Last weekend, a couple of hours before Happy-Go-Lucky premiered on Channel 4 we watched the same movie on DVD, having bought it a few weeks earlier. It’s the 3rd Mike Leigh-directed feature I’ve seen, after Abigail’s Party (1977) and Topsy-Turvy (1999), both of which were excellent. I was disappointed by Happy-Go-Lucky then, as I expected something more. Sally Hawkins is excellent as the lead, Poppy, but her irrepressibly happy-go-lucky attitude begins to grate over the course of 2 hours. Initially endearing and cute, I soon became tired of her irritating persona, especially since any semblance of plot failed to materialise.
The supporting cast were more interesting, as they were allowed more than one side to their characters. I particularly liked Poppy’s flatmate, and her irate driving instructor. Some of the situations Poppy found herself in, such as attending a flamenco class, or visiting her pregnant sister, raised smiles, but they didn’t go anywhere and there was little that could be described as laugh out loud comedy, as the DVD box promised. Andrew was laughing out loud, but I clearly wasn’t in on the jokes!
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