Story was far from great, in fact it was very paint by numbers. As much as I really wanted to like the film, it just wasn't a great story. Characters were tropes, and poorly developed except for the two main characters, who were only slightly more developed. Exposition was akward, particularly Hellen's exposition about why she was there. Jake's reason was easily identified early on, as was the romantic "twist." I'm pretty sure that had the crew been asked there would have been at least a couple of people who were experienced backpackers who could have helped with authenticity. The complete lack of any real understanding of backpacking versus car camping was very distracting. Overall, the story was disappointing, but was barely saved by pleasant locations.
Review of Happiness for Beginners
