Movie Review: Happythankyoumoreplease

Happythankyoumoreplease 

Review

So here we are with another indie-esque film written and directed by Josh Radnor (Yes you all must think of me as obsessed with Radnor with my weekly HIMYM reviews and Liberal Arts article last month, but I assure you that isn't the case). 

How did the movie fare? It was certainly an interesting story which branched off to different areas fairly well, and although it seemed to try and produce a moral at the end, one which I was fully aware of the message, it didn't profoundly reach out to me.   

The storyline revolves around Sam (Radnor), a simple freelance writer living in New York City who takes in a child, Rasheen (Michael Algieri) who is separated from his guardian on the subway. Quickly other characters are introduced such as Sams best friend Annie (Malin Akerman) and his cousin Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan). From there on the plot branches out into three separate tales, although they all loosely intertwine with one. This technique worked well in providing a sense of cohesion with the three plots rather than if it were three completely unrelated stories.

The first plot continues with Sam and Rasheen, with Sams moral obligation as an adult to look after this child constantly coming into play, whilst at the same time his selfishness gets the better of him. Sam's character was quite hard to take in at first as he instantly comes off as an egotist. I wasn't sure whether or not we as the audience are supposed to like this character, but I think we are meant to have an initial distaste in him. But as he begins to learn the consequences of his Samaritan actions, Sam develops into a more sympathetic character as his insecurity is unleashed. 

Along the way he meets a girl named Mississippi (Kate Mara). His interactions with her were rather unusual for what he himself considers to be an average suburban person, and the majority of the situation seemed a bit unfeasible and outlandish with the deal they both make. But still, although peculiar, it was certainly an interesting way to bring two people together and there were some genuinely nice moments between Sam and Mississippi. 

 

The second tale revolves around Annie. She constantly seems in conflict with herself, trying to figure out why she cannot achieve proper happiness. As much as it could be shrouded in its clever wordplay and phrasing,  it honesty seemed to be a pretty simple premise of finding love, even if it's not along the path you imagined  to take. There's no doubt there were some brilliant lines in this particular part, especially in a few instances with Sam #2 (Tony Hale), but the plot didn't move me as much as I anticipated. 

       

Moving onto the third, between a young couple, Mary Catherine and Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) coping with their struggles in their relationship.

Personally this was the weakest of the three stories. Mary Catherine came off as rather neurotic, definitely unreasonable and as she says so herself, manipulative, whilst Charlie was rather distant. 

The development between the two was lacking as it constantly shifted to different disputes between each other in between the other plots. Perhaps Radnor was attempting to emulate a continuously functioning young couple without holding the hand of the audience to clearly explain the problematic situation. In that vein you could certainly sense the tension and possible decay of the couple, which was actually really good as there was clearly a mutual feeling of the undying love for one another. But that's what made it all the more peculiar why Charlie seemed distant. The slow trickle of information as to why Mary Catherine was behaving the way she was saved this plot point.   

On to the acting itself, It was delivered brilliantly by the whole cast. They all behaved incredibly naturally in their conversations and their physical interactions with one another. You could certainly believe them to be based on real life people. 

The directing was also done tastefully too, with some very interesting shots using reflections and natural light. There was also a frequent use of extreme close ups of the protagonists, clearly to show their expressions through their various emotions, but some may find it to be a little too frequent.

Finally the soundtrack of the film was brilliant in providing the overall tone of the film with lovely melodic acoustic songs for the most part, fully expressing what each character was going through during that moment in time.

I may sound rather disapproving of this film, but surprisingly, even though I wasn't fully enamored by it, I still found it enjoyable to watch and it kept me engrossed for its entirety. The film was stylishly directed and was interesting to watch as the various characters slowly develop in understanding themselves and what needs to be changed to make themselves happy. Overall this movie told a nice grounded tale with a satisfyingly cheerful ending, its best possible attribute.

7/10