Wonderful acting, especially by Sally Hawkins. On one level it is a story about a quirky, happy-go-lucky woman who seems to be laughing through life. But on another level you see her taking the things that matter in life - her job, her relationships, very seriously. Leave it to Mike Leigh to teach a lesson painlessly and with style.

This was a delightful movie if you're looking for a chick flick or a date movie. The 2 hours went by pretty quickly. No explosions, no terrorist plots, just a slice of life movie. It revolves around a 30-year old school teacher in London who can find happiness in just every aspect of her life, or least doesn't despair for long when things go awry. You will leave with a smile on your face and stuff to talk about afterwards (just what was the point of the homeless man?). Warning - if you're naturally dour and look for the negative in everything, this movie will frustrate you and might make you want to tear your hair out.

using an annoyingly optimistic lead instead of a dire one the underlying results are the same a person with an egocentric view of the world tries to make others bow to their will

...overwhelmingly summed up the high-caliber of film-making, thematic exploration/analysis, and first-rate performances by talented thespians in Happy-Go-Lucky/HGL - a charming profound British comedy by talented and dedicated director Mike Leigh. HGL revolves around Poppy (a 30-yo primary schoolteacher with a intrinsic GENUINELY sunny cheerful optimistic compassionate good personality) and her interactions with other characters - juxtaposed in situations that challenged her optimistic disposition while providing us with a deeper insight into human behavior and conditions. In the face of adversities, her resilience proved remarkable - revealed that her character as also both thoughtful and complex. Sally Hawkins (Poppy) ought to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. Ultimately, HGL is a study, exploration, and analysis of the elusive human condition - HAPPINESS. VERDICT: HIGHLY-recommended For the discerning cultivated movie-goer, a MUST-SEE. GRADE: Solid A

Bummer!! This was not AT ALL the light and cheery movie I had hoped to see based on movie reviews. I wanted to escape from the worries of the economy and the election, and just have a fun and enjoyable evening. Instead of the cheery and happy movie that reviewers talked about, this was a slice of working class London with a ditzy but loveable main character whose personality doesn't really get developed, and a lot of bizarre and often very troubled people she encounters. Nothing is resolved with all the messed up folks she runs into, and the romantic interest seems lukewarm. I was just very disappointed at how far off this movie was from the way the reviews presented it.