Happy-Go-Lucky is a mostly-cheerful, mostly-upbeat slice-of-life film featuring a character who is so perky that she at first seems rather annoying. After a while it becomes clear that she is deeper than that; the forced perkiness is one way she reacts when she is ill-at-ease.
‘Poppy’ (Sally Hawkins), a London elementary school teacher, has her bike stolen, but instead of getting upset about it she cheerfully decides to learn to drive. This leads to a series of slightly out-of-control lessons with a tightly-wound angry driving instructor (Eddie Marsan). In between we have interactions with her roommate and her sister, an over-the-top flamenco teacher, an angry young student, a babbling homeless man and a tall, handsome social worker.
That’s about it. There’s no real plot, just a portrait of an upbeat, unflappable young woman. For those who like this sort of thing it’s pretty good.