, and picturesque area of Norway. An urban professional couple have fled the city with their adopted African son, and they are trying to reestablish their marriage after the wife's infidelity. Their new neighbors are another couple with a young boy, and the husband is a repressed homosexual, and his wife is in denial. This leads to an illicit sexual affair, and the the film documents the couples' dramatic realignment. Several times during the film a 'Greek Chorus' of singers interrupt the drama with Country- Western inflected Negro Spirituals, and both genres are singularly American, and this made me wonder about the director's attitude towards Americans. Is the director asking Norwegian audiences to view the universal problem of sexual infidelity through American eyes? The songs seemed to be selected to suggest 'lost love' or 'longing' which reinforce a major theme of the film, and reminded me of Lindsay Anderson's surrealistic film, O LUCKY MAN, in which Alan Price's combo provided random musical commentary. Another strange or unusual aspect in the film is the treatment of 'Race'. The African child is asked to play a slave by the other young boy. This is rather inexplicable, yet it might be an attempt to demonstrate the child's confusion over his father's sexual identity. This is a thought provoking and strikingly original film, and I highly recommend it.

Very minimalistic view of scenery, an extremely low budget movie (at least it wasn't shot using a digital camera like TV movies). The actors play well, but everyone is down-toned like they are affected by the weather, and the only 2 times they show emotion is after a sex scene (running outside while snowing almost naked) and while a fight between the two men (awkard and disorienting fight scene by the way). Other than that, it is a bland drama mixed with drops of comedy (black) a spit of racism, an understatement of men trying to hide their homosexuality by making a family, some affairs made for revenge or from lack of affection that came from the fact a couple can't have their own kid... Boring most of the way, some interesting (yet forgettable) moments of clarity, and a boy chore band every now and then, just to highlight key spots in the movie, trying to make us smile (not laugh). Bland movie that I will forget in less than a week... Could be better, could be worse... Avoid if you are sleepy, or having something better to watch or do... You will not lose your time, but you will not gain anything either... It is better than seeing commercials, or a soap opera, but that's about it... Nothing special, nothing good or bad... :P

Sykt Lykkelig (in English translated to "Happy Happy") is a black comedy where a couple with an adopted kid move to a very rural part of Norway in the winter, after a decision from the husband. She has had an affair. They are overly welcomed by the main character Kaja, which is helplessly stupid when it comes to deal with her own problems, having been a girl with a troubled parent-less background. That seems also to be the reason she has married a high school boyfriend which obviously is the wrong match for her. These two couples, living in two neighboring houses soon is to ruin what is left to mess up in the new relationships. "Sykt lykkelig" is the debut of director Anne Sewitsky, well played by all actors. The film is chosen to attend Sundance Festival 2011, where it's likely to get praise due to it's oddness. It resembles some of the awkward moments in Sundance-acclaimed Little Miss Sunshine, though this film has less charm and is a much blacker comedy.A lot of comedy's love to give you awkward moments, though they often tend to be severely over-done. In Sykt Lykkelig the awkward moments pile up so that you hate it, while wanting to laugh. Funny? yes! But with a severe undertone. The film is light hearted, but is so often seriously meant, so it actually is a little problem for the viewer. I found myself mostly the only one laughing in the theater seeing it, in a crowd surprisingly mainly male, whilst the trailer seem to tell us this is more of a woman's movie.The film is advertised as a comedy about adultery, cottage cheese, blow jobs and elk-meat. Not a very good tag-line, if you ask me. I, however, choose to see the film as a black comedy taking up the problems of adultery, homosexuality, racism, love, loneliness, marriage-problems as well as the lack of understanding between men and women.A male gospel quartet gives us both the deeper thoughts, as well as giving an uplifting feeling when the characters in the movie pile up problems along the line. Thank God this is film. In the end the film gives hope, but loses track in it's own try of giving credibility. Even though this film gives mixed feelings, I can't help see some great acting here, as well as an interesting director. It has been a difficult film to act for the six persons. A kind of understatement humor, with a very black edge, giving a need for serious touch all the way. Sykt Lykkelig is a different film, and a film for those who'd like to be a fly on the wall, or a Peeping Tom.