Happythankyoumoreplease

I adored this film, it was one of my favorites at Sundance, and the cast & crew were amazingly sweet people. The film is a trio of intertwined stories involving six New Yorkers dealing with the complexities of love, friendship and identity. While this premise may sound familiar, its charm is refreshing and its character keeps the film from becoming just another romantic comedy. The main story focuses on Sam Wexler, a struggling writer (Radnor ), who, during a particularly bad day when he encounters a young boy (played by the adorable Michael Algieri) who's been separated from his family. When the boy reveals that he is unhappy in foster care, Sam decides to bring the boy back to his apartment, and a unique friendship begins to develop between the two. This friendship both initiates and complicates Sam's romance with a beautiful cabaret singer named Mississippi (Kate Mara). I really recommend this film. I can't wait for it to be released in theaters so my friends and family can see it.

"I was a well-fed, middle-class kid who came from good parents; I've got no material." Those words, spoken by Sam the writer, are just one example of how Josh Radnor blurs the lines between writer and character in his debut film, happythankyoumoreplease.

In it, we follow the lives of a few late-20s/early-30s bachelors and bachelorettes in New York City, a place Radnor portrays endearingly. Sam (played by Radnor) is a cynical writer desperately trying to sell one of his short stories. His best friend Anne (Malin Akerman) can't seem to stop dating the wrong guys. His cousin Mary (Zoe Kazan) is pressured by her boyfriend to go to Los Angeles (a city she loathes) and leave New York (the city she calls home). Along the way we meet all sorts of characters, including Rasheen, a "young black child" who, after shuffling through several foster families, has no home.

Sam takes Rasheen in for awhile, at least until he can figure out what to do with him. Anne accuses him of using the boy for material, but it's more complicated than that. Although we've seen the little-kid-sidekick device before, it's so lightheartedly entertaining here that we really don't care. Michael Algieri's debut as Rasheen will steal your heart.

I have yet to mention Mississippi, a bartender/cabaret singer, played by the lovely Kate Mara, who serves as Sam's romantic conflict. They hit it off quickly, possibly too quickly, and we wonder if they've met at the wrong time. Regardless, their interactions are the most cringe-worthy of the film (see: "let's clean each other up" and "you write short stories, I'm ready for the novel").

On the other hand, great music from Jaymay kept me in tune with the film's title. It serves as a narrative soundtrack for happythankyoumoreplease and gives it an indie feel (the film won the Audience Award for Best Drama at Sundance).

Although at times cheesy and clichéd, Radnor's debut tells an epigrammatic story about characters we genuinely care about. Sam's not delivering a profound revelation when he says "every five years I realize what an asshole I was five years ago." Yet the inherent modesty in that statement says a lot about Radnor's work.

What a movie....what a movie..... I must say I'm a big fan of Josh Radnor because of his hit series "How I met your mother" and (who isn't?) I think as a writer he is amazing and he has a long way to go. He has mentioned his love for short stories unknowingly in the TV show many times and I must say his endeavour has never gone unnoticed. Josh Radnor has a real potential. He just brought it together and the rest was obvious. The writing was superb(I'm a writer myself so bro Respect!) and not to forget the brilliant direction done by Josh himself.

A wonderful debut, by the way, as a director for him and all the very best wishes to him for his future ventures. Awesome acting and some great performances by the cast that included Malin Akerman (as usual she is brilliant in this flick too), Kate Mara (I'm beginning to like her already)and Zoe Kazan(with her sweet role which she generally plays quite naturally).

The story was wonderful. Gotta watch it to know it. I'd give it a 7 on 10 and I think the flick deserved it. I'd recommend everyone to go and watch this one because it certainly is worth all the accolades.

