La felicità per principianti

I did find it kind of funny that nature wasn't "pretty" enough, so they had to add in flowers artificially.

Ellie Kemper plays the school teacher divorcée Helen, who decides to get out of her comfort zone and go on a wilderness hike to find herself. She goes on an excursion package with a handful of other misfits. Filled with dry humor, this was anything but a sad film. Her brother's best friend Jake shows up, initially clashing with Helen but then finding some common ground.

Ellie Kemper's dry delivery was perfect and contrasted nicely with her genuine smile. She had wonderful chemistry with Luke Grimes, who played Jake, and Nico Santos, who played the character Hugh. Luke Grimes was wonderful in this film, warm and steadfast. Nico Santos stole scenes right and left.

I had set the bar low for this film and was genuinely surprised that I enjoyed it. There is some great camping humor and a sweet story along with some gorgeous wilderness backdrops. I think true romantics will like this film.

I thought this was a really cute movie! I had no idea that it was a book so I really comment on that.

It didn't have to have complex characters or or political opinions or obvious social issues being pushed. Anything that was included in this movie seamlessly moulded with the characters which made it extremely easy to watch.

Just a lovely simple story to relax to...

Overall I think I'd there were more of these being made tv would be less stressful to watch lol I'm all for movies with a message but not ALLLLL the time it's exhausting and I feel like just scrolling the menu increases my anxiety levels.

This is a feel-good movie with a throwback feel, one in which the writers aren't trying to shock or offend you, or bombard you with whatever the latest work lesson is from the perpetually-offended or pretend-to-be offended calvary.

This movie is the rare family-friendly movie that will appeal to most ages regardless of background or culture. It employs universal themes of self love, childhood crushes, second chances, finding hope again, etc. It just gives you that tingly feeling in your stomach, the kind that makes you glad or at least not perturbed that you spent a couple hours watching this random flick.

Recommended for anyone who just wants an easy, feel-good experience. I think the movie did what it set out to do, nothing more, nothing less.

Making an interesting rom-com is hard, simply because of how familiar the subject is. Happiness for Beginners doesn't really break new ground, but it's a lighthearted watch that manages to keep you interested. The characters are grounded and realistic, each with their own quirks. The leads keep you absorbed in the story. The side-characters bring their own unique perspectives and motivations. The romance grows slowly and organically, and never feels forced into the narrative. The visuals of the Appalachian trail are beautiful. All of this is done with a light touch that makes the movie easy to watch, and the overall result is something sweet that I think I'll be coming back to.

I love Luke Grimes and watched this for him, and he is tender and sweet and lovable, but his co-lead is badly miscast with Kemper. She's great in other things, but she is not a believable love interest for Grimes and her character is irksome, at best, almost throughout, with only momentary glimpses of redemption. The screenplay, adapted from a book, fails to portray her character growth alongside him, fails to show enough of their shared moments prior to THE HIKE, and indeed seems to leave out a lot of the most inspirational stuff from the book itself. If this screenwriter had some childish concept that she was a better writer than the book author, let us disabuse her of that silly notion. I liked the supporting cast, but they weren't fleshed out enough. At the end of the day, it was pretty to watch but Kemper was mostly very grating, the romance was unbelievable, and there wasn't enough material regarding how to be happy for this to truly feel like a feel-good flick. Only one character who brought up 3 things we're grateful for even seemed like a vague reference to the title, the book, and presumably the entire point. It seems a shame, bc the setting was so lovely and you had Grimes ON SET as well. They should have just shot him walking around on those trails sharing his personal thoughts...that would have earned a higher rating.