Very well executed

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

One of my all time favorites.

Brilliant and touching

There are four main characters in Happy, Happy because it is about two couples; however, one of them really shines through and becomes such a pleasure to watch that it really does not matter what happens with the plot or any of the other players, she is just stunning. I am talking about Agnes Kittelsen who plays Kaja. She is almost always smiling, even when there are situations when there is nothing to smile about. She exudes positive energy and cannot help it when her actions either makes someone else around her happy or rubs someone else the wrong way.Kaja is married to Eirik (Joachim Rafaelsen) and they appear to live in the middle of nowhere Norway. They not only own their own house, but also the one next door which they rent out to people who are usually looking to get away from the city. A city couple from Denmark does exactly that when they abruptly shift from urban to rural. The new couple next door is Sigve (Henrik Rafaelsen) and Elisabeth (Maibritt Saerens). Since there is not much else to do in the immediate locale, the two couples start sharing dinners together and playing games. These games lead to uncomfortable couple comparisons which is never a good thing. Comparing your relationship to someone else's is not the way to end the evening on a high note.During one game, it emerges that Kaja and Eirik have not had sex in over a year and that Elisabeth has recently cheated on Sigve which was a catalyst in their decision to escape to the countryside. The couples also notice the personality clashes and matches around the dinner table. Kaja and Sigve are naturally extroverted and outwardly positive. Elisabeth and Eirik are much more reserved and while not necessarily secretive, they do not have the impulse to share their feelings around the room. These situations and personalities obviously set up what may lead to adulterous liaisons, secrets, and acrimony. However, this is not a heavy handed drama about adultery and revenge. There are laughs, comedic scenes, and an overall light air around the decisions these couples make in response to one another.Each couple also has a son, although Sigve and Elisabeth's son is adopted and black. There are scenes between the two boys, who seem to be around seven years old, which do the film no credit and do not fit. Their sequences are only peripheral to the plot and have no bearing on any central themes, which is all the more puzzling why they are even there. Their interactions disrupt the light flow and mood of the movie and should either be completely rewritten or just taken out.Happy, Happy won the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic World Cinema at this year's Sundance Film Festival and is also Norway's official submission for the 2012 Academy Awards. It approaches its characters with maturity and understanding, characteristics true for most Scandinavian films but frequently lacking in American ones. It is also challenging to classify Happy, Happy as just a comedy or a drama. There are not very many jokes or moments to laugh at but there are also very few emotional moments which aim for true drama either; it carves out a distinct middle ground.I recommend Happy, Happy for those of us who like Scandinavian films and appreciate movies which take their characters seriously. Thank goodness there are no slapstick moments here which would not fit and no downright weepy 'woe is me' segments. Just lose the scenes with the kids and then you would really have a heck of film on your hands.

The original title "Sykt lykkelig" is a nice pun, as "sykt" can be both positive (thus the title meaning "incredibly happy") or negative (more like "happy in a sick way").Indeed this dichotomy runs throughout the movie. Two couples live next door, but their initial attempt to establish a good neighbourhood relationship goes awry, as neither family is as picture-perfect as the facade suggests.Soon enough they find themselves in the middle of an awkward love triangle, almost turning into a double-triangle, and then shortly into partner swapping.In the end the ordeal brings every character back to square one, but with renewed, and this time hopefully complete, awareness of themselves and of their partner. So everything looks the same as before, but something has definitely changed.We're left to wonder who was "happy" and about what and when... And is it supposed to be ironic? I'm not really sure, and it's a positive thing. A movie that keeps me thinking after it's over, with no convoluted gimmicks and with no clean-cut answers is a good movie to me.Sykt lykkelig is a difficult movie to categorize... In a way it's the typical Norwegian "comedy": more awkward than funny, with a persistent serious vibe that runs through the movie but never takes over. So the movie is always enjoyable, even when it could get too heavy-handed, gloomy or sappy. Of course this minimalistic approach can be a negative aspect, depending on the viewer's taste and on his penchant for full-fledged drama or for unrelenting pretentiousness.Just to make two examples: the subplot involving the two kids, with openly racist undertones, is quite perplexing but it's an odd change of pace from the main story. And the confrontation scene between Kaja and Eirik about his "hunting trips" is a farcical tribute to Brokeback Mountain... In order not to talk openly about the topic in front of the kid they switch to a very broken German, which doesn't sound too different from Norwegian, and the key word of the whole scene is still said loud in Norwegian... So much for not upsetting the kid! If it was intentional, it was hilarious.To sum it up "Sykt lykkelig" is a somewhat odd and uneven family "comedrama", Its forte is the absence of maudlin introspection. For once we're just watching the four characters deal with their live and their choices. No preachy message is spoon-fed to us, no easy answers are given... Quite a rare occurrence in such movies.

