One of my all-time favorite reads is a tale from the EHS days. I don't remember what class it was, but maybe you'll recognize it. It was called The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas and it deals in a really artistic way with the idea that happiness is often perceived as vapid or naive, and sometimes it is, but that there is also a kind of enlightened happiness that cannot come from being unaware of the darkness and suffering of the world, but fully recognizing it and appreciating even more the opportunity for true happiness and light. I think a lot of art and artists (or just cranky people sometimes) fall into the trap of believing that something has to be sad to have meaning. Sometimes I read a book with a horribly depressing ending but in an empty and lazy way, because a tragic ending is assumed to be somehow beautiful simply on the merit of its sadness, while a happy ending, however appropriate or touching, is considered economic. I think this is supposed to be a backlash to the wide offering of forced cheesy/happy endings, although I'd argue that these are usually tied to something more commercial than artistic anyway. I'm getting away from the point, which is this: Poppy embodies this idea of ​​enlightened optimism, and Happy-Go-Lucky slowly reveals this over the course of the film until she perfectly transforms in the audience's eyes from cute but insufferable into a beloved saint. At first I thought: Aha! I didn't know there was a movie about me! while our protagonist pedaled gracelessly towards the bookcase, to gleefully harass its sole caretaker. Did you know that my (second) beloved bicycle was recently stolen, to my devastation? Did I tell you? Is this how this movie turned out?...... middle of paper... last time I saw a movie with a female protagonist whose central plot wasn't her search for love. Her handsome social worker was a nice bonus, but it's just one of the many things Poppy has going for her in her life, which is why it was perfectly appropriate that the film ended with their relationship still just blossoming, and her he rowed safely with his fully realized companion, Zoe. It made me think very, very fondly of my Zoe, Rebecca and Emily. There was a lot to love about this movie and its characters, but I'm afraid it's going to get long and tire me out. Before I conclude, I just want to mention that my two favorite scenes were the first flamenco lesson (Poppy's expressions perfectly showed how I always feel in those situations and I was hysterical) and Suzy and Helen's poor oppressed husband who didn't want nothing so much as playing video games for a few minutes.