Expedition Happiness

I don't understand why Netflix bought documentary. This seems like it could have a been a simple forgettable 15 minutes video on YouTube that I would watch and never think of again, instead I've spent 90+ mins waiting for it to get better or at least validate me choosing to watch it, but it never got to that point.

The fact that they are not comfortable English speakers is obvious and a bit cringeworthy at times, but better filmmakers have overcome that fact. Maybe the German version is better. There is a no point/arc to this documentary, which would have been completely reasonable for a random YouTube travel video/vlog but I expect higher quality for something on Netflix. Like other reviewers, (I don't know how to explain this) they seem like the annoying rich kids that always seem to whine/complain instead of having a more "let's get this done attitude". It might be due editing. I think they were trying to portray a realistic part of travelling, where everything isn't perfect but that is not how it is seen, at least by me.

Even the one positive thing turns out to be not-so-positive. The music for the film is done by Selima and I like it, but it sounds like the same song being repeated for the whole movie. The music is such a cliche, the typical white girl in her 20's with an acoustic guitar strumming and singing slowly/gently. Coffee shops across the world are littered with type of music playing in the background. It's nothing special but not bad neither in a way that it doesn't annoy you.

Overall I would recommend potential viewers to skip this and search for something more interesting on YouTube when the itch to watch a travel video strikes you. If we were at the beginning stages of the self-made travel videos era, this might have been passable. But other self-made travel videos have set the bar so high now that the industry has had time to mature, (in my opinion) these two simply do not make the cut. The fact that it was 90+ mins and it was on Netflix, I expect at least something that was 7.5/10 but I can barely give this 4/10.

It's not going to win any awards most likely. But Jesus some of you haters need to get some happiness in your life. It's a fun adventure that could certainly use some more explanation along the way. But I'm next to sure they did more living filming this than half of you couch potatoes spewing your hate.

This 'movie' made me want to stick pins in my eyes. How can they have gone for so long without even cleaning the god damn camera lens!? Why is this on Netflix? It's a poorly executed vlog at best. No wonder they're travelling alone, they are the most boring, narcissistic people I've ever seen. They shouldn't be allowed to own a dog either.

So I agree that these two people did some dumb things and maybe complained too much. They also put their dog through a lot unfortunately. However, it did seem like they cared about the dog and tried to take care of it as best they could under the circumstances but maybe bringing the dog along in the first place was a bad idea. I'm not sure. I do also agree that this isn't really a very meaningful journey. It's just like others have said, a home movie. However, I wasn't bored. It was interesting to see them in different places and see what they experienced. It's fine. It probably could have been a lot better if they had tried to learn something from the whole journey (besides how to kill they dog). A documentary should contain a story and you should be able to take something away from it. Otherwise? Just make a vlog or something.

The biggest travel bummer to this lightweight "adventure" is getting hassled for a couple of hours at the US border and the dog getting sick. It's a cool dog, and the hosts are nice looking, but this is pretty tame stuff. Hardly an adventure travel epic and not particularly well filmed - alot of selfies and talking to the camera. Nothing special and better travel adventure films are plentiful. Meh..