Very minimalistic view of scenery, an extremely low budget movie (at least it wasn't shot using a digital camera like TV movies). The actors play well, but everyone is down-toned like they are affected by the weather, and the only 2 times they show emotion is after a sex scene (running outside while snowing almost naked) and while a fight between the two men (awkard and disorienting fight scene by the way). Other than that, it is a bland drama mixed with drops of comedy (black) a spit of racism, an understatement of men trying to hide their homosexuality by making a family, some affairs made for revenge or from lack of affection that came from the fact a couple can't have their own kid... Boring most of the way, some interesting (yet forgettable) moments of clarity, and a boy chore band every now and then, just to highlight key spots in the movie, trying to make us smile (not laugh). Bland movie that I will forget in less than a week... Could be better, could be worse... Avoid if you are sleepy, or having something better to watch or do... You will not lose your time, but you will not gain anything either... It is better than seeing commercials, or a soap opera, but that's about it... Nothing special, nothing good or bad... :P

Sykt Lykkelig (in English translated to "Happy Happy") is a black comedy where a couple with an adopted kid move to a very rural part of Norway in the winter, after a decision from the husband. She has had an affair. They are overly welcomed by the main character Kaja, which is helplessly stupid when it comes to deal with her own problems, having been a girl with a troubled parent-less background. That seems also to be the reason she has married a high school boyfriend which obviously is the wrong match for her. These two couples, living in two neighboring houses soon is to ruin what is left to mess up in the new relationships. "Sykt lykkelig" is the debut of director Anne Sewitsky, well played by all actors. The film is chosen to attend Sundance Festival 2011, where it's likely to get praise due to it's oddness. It resembles some of the awkward moments in Sundance-acclaimed Little Miss Sunshine, though this film has less charm and is a much blacker comedy.A lot of comedy's love to give you awkward moments, though they often tend to be severely over-done. In Sykt Lykkelig the awkward moments pile up so that you hate it, while wanting to laugh. Funny? yes! But with a severe undertone. The film is light hearted, but is so often seriously meant, so it actually is a little problem for the viewer. I found myself mostly the only one laughing in the theater seeing it, in a crowd surprisingly mainly male, whilst the trailer seem to tell us this is more of a woman's movie.The film is advertised as a comedy about adultery, cottage cheese, blow jobs and elk-meat. Not a very good tag-line, if you ask me. I, however, choose to see the film as a black comedy taking up the problems of adultery, homosexuality, racism, love, loneliness, marriage-problems as well as the lack of understanding between men and women.A male gospel quartet gives us both the deeper thoughts, as well as giving an uplifting feeling when the characters in the movie pile up problems along the line. Thank God this is film. In the end the film gives hope, but loses track in it's own try of giving credibility. Even though this film gives mixed feelings, I can't help see some great acting here, as well as an interesting director. It has been a difficult film to act for the six persons. A kind of understatement humor, with a very black edge, giving a need for serious touch all the way. Sykt Lykkelig is a different film, and a film for those who'd like to be a fly on the wall, or a Peeping Tom.