I think most of us know a person who is perpetually happy and optimistic, and so annoyingly so that you resent them for being happy when you're not, and you consciously or unconsciously try to smash their rose-tinted glasses. I would add a "or maybe that's just me" but Happy-Go-Lucky is the story of such a person, and how she affects everyone around her.
Gawd, Poppy's annoying. This is quite the "love it or hate it" movie depending on whether you're more like her or like the angry and negative driving instructor she antagonizes with her cheerfulness. But as long as you can hold down the bile, it can be fascinating to watch her interact with the spectrum of people she encounters, since they all fall at various points between her and the instructor. From tolerant, to accepting, to nonchalant, to envious, they run the gamut and it's pretty easier to associate with one of them.
At first I thought Sally Hawkins' performance was going to be one shrill note throughout the movie, but no, there are fortunately moments of quiet drama too. In any case, I have to admire someone who can act so constantly cheerful without any traces of irony. I find Mike Leigh's movies quite hard to sit through, since they're usually about people and their interactions, and to appreciate the movies you have to strive to understand their people. Patience and understanding are not qualities I have in copious amounts; I generally prefer characters that I automatically empathize with.
This movie is a rare oddity in that it annoyed me and yet it was still a good watch. It's a movie that I would recommend to people but lordy, I don't wanna watch it again.
