Happy Go Lucky

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Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is a crazy primary school teacher, living in London. She and her housemate Zoe (Alexis Zegerman) are always out for a drink, whistling after some guys, and are definitely, at all times, up for a laugh.

The film doesn’t really have a story; it’s more a random period in Poppy’s life. She takes driving lessons with a very grumpy and possibly mentally unbalanced driving instructor (Eddie Marsan) who ends up falling in love (or lust?) with her. She goes on a little road trip with one of her sisters and Zoe to visit her other sister in Brighton. This sister is expecting a baby and living a life completely different from Poppy’s – with a nice husband in an ordinary house with a garden. Another little episode is about a social worker who comes to talk to a violent little boy at Poppy’s school.

It is a beautiful film even though there is not a whole lot going on. Poppy, though rather exhausting to watch, is charming and entertaining. It is definitely a feel-good film.

Almost Famous

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Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. This is one of the films I used to love as a teenager.

It is a coming-of-age story in which fifteen-year-old William is given, by chance, the opportunity to write the cover story for the Rolling Stone Magazine. He tours along with one of his favourite bands, Stillwater. His self-declared mentor Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) advises him under no circumstances to make friends with the rock stars.

But, of course, William is swept away by the situation and loses focus on his work. He falls in love with one of the “Band Aids”, adores the band leader Russell Hammond and on top of it all ends up getting “deflowered” by a group of girls. When the article is due, he has only a few notes written down…

The cast includes Kate Hudson as Penny Lane, Patrick Fugit as William and Billy Crudup as the band leader Russell Hammond. One of the most entertaining characters is William’s mother (Frances McDormand), who is extremely possessive of her children and only allows William to go on the trip if he doesn’t miss a single test in school (obviously he ends up missing quite a few).

Groovy entertainment with a great soundtrack. Filled with subtle humour, a beautiful first love and crazy rock musicians. It is definitely a film worth watching!

Mamma Mia!

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To my surprise, this film is a very enjoyable adaptation of the musical with ABBA songs. It doesn’t really matter that none of the actors are actually singers: it makes it even more fun to sing along with them.

The story is sweet but secondary. It is merely a framework to present the music. 20-year-old Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is living on a Greek island with her mom Donna (Meryl Streep). They are running a shabby hotel together. Sophie wants to get married to her boyfriend but there’s one thing missing in her life: a father. She discovers from her mom’s old diary that there are three possible candidates (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård), so she invites all of them to her wedding to find out which one it is to be. The unexpected arrival of her ex-lovers stresses Donna greatly.

Also part of the wedding party are Donna’s old girlfriends (played by Julie Walters and Christine Baranski); the three of them used to be a girl band in their younger days. They are absolutely hilarious.

Of course there is a happy end, even with a bit of a twist.

Meryl Streep, more beautiful then ever, brings a sort of dignity to this rather silly film. It is astounding how she manages to light up the screen.

The filmmakers (as well as the actors, I suppose) must have had a lot of fun with the costumes, the beautiful scenery and dance choreographies.

All in all it is a purely entertaining film for a fun evening!