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Happy-Go-Lucky

Happy-Go-Lucky

Comedy · Drama · 2008

A look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.

Movie details

Happy-Go-Lucky

“The one movie this fall that will put a smile on your face.”

2008 Comedy · Drama 1h 58m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.0 / 10

41.4K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

93 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

84 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

A look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Happy-Go-Lucky?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Mike Leigh

Written by

Mike Leigh

Sally Hawkins

Sally Hawkins

Poppy Cross

Eddie Marsan

Eddie Marsan

Scott

Alexis Zegerman

Alexis Zegerman

Zoe

Sylvestra Le Touzel

Sylvestra Le Touzel

Heather

Stanley Townsend

Stanley Townsend

Tramp

Kate O'Flynn

Kate O'Flynn

Suzy

Caroline Martin

Caroline Martin

Helen

Court is in session

Put Happy-Go-Lucky on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.