Also pushing Happy FKN Sunshine into excellence is the cast. While River is the most one-dimensional person, Lauzon brings a lot to the role. It hits home when she explains to Will that her family is moving away. Rueter is believably slimy and arrogant, really making viewers have a distaste for Vince. Hodgson manages to be more than just lies and irritation, turning Artie into a wounded, deeply feeling being who needs music to cope.
But the stars are Matt Close and Mattea Brotherton. These two individually turn in some excellent work here. In one scene early on, Will tells Artie to “not tell his stories” as a condition to be in the band. Close makes the request as much about protecting Artie as it is to save him from embarrassment. Brotherton is spunky and delightful as the spirited Ronnie. One of her ending lines discusses going to the big city of Toronto. It reveals how self-actualized the character is, and the actor delivers the line pitch perfectly. More importantly, though, these two thespians share a baked-in, easygoing chemistry that makes their lifelong bond as siblings all the more authentic and sweet. Any scene featuring both of them is impossible to look away from.
“…impossible to look away from.”
As a film about a band, Happy FKN Sunshine must have some excellent music (unless the band is meant to be bad, but that is not the point here). The titular band is quite good, and they could make a few waves. However, Diorio knows that if they were too good, the story would be impossible to buy into. As such, they play lively and catchy tunes, but nothing is an earworm that’ll be hummed after the credits roll. Of course, that is precisely the point.
Happy FKN Sunshine doesn’t reinvent the rise-fall trajectory of band stories. But it does feature realistic characters trapped in relatable scenarios. The focus on these people’s lives makes this a more nuanced portrait than other films about bands hoping to make it big. The music is good, but more importantly, the cast is immaculate, especially Close and Brotherton.
For more information, visit the Happy FKN Sunshine Facebook page.
"…the stars are Matt Close and Mattea Brotherton."
