Josh Radnor makes his directorial debut in Happythankyoumoreplease which he also wrote and starred in. Radnor takes some of the lessons he learned on his hit TV show How I Met Your Mother and applied it to his movie. The outcome is a pleasant story amongst like minded people moving towards adulthood.While this is a cute story, there is a lot wrong with this movie. First off that title, oh god that awful, awful title. And you know that title is gonna come with an indie hipster feel, including the soundtrack. Second the soundtrack, maybe it was bothersome because you knew the second he pulled out his man purse there was going to be a whole lot of acoustic guitars and whiney male vocals. More likely because the song just kind of seemed to be slapped into any old moment. I know this is a movie and things are supposed to be fictionalized but if anyone could fill me in on how struggling writers and wanna be artists can afford a one bedroom, one kitchen apartment in New York City please let me know. And finally that title, I know I mentioned it already but seriously whatiswrongwithusingspaces?
That being said the movie also do some things right to make this indie romantic comedy enjoyable for the audience. The movie has a Woody Allen feel to it, without the breaking of the fourth wall and more believable dialogue. Radnor wrote a script that could be casually heard on the streets, including the snappy retorts. The only time the dialogue seemed less believable was when the characters would go on heartfelt monologues, but every rom-com needs that cliché in order to help the protagonist.
While Radnor may star in this one, like a typical TV episode, he chose to separate the movie into three separate story lines all with a different romantic twists. Radnor takes the male lead and is counterbalanced with rising star Kate Mara. Radnor plays Sam, an aspiring novelist, who finds a small black child on a subway and decides to take him home. Just as I assume most hipsters in Williamsburg do so they can tell people they have a black friend. While this orphaned child is sleeping unsupervised on his couch he goes to the bar to hit on Mara who plays aspiring singer Mississippi. There is not too much friction between the two actors, which translates to little chemistry but they are both charming enough that it works. Mara is multi-talented and I doubt this is the last time she will be taking a lead role.
Sam's friend Annie, played by Malin Akerman suffers from alopecia so her character is bald, but Akerman's beauty glows through her bald cap and decorative scarves she wears. Radnor definitely could've taken this story a different way, but really the only thing her disease leads to is poor judgment in men. That is until she meets Sam #2, played by Tony Hale. While their story is not well developed both of their characters shine. Their little moments between each other and Sam #1 all seem genuine. The only downside is they are forced to be the moral compass for the story, so deliver all of the previously mentioned monologues. And while Hale delivers his wonderfully, Akerman probably lays it on a little too thick; despite this one flaw both characters are wonderful.
The third story line features Sam's cousin and friend who are at a fork in the road. Do they stay in New York or move to the west coast. Fortunately you won’t care that much as this is clearly the C storyline, the characters are not developed and there is very little audience investment in the story. It seems to be just thrown in to add more to the running time.
The movie doesn't have the glossed over touch that a big budget romantic comedy might but it works for the story as it is all about struggling artists. They also tend to reuse a lot of the same camera shots, including one too many close-ups but it is easy to get past.
Despite all of the trite moments contained in this little indie film, it has much more heart than any of the big budget flicks in the same genre. It takes an honest look at this weird new age group between post collegiate life and adulthood and what steps need to be taken to get to 30. While I hate the title, it seems to fit the film as the final frames leave you wanting more. C+
