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(1 - 25) of 25 OFCS Rating: 92% Fresh Page   1   "'Enormous crowd-pleaser' and 'directed by Mike Leigh' were not phrases this critic ever thought he would be putting together in the same sentence, but Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky is exactly that."   european-films.net   Boyd van Hoeij "Watching Mike Leigh's sublimely fresh Happy-Go-Lucky, you could be forgiven for wondering what the rest of humanity is so depressed about, anyway."   PopMatters   Chris Barsanti 4/5 "There are no house-call abortionists or down-on-their-luck families who only find hope in the next pint, just a chipper Finsbury Park bird who always looks at the brighter side"   Filmcritic.com   Chris Cabin C "Director Mike Leigh creates an air-headed vision of inner contentment in the guise of 30-year-old British primary school teacher and student driver Poppy (played by Sally Hawkins)."   ColeSmithey.com   Cole Smithey 3/4 "...a slightly uneven yet thoroughly engaging slice-of-life effort from writer/director Mike Leigh."   Reel Film Reviews   David Nusair 2/4 "Cute but inconsequential, pleasant to a degree but so willowy that it hardly seems to exist at all."   TheMovieBoy.com   Dustin Putman 3/4 "This gangly brunette is bananas, and the music on the soundtrack is perfectly in sync with her kooky mode of social expression, so that she suggests Mary Pickford as well as Polly Jean Harvey."   Slant Magazine   Ed Gonzalez B+ "She is charming and funny, and her blithe, carefree spirit actually comes across as a legitimate way of dealing with life -- or, at the very least, as being better than some of the alternatives."   EricDSnider.com   Eric D. Snider B+ "A wonderfully life-affirming tale of a woman who always looks on the bright side of things...[which avoids] either comic caricature or teary treacle."   One Guy's Opinion   Frank Swietek 5/5 "One of the best portraits of an enthusiastic person ever put on the screen."   Spirituality and Practice   Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat 3/4 "The buoyant tone of Leigh's latest, Happy-Go-Lucky, is such an unexpected and welcome change-of-pace. For his part, Leigh is just as grumpy as ever, but he has produced a motion picture that can best be described as optimistic."   ReelViews   James Berardinelli 3.5/4 "Sally Hawkins' enchanting performance is yet another example that Leigh's trademark technique is working."   Palo Alto Weekly   Jeanne Aufmuth 52/100 "In the end, Hawkins' vivid characterization alone justifies Happy-Go-Lucky. The hamfistedness of the script sadly undermines what probably should have registered as a towering performance."   MovieMartyr.com   Jeremy Heilman 3.5/5 "se taksideyei me aksiozileyti anesi kai finetsa, se mia eidylliaka fantasiaki ensarkosi tis endedeigmenis antidrasis ki antistasis toy anthropoy, apenanti sta mayra synnefa tis Morntor poy skepazoyn ti zoi toy"   Movies for the Masses   Joseph Proimakis "There are times during Happy-Go-Lucky where Poppy is entirely endearing and others where she comes off as the bubbliest of emotional terrorists, but Leigh never emphasizes one facet as paramount over another."   UGO   Keith Uhlich 3.75/5 "WWPD%u2014What Would Poppy Do?"   Film-Forward.com   Kent Turner A "This is writer/director Mike Leigh's best film since 1993's "Naked" and, in a sense, its photo negative twin - female centric as opposed to male, light vs. dark, optimistic vs. nihilistic..."   Reeling Reviews   Laura Clifford "I want to believe in someone like [Poppy]. I want to believe life can be approached from such an uncompromisingly joyous perspective."   Flick Filosopher   MaryAnn Johanson B+ "[Leigh's] legitimately uplifting film benefits from its own refusal to unduly sentimentalize or moralize."   Lessons of Darkness   Nick Schager 5/5 "One of the best films of 2008 and one of the finest films to date from a man commonly regarded as one of the world's greatest filmmakers."   eFilmCritic.com   Peter Sobczynski 4/5 "Very funny and, despite the lack of a central plot, finds surprising truth in its characters."   Shadows on the Wall   Rich Cline "A picture so seemingly light that it might be hours (or even days) before you realize how deep and rich it really is."   Salon.com   Stephanie Zacharek 10/10 "In this bleak economic climate, are you looking for a glass that's half-full instead of half-empty? Here's a lighthearted, life-affirming comedy to be thankful for."   SSG Syndicate   Susan Granger 10/10 "Leigh finally discovers the entire other half of human experience that he's always ignored, and in the process directs his best film since Secrets & Lies."   Antagony & Ecstasy   Tim Brayton "Click here to see review"   Wolf Entertainment Guide   William Wolf  (1 - 25) of 25 OFCS Rating: 92% Fresh Page   1