Review of Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) by Melissa A — 25 Apr 2010

Poppy is an eternal optimist with a smile on her face and always laughing. She loves her job as an elementary school and there is nothing that can get her down in life, not even when her favourite bicycle is suddenly stolen. Knowing that without a bike, she must learn how to drive, Poppy enrolls in a driving course. However, her new instructor Scott is anything but what Poppy could have imagined as he has explosive outbursts in the car every time they meet. As their lessons continue, the constant negativity is wearing thin and Poppy realizes that Scott may be her biggest challenge yet.

I liked the story at first, but then it just became scattered. I couldnâ??t get over how irritating Poppyâ??s character was and that thought grew stronger by the minute. Any of the serious topics that arose in the film seemed to be handled carelessly. The one exception would be the driving scenes which packed a powerful punch, but the rest of the movie had only fleeting moments of substance, mainly because of the supporting characters. In the end, I was left with anything but a happy-go-lucky feeling.