The Happys

I am trying really hard to comprehend the hate I am seeing on here from some people. I confess: I fully expected this to be a cringy college student's independent film with bad acting and an even worse script. Instead, I was delivered a film clearly written from a place of experience and featuring a carefully selected and completely capable cast - I dare say not a single bad actor among them (some superior to others, but none could be called bad).

How this film could receive anything but love is beyond me. Maybe the naysayers were looking for an Emma Stone romcom with a bunch of goofy faces, pratfalls and a happy ending, but were disappointed to find complicated human characters and real emotions?

It has been a long time since I saw a film that engaged me so completely and made me believe every character and every motivation, no matter how small. It genuinely felt like I was re-living some chapter of my own life - seeing the people I knew and understood, feeling the intimacy and immediacy of each moment, but also stepping back to view it from new, less-biased angles.

This movie will likely appeal most to people who are (as of 2021) in their early 30's-mid 40's. I think, perhaps unintentionally, the film perfectly captured the feeling of being a young, newly independent adult in the early to mid 00's - that last bit of time before social media exploded and everyone became glued to their phones at all times (and therefore detached). In that time, people and emotions mattered so much more and, in a way, you were forced to really face these things. You couldn't simply block so-and-so on instagram and jump on Tindr to find the next one. You were left with a mind full of them and the experiences you've had with them and had to really decide if you wanted to completely remove them from your life or if you wanted to salvage what was good and reshape the relationship to fit that (whatever form that may be); as well as make the choice of whether you are going to continue living as you were or if you are going to search yourself for what it is that you really want in life and what it is that you are capable of.

THAT is what this movie is about.

I didn't think it was possible to find a movie so predictable and unpredictable at once. Plot makes no sense and characters aren't developed at all. It's like this was supposed to be an eight episodes series, and instead it was cut down to a 90 minute mess. The script asks the viewer to make a lot of character assumptions which really adds to the predictability while the situations are so out of left field they make no sense, hence the unpredictability. I couldn't find one character arc in the whole film. Skip it.

This film drew my attention because it included one of my favorite actresses (Melissa McBride). I wasn't sure what to expect from this indie film, beyond her known talent, but I was blown away and cannot wait to see it again.

How to describe it with no spoilers? It's unlike any other story I have ever seen and it goes to unexpected places. I have discussed it with others who have seen it and respectfully disagree with critiques that certain characters or situations seem "unrealistic", as I have known people like those characters in my life. So it's likely that one's mileage will vary depending on their own life experiences but I would definitely give it 10 stars.

This is the feel good movie you've been searching for. In all seriousness, I didn't know what to expect but went to see it with an open mind. It's written and constructed nicely. Believable characters in real life situations that I found easy to connect with and believe. The actors themselves brought it and I found myself cheering not just for the lead which was a little surprising but refreshing. Their journey isn't pretty but then life isn't, but you'll smile in the end!