Maja is happy. She lives a simple life with her husband Eirik and son Theodore in snowy, rural Norway, and is content with the way things are. All that changes when the new neighbors move in. Sigve and Elisabeth arrive one day with their adopted Ethiopian son, Noa, and move into the house right next door. Maja is ecstatic to have new people to interact with. But she could never have imagined how intense the relationship between the two families would become. Happy, Happy (Sykt lykkelig) is the story of a woman’s struggle to find herself, and a tale of two couples trying to regain their love.
It soon becomes apparent that Maja’s overly joyful demeanor is merely a façade to mask her sadness. Her husband shut her out years ago, and she has made up for her lack of human and emotional connection by acting overtly happy and positive. Her husband has lost his passion, and Maja wants to badly to regain that spark and have fun together. She cannot contain her excitement to have newcomers enter her life. She immediately invites them over for dinner and game night, hoping they’ll all hit it off. Maya sees Sigve and Elisabeth as the perfect couple, and tries her hardest to garner some affection from her silent husband in front of their company. While Sigve and Elisabeth are enjoying themselves, it’s clear that the couple moved to the country to get away from it all, not to play charades. Maja, on the other hand, is overjoyed at the prospect of having friends. She encourages the two to join the local church choir, something she has always longed to do. She hopes to live vicariously through this new couple, for her insecurity in her voice has always held her back.
Over dinner one night, Sigve lets on that he and his wife have had marital problems, and a drunken Maja jumps at the opportunity. Shunned by her husband, whom she has long suspected of being gay, Maja is starved for attention and affection. She makes a move, and Sigve accepts, and so begins an affair that will change both families forever. While Eirik is away on a hunting trip, and with Elisabeth right next door, Maja and Sigve have a passionate tryst that opens Maja’s eyes to the reality of her life. Once she begins her affair with Sigve, she gains the courage to join the choir and find her voice.
Of course, their infidelities cannot go undiscovered. In one of the more hilarious scenes, Maja and Sigve frolic naked in the snow, as unsuspecting Theodore turns and runs away in horror. Soon after Theodore catches his mother, Elisabeth finds out about her husband’s infidelity, and brings everything to the surface. She decides to seek revenge by sleeping with Eirik, and things turn even more sour. Elisabeth’s indiscretion with Maja’s husband is almost too unbelievable. It seems the director felt it would create more comedy to make the love triangle so over the top, but it feels forced rather than humorous. It’s a wife swap that makes the viewer more uncomfortable than blithe.
The two couples play wonderfully off each other, and every actor gives a truly honest portrayal of someone lost in love. Agnes Kittlesen’s portrayal of Maja is a bit over the top, but appropriate for a woman so wracked with desperation. Even during her affair with Sigve, Maja comes across as weak and pathetic, and it’s not until both couples have unraveled completely that she is able to see clearly. Sigve is played by Henrik Rafaelsen, whose charm is palpable. He’s the only truly likeable character in the film, for while Maja is jolly, she’s a little too desperate to sympathize with. Maibritt Saerens’ Elisabeth is a perfect mix of stoic lawyer and mellow mom, and every line she delivers is spot on.
Happy, Happy is meant to be a comedy, and while there’s a good amount of light-hearted humor, it’s really more a drama of exploration. For a first time director, Sewitsky analyzes love on a molecular level, yet her attempt to make light of familial desperation feels insensitive. Maja’s sadness is apparent from the start, and permeates so deeply that it’s hard to laugh at each silly attempt she makes to mask it. While Sigve and Elisabeth may find it funny when Eirik blames their lack of sex life on Maja’s yeast infection, the viewer feels deeply for Maja. Sewitsky also makes use of a Greek choir, who periodically pop up in dapper suits to sing American folk songs. They’re cute, and kind-of-sort-of narrate the story with their tunes, but their presence doesn’t flow well enough in the film to be completely useful. The most glaring flaw in the film is the crude game of Slave the two boys repeatedly play. There’s no real purpose for this thread throughout the story, and comes off as more shocking and offensive than any sexual incident on screen. Perhaps it’s meant as a metaphor to mirror the boys’ parents’ struggle, but if so, it’s just not clear enough to work in the film.
As their lives intertwine, the two couples come to understand themselves and one another on a far deeper level. Their insecurities are unearthed and their true feelings for their partners are realized. Once everyone is honest with each other, they are able to be honest with themselves and to truly follow their hearts.
The new neighbors are a catalyst for two unhappy couples to come together and work things out in the most extreme way. Happy, Happy is enjoyable enough to watch, but don’t expect a laugh a minute or a life altering portrayal of love.
Bonus Features
Nothing more than a U.S. Trailer, an International Trailer, and a trailer featuring “Also From Magnolia Home Entertainment.”
"Happy, Happy" is on sale January 24, 2012 and is rated R. Comedy, Drama. Directed by Anne Sewitsky. Written by Ragnhild Tronvoll, Mette M. Bølstad. Starring Agnes Kittelsen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Joachim Rafaelsen, Maibritt Saerens.
