Happy Go Lucky

A Happiness Story Movie Review

The movie, Happy Go Lucky, is a great example of how to meet life’s challenges realistically and effectively with a happy and optimistic demeanor. It is one of those movies that comes to mind frequently for days after you have seen it and makes you think about your life and life situations a little differently.

This slice of life drama follows Poppy, a disgustingly happy person, through a bicycle theft and subsequent driving lessons. The cheerful London school teacher experiences physical injuries that keep her from her favorite sport, deals with a student bully, falls in love, and faces down potential violence. Like life itself, sometimes the plot is difficult to follow because the events Poppy deals with seem to come randomly, yet in every situation, Poppy bounces back like a cork in the water.

At first, Happy Go Lucky seems like a study in people’s reactions to constant, full power cheerfulness. Some people ignore her, some get angry or dismiss her as flighty, and some respond with smiles of their own. Then, our attention starts to shift from how others respond to Poppy, to how she responds to them. Poppy treats everyone she meets with respect and compassion. Although kidding and teasing are clearly her preferred way of greeting the world, when Poppy sees someone in genuine pain, her response in sympathetic and kind.

Happy Go Lucky is a happiness story because it gives us a realistic model for dealing with pain and hate and bulling and broken hearts in an effective, respectful, compassionate way. The Dalai Lama talks about the importance of confronting hateful and destructive behavior in a peaceful and compassionate way and Poppy gives us some concrete examples of how to do that.

For example, when the bigoted driving instructor tells her to roll up her window and lock her doors because two, young black men ride by on bicycles, Poppy laughs it off and talks about how good looking the bicycle riders are. Without correcting her instructor, she shows him that these people have value to her and present no threat. She not only does not roll up the windows and lock the doors, but starts to follow them to show him there is nothing to fear. When it is clear that he does not share her view, she drops it and goes where he indicates, but she made her point.

The movies characters are realistic and complex. There is a documentary feel - a chance to see how real people in real situations. It is full of memorable characters, even in small roles, like the flamenco dance instructor who breaks down during class over a failed love. In addition to being full of colorful characters, it is visually colorful with scenes that provide a rich and fascinating background.

Happy Go Lucky is a great example of a happiness story that teaches us how to be happier by vicarious experience of someone who already has it figured out.

Release Date: October 2008, Mirimax Films
Rating: R (for language)
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Samuel Roukin, Karina Fernandez
Stars: 5 of 5

Learn more about how to apply the observations from Happy Go Lucky!

You might also like these movies that model happy behavior:

Happy Go Lucky. A Happiness Story Movie Review

Pursuit of Happyness. A Moving Film About Poverty, Love and Happiness

The Tale of Despereaux. More than a fairytale

Cool Runnings. A true story of the Jamaican Bob Sled Team

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