'Happiness For Beginners' Is Your Summer Hug
Getting a divorce isn't necessarily a pleasant experience, but the major life event can provide an opportunity for growth, introspection and learning. At least that's the idea behind Happiness for Beginners, an upcoming Netflix movie adapted from a 2015 novel of the same name.
Here's everything we know about the project so far, including who is cast in it, what it's about and when it'll come out.
What is the plot of Happiness for Beginners?
Our protagonist, Helen (Ellie Kemper), is fresh off a divorce when she decides to sign up for a survival course on the Appalachian Trail. The decision is a big one for Helen, who up until the end of her marriage preferred to make safe choices and avoid risk.
While speaking to the Netflix site Tudum, Kemper explained what drew her to the project. "I thought it was such a well-told story of one woman’s experience in getting to know herself better," she said. "I was immediately excited about the prospect of playing a woman whose outlook on life, when we first meet her, isn’t so sunny. I’ve played a lot of optimistic rubes, and Helen was neither."
Related: 40 Feminist Movies That Will Empower You to Be Your Best Self
Is Happiness for Beginners based on a book?
Yes. It's an adaptation of the novel Happiness for Beginners, by Katherine Center, which was released in 2015.
Is Happiness for Beginners based on a true story?
It's based on a novel by Katherine Center, and that work of fiction was inspired at least in part by the author's real life. Specifically, Center told Book Reporter that she based the premise of the novel on her own experiences in a wilderness survival class.
"I took a similar wilderness survival course, myself, in my 20s," she said. "I had never been a very sporty person until I took up running in college and had this whole new sense of myself as someone who was strong and capable of doing hard, physical things. I signed up for the trip, in part, because I wanted to do something truly impressive. I wanted to push myself to my limits. On some deep level, I knew even then that I was hoping to change my personality and become someone different."
Who's in the Happiness for Beginners cast?
The movie features quite a few familiar faces, including:
Ellie Kemper
Kemper stars as Helen, the woman who has decided to take the wilderness course and who ends up learning more about herself than she bargained for. (In the book, Helen leaves her husband after miscarrying her first child—he was out drinking when he should have been comforting her.)
Related: 18 Inspiring, Uplifting Movies on Netflix Right Now
Luke Grimes
Grimes stars as Jake, who is both Helen's teacher and her eventual love interest. You may recognize him from his role as hardworking-but-troubled hunk Kayce Dutton on Yellowstone.
Nico Santos
Santos portrays Hugh, a fellow hiker who struggles to get along with others—but befriends Helen nonetheless.
Blythe Danner
Danner stars as GiGi, Helen's grandmother who raised both Helen and her brother, Duncan.
Ben Cook
Cook plays Beckett, a young wilderness instructor.
Shayvawn Webster
Webster stars as Windy, the heartthrob of the hiker bunch.
Where was Happiness for Beginners filmed?
The movie was filmed in Stamford, Connecticut.
Is there a trailer for Happiness for Beginners?
Netflix has not yet released a trailer for Happiness for Beginners, but the streamer has shared photos from filming.
View the original article to see embedded media.
What is the Happiness for Beginners release date?
Happiness for Beginners will be available for streaming on Netflix on July 27, 2023.
