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Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 151
Fresh: 140 | Rotten: 11

Mike Leigh's latest partially-improvised film is a light-hearted comedy with moments that bite, and features a brilliant star turn by Sally Hawkins.

Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 34
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 1

Mike Leigh's latest partially-improvised film is a light-hearted comedy with moments that bite, and features a brilliant star turn by Sally Hawkins.

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Movie Info

Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan star in director Mike Leigh's seriocomedy concerning an eternally optimistic teacher living and working in North London. Thirty-year-old teacher Poppy (Hawkins) always has a smile on her face, and does her best to brighten the days of those around her by making small talk and cracking jokes. For the past ten years, Poppy has lived with her best friend, Zoe (Alexis Zegerman), a fellow teacher whose wry outlook on life serves as the perfect counterbalance to Poppy's

R, 1 hr. 58 min.

Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

Directed By: Mike Leigh

Written By: Mike Leigh

In Theaters: Oct 10, 2008 Wide

On DVD: Mar 10, 2009

Box Office:$3.5M

Miramax Films

Happy-Go-Lucky Trailer & Photos

More Photos (8)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Happy-Go-Lucky

All Critics (152) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (147) | Rotten (11) | DVD (13)

Hawkins wears her grin in almost every scene, but she gives us hints that this dizzy 30-year-old is deep, as are the disappointments that might have caused Poppy to don this mask. It's a performance of sustained, childlike wonder and adult wit.

November 13, 2008 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel

| Comment

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Top Critic

I've never used this clich� in a review before, and God forbid I ever use it again, so pay close attention: Happy-Go-Lucky is the feel-good movie of the year.

October 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle

| Comment

Amy Biancolli

Houston Chronicle

Top Critic

Sally Hawkins, in a blinding, Oscar-worthy piece of acting so good you barely see it, plays Poppy, a perpetually upbeat elementary schoolteacher in London.

October 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Detroit News

| Comment

Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

Leigh pushes the story in a more interesting direction, asking whether people find happiness or simply will it on themselves.

October 30, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

The new Mike Leigh film, Happy-Go-Lucky, is a real pleasure, and besides being Leigh's most buoyantly comic feature it's a marvelous showcase for Sally Hawkins, who has worked twice before with the British writer-director.

October 24, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune

| Comment

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

Sally Hawkins been in movies before, including Leigh's "Vera Drake" and Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream," but this is her star-making role. She was named best actress at Berlin 2008. I will deliberately employ a cliche: She is a joy to behold.

October 23, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

You just want to protect her, from the world, from everything, but really she's much stronger than you are.

August 15, 2011 Full Review Source: East Bay Express

| Comment

Kelly Vance

East Bay Express

If you leave the theater feeling uplifted (and unless your heart is made of cold gray concrete, you will), it wasn't due to manipulation, but a result of the film having honestly earned it.

June 12, 2010 Full Review Source: DCist

| Comments (3)

Ian Buckwalter

DCist

Leigh's most visually beautiful picture since Topsy-Turvy, Happy-Go-Lucky is all about the clashing and connecting of such emotional biospheres.

August 26, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion

| Comment

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

An anti-miserablist film. A lark, but one with Mike Leigh's signature well-defined characters.

April 21, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Habit

| Comment

Marty Mapes

Movie Habit

While Sally Hawkins turns out an award-worthy performance as Poppy, I quickly became bored with her life and all the turmoil surrounding it.

April 18, 2009 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures

| Comment

Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

There are three extras on the disc, including an excellent full-length audio commentary by writer/ director Mike Leigh.

March 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Brian Webster

Apollo Guide

Few actors could have pulled off this role successfully, as it requires great energy, charisma and depth to make Poppy credible and so much more than first impressions.

March 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Brian Webster

Apollo Guide

It doesn't matter whether one really 'likes' Poppy, only that they recognize in her the proactive application of joy as a weapon -- as well as something that keeps her in a state of arrested development.

March 20, 2009 Full Review Source: Shared Darkness

| Comment

Brent Simon

Shared Darkness

Sally Hawkins is a comic revelation, an impish, endlessly charming sprite...

March 19, 2009 Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com

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Brandon Fibbs

BrandonFibbs.com

England's addlepated answer to Amelie!

March 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Sly Fox

| Comment

Kam Williams

Sly Fox

A character tour-de-force for Sally Hawkins, but also a great vehicle for Eddie Marsan as the driving instructor who turns out to be her nemesis.

March 14, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

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James Plath

Movie Metropolis

England's addlepated answer to Amelie!

March 13, 2009 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze

| Comment

Kam Williams

NewsBlaze

A bit lean on the extras (some deleted scenes would have be nice), but Hawkins and Marsen's performances still make this Happy-Go-Lucky DVD worth every penny, don't they?

March 11, 2009 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

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Sal Cinquemani

Slant Magazine

Fresh, spunky and well acted. Sally Hawkins is enchanting and the rest of the cast is enjoyable.

March 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy

| Comment

Wesley Lovell

Oscar Guy

An unusually cheery movie from veteran British writer-director Mike Leigh; one of the ten best films of 2008

February 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Orange County and Long Beach Blade

| Comment

Fr. Chris Carpenter

Orange County and Long Beach Blade

Happy-Go-Lucky is flibbertigibbet cinema. Mike Leigh directed Sally Hawkins in this paean to a peahen. Mike Leigh, let me introduce you to Fran Drescher, Kathy Griffin, and Nancy Grace. They're your kind of women.

February 16, 2009 Full Review Source: tonymacklin.net

| Comments (4)

Tony Macklin

tonymacklin.net

Like anyone given over to giggling more than griping, Poppy - and as an indirect result, Happy-Go-Lucky - slowly becomes addictive.

January 30, 2009 Full Review Source: PopMatters

| Comment

Bill Gibron

PopMatters

Initially, the new Mike Leigh film, "Happy-Go-Lucky," is so overbearing, it's a turn-off. But b the end of it, you might be calling it "Up with Poppy."

January 25, 2009 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine)

| Comment (1)

Christopher Smith

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Happy-Go-Lucky

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An engaging character study about a woman blessed with a sunny disposition. It is a rare occasion that you see a protagonist who's care-free nature isn't looked down upon. Her naivety a source of contempt. Poppy the protagonist is in many ways the antithesis of a protagonist in a Sam Mendes film. She isn't cynical,

February 13, 2012

Reid Volk

Super Reviewer

This cheeky comedy about a female teacher who enjoys looking on the bright side of life feels a bit like the British reply to France's Amelie. That mostly goes for the way our main character lives her own life entirely to her own rules and enjoys every minute of it. The way this film follows its protagonist through her

March 11, 2010

Jens S.

Super Reviewer

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