Greetings again from the darkness. If such a thing existed in Hollywood, I wouldn't be surprised if Woody Allen brought a Trademark Infringement suit against writer/director Josh Radnor. There is even a clear reference to Mr. Allen, who must be one of Radnor's idols. Of course, similar ideas and approaches happen frequently in movies, so really what we have is a snapshot in time of what it's like to be a young (late 20's to early 30's) New Yorker trying to figure out life.

Radnor is one of the stars of "How I Met Your Mother" and this is his filmmaking debut. He does show some promise despite some weakness in the script and too dang many close-ups - talking heads, as I call them. His goal was to take an intimate look at relationships and the road to maturity, which is often filled with potholes. This seems especially true for those artistic types who are convinced New York is the only land of opportunity in existence.

There are 4 stories going on: Sam (Josh Radnor) is a struggling writer who meets Mississippi (Kate Mara), a cabaret singer/waitress; Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) and Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) have their relationship tested by a proposed move to L.A.; Annie (Malin Akerman) suffers from a self-image problem and faces off against a true romantic in Sam #2 (Tony Hale); and an on-going interwoven story line involves Sam's character making an asinine decision when a young boy gets separated from his family on the subway.

The best of the stories is Annie's. Suffering from an auto-immune disease which leaves her hairless, she has a real self-image problem in thinking that she is not worthy of love. On the ironic other hand, she is put off by the advances of nice guy Sam #2 because he isn't the physical specimen she had dreamed of. Akerman and Hale make these characters believable and we actually pull for them to figure it out.

Kazan's Mary Catherine just had me hoping Charlie would slap her and take off to LA on his own. Kazan (granddaughter of the great director Elia Kazan) actually does a nice job capturing the suffering that so many females put themselves through. Kate Mara's Mississippi is the perky on the outside, defensive on the inside type who should probably never get mixed up with the self-centered mess that is Sam (Radnor). Still, Mara's talent is on full display (she first leaped off the screen in Brokeback Mountain as Heath Ledger's 19 yr old daughter).

One thing the script reminds us is that this generation still believes the world revolves around their every decision. They have been a bit slow on the uptake here, but it makes for easy pickings in script writing. There are some terrific individual scenes, but some of the larger plot lines are not treated fairly or completely. Maybe Radnor tackled a bit too much for his first outing. Still, a decent effort and I look forward to more from him.

I caught the premiere of Happy at the Sundance Film Festival. I'm a huge fan of Josh Radnor (best known for his role as Ted Mosby on the CBS series, How I Met Your Mother), but remained a little skeptical going in since this is a first-time film for him. I was pleasantly surprised! This movie is so charming; I couldn't help falling in love with all of the characters. I was especially impressed by Tony Hale's endearing performance as Sam #2, who tries to win the affection of Annie (Malin Akerman), a woman with Alopecia who struggles with the idea of someone being so smitten with her. Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) and Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) are absolutely adorable together and have an unbeatable on screen chemistry. They are at a crossroads in their relationship as Charlie tries to sell Mary Catherine on the idea of leaving their home in New York to move to L.A.

Sam (Josh Radnor), Mississippi (Kate Mara) and Rasheen (Michael Algieri) round out the cast of characters. Mississippi is a cabaret singer who catches the eye of Sam early in the film and while their hesitation to throw caution to the wind and go for each other is annoying at times, it brings a much-needed realism over romance approach to their relationship.

Rasheen was an audience favorite and his role adds a unique piece to this puzzle, playing a foster boy separated from his family on the subway who is rescued and looked after by Sam. It is truly an enjoyable highlight of the film to watch their interactions as they grow from perfect strangers to close friends. An amazing dynamic is brought to the script through their friendship, but not without Rasheen's life before Sam looming in the distance.

If this movie is any indication of Josh's talent as a writer, I can't wait to see more of his work. It contains all of the elements of a romantic comedy, yet manages to completely avoid the clichés and predictability that are typically found in this genre. It is clever, heartwarming, hopeful and hilarious. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes the big hit of Sundance 2010. Congratulations to Josh and everyone behind this film!