MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Senteur
As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Phillida
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
SnoopyStyle
Kaja is an unrelenting cheerful person. She's a teacher. Her husband Eirick is a jerk. For example, he and their son play a silent-treatment game which they know infuriates her. Couple Elisabeth and Sigve move in next door with their adopted African boy Noa. One night, Sigve brings out a box called The Couples Game. Kaja and Eirick have a tough time with the game. Kaja reveals to Sigve that they haven't had sex for a year. Sigve tells her that Elisabeth cheated on him. Sigve and Kaja start a secret affair.This indie is a little bit slow at times. Kaja is a great character. The actors are all good. There is some relationship fun. Then there is one too many reveal twist with Eirick. Instead of emotional intensity, it becomes a sudsy endeavor. I can do without that final twist. The humor doesn't always work.
Nathan L
Well, I'll try to elude subjective views as I lived in Sweden - I know this movie takes place in Norway, but anyone whom has lived in either of these countries would say that they are very similar culturally speaking.So, the main character is Kaja, a young, vivid women living with her husband and son in a remote place. Everything seems to be perfectly normal, in appearance... until a young couple coming from the city moves in next door.And then, the "faithful heterosexual family" norm is all falling apart, everybody is trying to get attention from the wrong person and it results VERY funny and critical regarding the so-called egalitarianism of Scandinavian countries.I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to have a laugh and open its mind.
Kalle_it
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.
OJT
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.