Happy Birthday, Harris Malden

This is a great little indie film.

Heard about it from a friend on Facebook and decided to buy it on iTunes because the trailer looked funny.

Was very pleasantly surprised. It's wasn't anything like I was expecting; Stella-esquire absurdest humor meets zany group comedy a la Super Troopers, but was actually a lot closer to The Baxter or even Punch Drunk Love.

But much more subtle. Which may or may not be a good thing depending on the viewer. I love those aforementioned films, but they draw a line, where-as this one I could see being much more a crowd pleaser for a wider audience.

It is real quirky, but not for the sake of being quirky (like so many indie comedies are these days), and there's more than enough story to keep even those w/o the right sense of humor engaged.

In fact, I think the biggest surprise for me was that the story and the dependency themes were actually the thrust, rather than the comedy. But it is incredibly funny. Plenty of laugh out loud moments, and a whole lot of smirks and smiles in between.

Last but not least, the film creates it's own world, and that to me is generally the mark of good storytelling meeting good craftsmanship. Yes the lead character has a fake mustache, but it's believable in the world they've created, just like the Jaguar Shark is real in the world Wes Anderson creates in the Life Aquatic, etc.

Between this and On The Road With Judas, I got a real treat streak going on iTunes right now.

This movie was top of the line, especially in the way of indie films. When I had first heard of the movie(It was being played in my school's theater) I was a bit skeptical to what it's content quality would be, and I'm happy to say I was quite surprised and impressed by the movie. The writing and humor contained in this film are of higher quality then most films produced in Hollywood nowadays. I loved the way background story was introduced, allowing those who cared to look back at what they saw earlier, and relate to the back story they are now familiar with. The movie seems to split into multiple side-plots, while this can be confusing, Happy Birthday Harris Malden seems to pull it off seamlessly, allowing for the movie as a whole to be quite an enjoyable experience. I recommend this film for anyone.

Happy Birthday Harris Malden is a wonderful film. I saw the movie screened in my home town, and will definitely end up buying it to watch over again at home. Better than most Hollywood comedies by far. If you find The Office funny, you'll almost definitely like this. It keeps the audience laughing and engaged. The characters are unique, but also familiar--It's easy to find a bit of yourself in each. The acting was spot-on, fresh, and entertaining. I recommend this movie to anyone looking for the kind of laughs you hear among friends. Funny, clever, and easy to relate to, this movie speaks for itself. You really need to see what it's all about!

I honestly feel sorry for those who haven't seen this movie yet. Those who haven't experienced the rebirth of cinema in this off the wall but heart warming comedy. Most people have a mindset that movies without notable actors won't be good. These actors in this lovely film all complemented each other perfectly enabling you to overlook the names of the characters and just sit back and enjoy the ride. All the jokes in this film are dead-on which causes its audience to break out in uncontrollable laughter. A lot of us movie goers are familiar with every movie having the relatively same soundtrack so films don't really stand out as much. The compositions in this movie are so genuine and unique that they'll actually make you take appreciation in accordion music, which until viewing this movie, I felt was ungodly annoying and terrible. As for cinematography, as an audience, you really felt like you were there in the film at all times. Just standing behind are guard rail getting the full view of what's going on. If you haven't seen this movie, I strongly recommend seeing it now, before it becomes a success in the near future. That way you can brag to your friends that you saw it first.

Three members of the Sweaty Robot production company showed their first feature-length film, "Happy Birthday, Harris Malden," at my high school recently. At first, attending the premiere just seemed like a good opportunity to get out of class, but my friends and I were in hysterics throughout the movie, bought the DVD's and tee shirts, and have since then invited our classmates to become Fans on Facebook. This independent flick offered smart, fresh humor that was entirely family appropriate. Hollywood's cheap shots to elicit the same side-splitting laughter out of its audiences are dull in comparison.

"Happy Birthday, Harris Malden," is a hilarious, poignant, and quirky story about Harris Malden, a man who fakes his facial hair. His childhood friend, Paul Levine, strives to protect him from the actualization of why Harris feels obligated to continue this ritual, but he can no longer isolate him from reality when Paul's new girlfriend stirs the issue. Melvin rounds out the cast as Harris' slacker little brother, who is part of a ridiculous subplot about his brief career as a model. The movie touches on universal themes of the difficulty of growing up, and the necessity of confronting and embracing change, while maintaining a constant sense of comic relief.

The film's idiosyncratic characters, witty script, and relatable subject matter are worth every cent of the rental fee. If you're interested in seeing a drama/comedy, or are tired of hearing about "Twilight," go see "Happy Birthday, Harris Malden." You won't regret it.