From my favorite movies..

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Maura (Sally Hawkins) is an Irish single mother to Molly (Sinead Maguire), a bright and energetic twelve year old. But, alas, times are not good and Maura is losing her furniture and, perhaps, her lease as money has dried up. Therefore, Maura enters into a fake marriage agreement with African immigrant Wilson (Ariyon Bakare). He will get to stay in the country; he will pay Maura 9,000. Also getting married for the second time is Freddie (Tom Riley) and Sophie (Jade Yurell), resulting in much apprehension; are they really doing the right thing? As luck would have it, these two couples take part in a dual marriage ceremony and hold receptions in the same building. Also on hand are a bevy of mixed up guests, parents, and, ho ho, two immigration officers who doubt Maura's wedding is real. As Maura crosses paths with Freddie, a lot, and Wilson tries to pass his girlfriend off as his sister, poor Molly gets more and more fed up as she realizes she's not getting a new dad, not really. How will this all shake down? This great Irish comedy-farce has charms for most fans of laughter and romance. Hawkins, Riley, Bakare, Yurell, and especially Maguire give fine performances while the supporting cast will keep everyone in stitches. How lilting, too, is the Irish way of speaking English while sets, costumes, script and direction fulfill every expectation of quality. Hallelujah, wanna get happy? Happily Ever Afters is bound to please.

Maura, a single mother, must get prepared for her wedding, something she reluctantly does. One can see her heart is not in it, but she is facing a financial crisis; she owes money to everybody. When some of her furniture is repossessed before she even leaves the house, Maura decides to go ahead with her arranged marriage with Wilson, the African man who is illegally in Ireland. Maura stands to gain about nine thousand Euros for going through the charade, which will allow her new husband in he country. Unknown to her and the future husband, their union is closely monitored by two immigration officers.Parallel to Maura's wedding, Freddy is remarrying Sophie. The first marriage did not go as well, ending in divorce. They have put aside their differences and will try again. Freddy, although doubtful this new wedding will work, has given his word to his former wife and now he cannot go back on his promise. We watch the hesitation as the priest asks Freddy for his vows. Sophie is a somewhat hysterical young woman, who might not be marrying again on her own accord but because she wants to please her parents.As fate would have it, the two wedding celebrations have been booked at the same seaside hotel. Freddy and Sophie's reception is basically all white, whereas Maura's is a mixed affair with a lot of black guests among the invited. Things do not go according to plan. Both celebrations turn out to be a disaster. Sophie, fed up with what her reception has become, flee the party and hook up with a group of lesbians in a pub. Maura and Freddy keep meeting each other in funny situations. They develop a rapport with each other they do not enjoy with their intended partners. It is not too difficult to realize they are really meant for each other.Written and directed by Stephen Burke, this appears to be his first full length feature, and it shows. The material had potential for more laughs. It is a romantic comedy with shades of screwball thrown into it. The excellent Sally Hawkins is at the center of the action as Maura. She makes a wonderful Maura. Same could be said about Tom Riley's Freddy, a handsome actor who matches his co-star well. Best of all is young Sinead Maguire who is seen as Molly, the girl who has an uncanny sense of timing, delivering a good performance that feels real, an accomplishment for the director. The action is not all even, something to do with Mr. Burke's screenplay. One gets the impression this is a film that was dumped to DVD and had a limited release.The film is worth a look because the presence of Ms. Hawkins, Ms. Maguire and Mr. Riley.

Whatever one's cinema tastes are, I think it is impossible not to appreciate this movie, marked by that sound Irish feeling for sound fun, but never disregarding some serious reflections. Two odd, newly married couples find at the same restaurant for their wedding receptions, where things will get confused, giving rise to misunderstandings, crises and final catharses. One couple is made up by Sally, in desperate need for money for her and her daughter, who has married Wilfred, a black man, in need of a citizenship, the other is the marriage between Freddie who has married who had already been his former wife, Sophie, and after a divorce and some psychoanalysis went to the altar for the second time, as a sort of last chance, with good intentions but no convictions. It s an intelligent movie, in the way it poses some questions on the real nature of marriage: despite the two major stories, also the minor characters will gradually question their relations and the meaning of their lives, and the hours spent in that restaurant will be revealing. It is interesting in the way, in the end women make the definite and resolute decisions, knowing they have to come to terms with their destiny with courage and strength, even if without a man, even against family pressure, whereas men never show any single sign of courage and determination, and just act according to women's choices. There are also some moving, but never pathetic moments, to be enjoyed as truly genuine. And the girl playing the little daughter, acting as a trait d'union between all these interrupted souls, is great. This movie proves how a well cast (both main characters and secondary ones) together with an intelligent script can make out an intelligent product, although not original in content, but certainly worth seeing as feel-good, genuinely entertaining and honest.

I enjoyed Happy Ever Afters very much. We went to a mother's day preview screening and my mum loved it and wants to bring her friends now. I hadn't seen any trailer beforehand and had no idea what to expect but it really was a pleasant surprise. There was a good atmosphere in the cinema, plenty of laughing out loud. It's funny and touching at times too. Great acting overall, particularly from Sally Hawkins and Tom Riley. The smaller characters were good too and the little girl who plays Sally's daughter is hilarious, steals every scene she's in. We overheard other audience members after saying they enjoyed it too. I'd definitely recommend it to friends. A great feel good movie.