{"id":21200,"date":"2020-09-16T14:58:56","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T21:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=21200"},"modified":"2020-09-16T14:58:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T21:58:56","slug":"h-is-for-happiness-charms-and-endears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=21200","title":{"rendered":"H IS FOR HAPPINESS Charms and Endears"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Samuel Goldwyn Films will release this title in the US on\nSeptember 18th<\/sup>, 2020 on most VOD\/digital platforms.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making a family movie may seem like a simple task, but these\nfilms far more difficult to create than one might initially expect. Admittedly,\nmost are sweet-natured tales with genial, sometimes slapstick humor, a central\nmessage about believing in oneself or encouragement to set out and make the\nworld a better place, along with a neatly tied-up happy ending. When done well,\nthis approach is perfectly acceptable and can provide exceptional\nentertainment. Still, sometimes the best efforts strive to do even more, or at\nthe very least approach and depict the world around us as a little more\ncomplicated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

H is for Happiness<\/em> is an Australian feature based on a successful young adult novel by Barry Jonsberg. It follows plucky, optimistic 12-year-old Candace Phee (Daisy Axon), a studious girl who is an outcast because of her direct and blunt manner (likely due to being on the autism spectrum). When teacher Miss Bamford (Miriam Margolyes) assigns a project involving using a letter of the alphabet to tell something to the audience about the world and their lives, Candace is excited. She decides to use the letter \u201cH\u201d to bring happiness to her family. This includes her depressed parents Claire (Emma Booth) and Jim (Richard Roxburgh), who haven\u2019t gotten over the death of Candace\u2019s infant sister. The lead also aims reunite her father with his estranged brother whom she refers to as \u201cRich Uncle Brian\u201d (Joel Jackson). Alas, Candace finds the task far harder than anticipated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Truthfully, this reviewer will admit to having a mixed reaction\ntowards the movie during its opening act. The story is told through Candace\u2019s\neyes and it is extremely quirky. In fact, its peculiar, low-key sense of humor\ndoes take some getting used to. Some of her schemes to help her family are\namusing (like faking falling into the water and drowning), while other gags aren\u2019t\nquite as entertaining. More strangeness occurs with the introduction of a new\nstudent, the memorably named Douglas Benson from Another Dimension (Wesley\nPatten). He\u2019s one more oddball in a feature full of them, telling the young\ngirl about his arrival from another universe and asking for her help in\nhurtling himself from a tree in order to return to his original world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even though not all of the early material raises a\nlaugh, the movie does slowly begin to win over viewers. Candace\u2019s unusual bluntness\ndoes earn a few chuckles and another eccentricity, a mystical miniature horse\nthat appears to the kids and stares at them as they play, is a funny and\nsurreal story addition. As the tale progresses and the stakes are raised as\ncharacters are forced to face up to their issues, the movie really starts\nfiring on all cylinders. It\u2019s certainly a difficult task to balance humor and\ntragedy, but the entire cast are very engaging. In fact, the film may end up\nworking even more effectively as a drama than it does as a comedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most children\u2019s films present the lead kid as the smartest\nperson in the room. While Candace\u2019s intentions are always altruistic and some\nof her actions do help mend some fences, the protagonist does learn over the\ncourse of the story that she\u2019s can\u2019t simply go out, solve the personal issues\nof those around her and deliver happiness. In fact, the protagonist slowly\ncomes to the bittersweet conclusion that happiness is largely fleeting. It\u2019s a\nbold approach for a kid\u2019s film and one you wouldn\u2019t see in a Hollywood\nequivalent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While everything isn\u2019t tied up cleanly, the film certainly doesn\u2019t\nend on a dour note. Another plus is the exceptional cinematography and\nproduction design. This is colorful movie with gorgeous locations that is\nimpressive to behold from beginning to end. H is for Happiness<\/em> doesn\u2019t\nalways deliver pure joy, but that isn\u2019t its real intention. Instead, this is an\nhonest coming-of-age flick featuring likable if peculiar characters. It aptly\ndepicts the world as a complex, complicated yet exhilarating place filled with joy,\nsadness and possibility. For those looking for something that\u2019s a little out of\nthe ordinary, this is a charming and endearing pick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Samuel Goldwyn Films will release this title in the US on September 18th, 2020 on most VOD\/digital platforms. Making a family movie may seem like a simple task, but these films far more difficult to create than one might initially expect. Admittedly, most are sweet-natured tales with genial, sometimes slapstick humor, a central message about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[198,2056,2316,3294,3295,3305,4660,5058,6251,6935,7283,8766,8767,8768,8769,10798,14038,17016,24107,24661],"class_list":["post-21200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-198","tag-australia","tag-barry-jonsberg","tag-book","tag-book-adaptation","tag-book-to-film","tag-comedy","tag-daisy-axon","tag-drama","tag-emma-booth","tag-family","tag-h-is-for-happiness","tag-h-is-for-happiness-film-review","tag-h-is-for-happiness-movie-review","tag-h-is-for-happiness-review","tag-joel-jackson","tag-miriam-margolyes","tag-richard-roxburgh","tag-wesley-patten","tag-young-adult"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21200\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}