“I’m here ’cause I got a divorce,” Ellie Kemper says at the beginning of the new trailer for the Netflix movie “Happiness For Beginners.” “I want to take on a new challenge and reset my life,” she says, to which Luke Grimes (of “Yellowstone” fame) seems to tilt his head and go, “Ah, yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”
So perhaps it’s the cliché, but perhaps it’s universal, but the road back from such a split—as seen in so many books and movies— is often a new journey of self-discovery, warts and all, as people learn to heal, become whole again and navigate a brand new life.
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“I liked that Helen is a grump,” Kemper told Entertainment Weekly this week in an exclusive for the trailer. “She’s a little pessimistic. She’s going through a really tough time, and she doesn’t really believe in the goodness of things. It felt like that would be fun to play because it is so different from the optimistic, funny, bright-eyed women that I’ve played in the past. I wasn’t intentionally speaking up for something like that, but once I read this script, I thought, ‘Oh, this is, this is really interesting to me.’ Everybody has different sides to them, and I haven’t been able to portray that as much on TV and in film.”
Based on the novel by Katherine Center, the film also stars the aforementioned “Yellowstone,” heartthrob Nico Santos, Blythe Danner, Ben Cook, Shayvawn Webster, Esteban Benito, Gus Birney, and Julia Shiplett. Vicky Wight, known for “The Lost Husband” and “Adventures Of A Boy Genius,” directs.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Helen has always lived her life as far from the edge as possible. Newly divorced, she joins a quirky group of strangers on a survival course for the “Adventure of a Lifetime” with the hope of learning how to live – and love – again. HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS stars Ellie Kemper, Luke Grimes, Nico Santos, Blythe Danner, Ben Cook, Shayvawn Webster, Esteban Benito, Gus Birney, and Julia Shiplett. Directed by Vicky Wight and based on the wildly popular novel by Katherine Center.
“Happiness For Beginners” debuts July 27 on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
