Happiness for Beginners is one of the Netflix movies that's quickly climbing its most-watched movie charts. It’s a romantic dramedy starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes that follows divorcee Helen as she decides to take a wilderness trip to empower herself, which leaves her shocked to discover that her younger brother’s best friend, Jake, is also on the trip. Happiness for Beginners is based on best-selling author Katherine Center’s novel of the same name, and this film was one of the most anticipated upcoming book to screen adaptations.
This movie has a lot of differences from the novel, but essentially has the same plot. Some of the differences are minor (like it having fewer characters), and others are major, like the complete omission of important storylines. Let’s discuss some of the important differences between the Happiness for Beginners book and the movie.
Warning: Happiness for Beginners book and movie spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.
Jake And Helen’s Road Trip Is Not In The Movie
The introduction of Happiness for Beginners starts with Helen at Jake and Duncan’s party. This ends with her discovering that Jake will be joining her in the wilderness and needs a ride. Through their road trip and extended time together, they grow closer, and she even begins to see him as more than just Duncan’s best friend.
They end up kissing, and it is pretty obvious how much Jake likes Helen. Netflix’s adaptation completely omits the road trip. This makes it a bit more mysterious how Jake feels about Helen. It also eliminates their bonding and takes away some key romantic moments between them. It might have been one of Netflix’s best romantic movies with them included. Additionally, there are lots of moments in these parts of the book that could have acted as great romantic comedy fodder.
The Couple Has A Bigger Age Gap In The Book
In the book, Jake is 22 and Helen is 32. At the beginning of the movie, Duncan mentions how there is only a five-year age gap between the two. Later, she also says that he’s 35. This means that Jake and Helen are 35 and 40 in Netflix’s version of this story.
The age change switches up the dynamic between them a lot. Because Jake is so much younger in the book, Helen at first treats him like a kid, especially because she’s known him since he was a teenager. In the movie, Helen doesn’t treat him that much like a kid. Personally, this is one of the changes that I enjoyed in the movie, because a five-year age gap seems less striking than a ten-year one, especially when both are in their 30s and 40s vs. characters in their 20s and 30s.
Everyone Is Older In The Happiness For Beginners Movie
The book makes Helen the oldest person on her wilderness retreat. Everyone else is around Jake’s age or even younger. They’re mostly college students. This makes it harder (at least at first) for her to bond with them. In the movie, everyone's still younger than Helen (except Hugh), but they're all much older than they are in the book.
This change makes sense, because if Helen and Jake are older, then the entire wilderness group should be, especially since both the book and movie have a sort-of Windy and Jake romance. Everyone being older also makes it even funnier that Beckett looks so young. His age is the only one that doesn’t change from the book-to-movie adaptation.
Duncan Wasn’t Born When Nate Died In The Book
One scene in Happiness for Beginners shows Helen holding up a photo with Duncan, Nate, and herself as children. With Duncan only being five years younger than Helen, it makes sense that he was born before Nate dies, because he is only one year younger than Helen. In the book, Nate dies before Duncan is born.
In fact, Duncan is conceived in reaction to Nate’s death. It’s also one reason that Helen resents Duncan. Him being a baby when their mother leaves, also means that Helen basically raised him. Additionally, there is a line from the book that makes it into the movie that doesn’t quite work without the context of Duncan being born because of Nate’s death.
There is also more to Helen and Duncan’s mother leaving them that’s discussed in the book but not in the movie. This storyline gives Helen a whole new perspective on her mother and the situation. Duncan being born after Nate dies adds more complexity to their relationship and explains some of the tension in it. The movie also doesn’t make them siblings with a love-hate relationship as much as it does in the book. Helen and Duncan seem to have a closer relationship in the movie.
Jake And Helen Finally Get Together At A Bar Mitzvah In The Book
For most of the book, Helen has, in the back of her mind, the idea of attending her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend's son's bar mitzvah. She’s surprised to learn that Gigi, her grandmother, is also at the event and her date is Jake. In an elevator at the event, Jake and Helen finally discuss their feelings, get together, and live their version of happily ever after.
The movie cuts out the entire storyline about Helen’s ex-best friend marrying her ex-boyfriend. Instead, Gigi is hosting a book club and birthday celebration that Jake attends. They finally kiss and confess their feelings. This isn’t really that major of change because it has the same outcome either way. However, the book has some really fun moments at the bar mitzvah, including Duncan and Helen becoming the party starters. The Happiness for Beginners adaptation could have had an iconic dance scene to rival those in great dance movies.
Pickle Has A More Tragic Fate In The Happiness For Beginners Book
In the movie, Helen mentions Duncan hitting her dog with a car and it dying. To make this scene not as gasp-worthy, it’s also revealed that Pickle doesn’t die from this incident. She lives at least ten years longer. But, the book went full shock, as Pickle dies at the end of Happiness for Beginners.
Helen leaves Pickle at the vet because she no longer trusts Duncan to take care of her. However, without her knowledge, he gets Pickle from the vet. While in his care, Pickle gets sick and dies. If she had remained at the vet, she could have survived. This moment, though tragic and seemingly unnecessary, shows Duncan and Helen’s growth as siblings. She forgives him for the incident, and they bury her together.
Happiness for Beginners is one of the 2023 Netflix movies that I was curious to watch. I wouldn’t say it’s one of the best Netflix movies but it’s a lighthearted romantic film that’s easy to watch. You should also definitely read the book if you loved the movie.
