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Movie Overview
Cast
Sally Hawkins
Sally Hawkins
Eddie Marsan
Director
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
MPAA Rating
R - for language
Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
REVIEWS
NEWS
INTERVIEWS
OTHER
(1 - 34) of 34
OFCS Rating: 91% Fresh
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4.5/5
"Like anyone given over to giggling more than griping, Poppy - and as an indirect result,
Happy-Go-Lucky
- slowly becomes addictive."
PopMatters
Bill Gibron
"'Enormous crowd-pleaser' and 'directed by Mike Leigh' were not phrases this critic ever thought he would be putting together in the same sentence, but Leigh's
Happy-Go-Lucky
is exactly that."
european-films.net
Boyd van Hoeij
"Watching Mike Leigh's sublimely fresh
Happy-Go-Lucky
, you could be forgiven for wondering what the rest of humanity is so depressed about, anyway."
PopMatters
Chris Barsanti
4/5
"There are no house-call abortionists or down-on-their-luck families who only find hope in the next pint, just a chipper Finsbury Park bird who always looks at the brighter side"
Filmcritic.com
Chris Cabin
C
"Director Mike Leigh creates an air-headed vision of inner contentment in the guise of 30-year-old British primary school teacher and student driver Poppy (played by Sally Hawkins)."
ColeSmithey.com
Cole Smithey
2/4
"The scenes between Poppy (Sally Hawkins) and driving-instructor Scott (Eddie Marsan) have real bite."
rec.arts.movies.reviews
David N. Butterworth
3/4
"...a slightly uneven yet thoroughly engaging slice-of-life effort from writer/director Mike Leigh."
Reel Film Reviews
David Nusair
B+
"An upbeat seriocomedy about an ever-smiling eternal optimist."
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Dennis Schwartz
2/4
"Cute but inconsequential, pleasant to a degree but so willowy that it hardly seems to exist at all."
DustinPutman.com
Dustin Putman
3/4
"This gangly brunette is bananas, and the music on the soundtrack is perfectly in sync with her kooky mode of social expression, so that she suggests Mary Pickford as well as Polly Jean Harvey."
Slant Magazine
Ed Gonzalez
B+
"She is charming and funny, and her blithe, carefree spirit actually comes across as a legitimate way of dealing with life -- or, at the very least, as being better than some of the alternatives."
EricDSnider.com
Eric D. Snider
"Leigh's most visually beautiful picture since
Topsy-Turvy, Happy-Go-Lucky
is all about the clashing and connecting of such emotional biospheres."
CinePassion
Fernando F. Croce
2.5/4
"Roguishly insightful and quietly riveting,
Happy-Go-Lucky
is innocuously entertaining in its free-wheeling spirit...methodically merry-minded and meaningful..."
Movie Eye
Frank Ochieng
B+
"A wonderfully life-affirming tale of a woman who always looks on the bright side of things...[which avoids] either comic caricature or teary treacle."
One Guy's Opinion
Frank Swietek
5/5
"One of the best portraits of an enthusiastic person ever put on the screen."
Spirituality and Practice
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
3/4
"The buoyant tone of Leigh's latest, Happy-Go-Lucky, is such an unexpected and welcome change-of-pace. For his part, Leigh is just as grumpy as ever, but he has produced a motion picture that can best be described as optimistic."
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
3.5/4
"Sally Hawkins' enchanting performance is yet another example that Leigh's trademark technique is working."
Palo Alto Weekly
Jeanne Aufmuth
8/10
"Almost like viewing a nature documentary. I could imagine David Attenborough's voice: 'See here this woman whose way of positively viewing life can grate on those around her.'"
Window to the Movies
Jeffrey Chen
52/100
"In the end, Hawkins' vivid characterization alone justifies Happy-Go-Lucky. The hamfistedness of the script sadly undermines what probably should have registered as a towering performance."
MovieMartyr.com
Jeremy Heilman
3.5/5
"se taksideyei me aksiozileyti anesi kai finetsa, se mia eidylliaka fantasiaki ensarkosi tis endedeigmenis antidrasis ki antistasis toy anthropoy, apenanti sta mayra synnefa tis Morntor poy skepazoyn ti zoi toy"
Movies for the Masses
Joseph Proimakis
"There are times during
Happy-Go-Lucky
where Poppy is entirely endearing and others where she comes off as the bubbliest of emotional terrorists, but Leigh never emphasizes one facet as paramount over another."
UGO
Keith Uhlich
3.75/5
"WWPD%u2014What Would Poppy Do?"
Film-Forward.com
Kent Turner
2.5/5
"While Sally Hawkins turns out an award-worthy performance as Poppy, I quickly became bored with her life and all the turmoil surrounding it."
7M Pictures
Kevin Carr
A
"This is writer/director Mike Leigh's best film since 1993's "Naked" and, in a sense, its photo negative twin - female centric as opposed to male, light vs. dark, optimistic vs. nihilistic..."
Reeling Reviews
Laura Clifford
7/10
"Mike Leigh seems to have had a great time writing about this woman who uses her sunny attitude as armor against life and more surprisingly finds that it works for her."
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Mark R. Leeper
"I want to believe in someone like [Poppy]. I want to believe life can be approached from such an uncompromisingly joyous perspective."
Flick Filosopher
MaryAnn Johanson
B+
"[Leigh's] legitimately uplifting film benefits from its own refusal to unduly sentimentalize or moralize."
Lessons of Darkness
Nick Schager
5/5
"One of the best films of 2008 and one of the finest films to date from a man commonly regarded as one of the world's greatest filmmakers."
eFilmCritic.com
Peter Sobczynski
4/5
"Very funny and, despite the lack of a central plot, finds surprising truth in its characters."
Shadows on the Wall
Rich Cline
B
"Stop the presses! A favorable portrayal of a happy person in a movie!"
Laramie Movie Scope
Robert Roten
10/10
"In this bleak economic climate, are you looking for a glass that's half-full instead of half-empty? Here's a lighthearted, life-affirming comedy to be thankful for."
SSG Syndicate
Susan Granger
10/10
"Leigh finally discovers the entire other half of human experience that he's always ignored, and in the process directs his best film since
Secrets & Lies
."
Antagony & Ecstasy
Tim Brayton
3/4
"Fresh, spunky and well acted. Sally Hawkins is enchanting and the rest of the cast is enjoyable."
Oscar Guy
Wesley Lovell
"Click here to see review"
Wolf Entertainment Guide
William Wolf
(1 - 34) of 34
OFCS Rating: 91% Fresh
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