“Let’s be people who deserve to be loved,” says Annie, the alopecic sex addict.
That is the overarching theme of Josh Radnor’s directorial debut happythankyoumoreplease. Deserving to be loved, that is. Not alopecia or sex addiction.
Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) plays Sam Wexler, a struggling writer living in New York who gets saddled with a young boy, Rasheen, lost on the subway. Sam introduces Rasheen to his frat-boy lifestyle and allows him to live in his apartment, keeping Rasheen as if he were a lost puppy rather than a child. And while Rasheen’s appearance in the story seems a bit random at times, it adds an extra dimension of lightheartedness that somehow works.
Along the way we meet Sam’s friends Annie (Malin Akerman), Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan), Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) and Mississippi (Kate Mara), all a group of twenty-something New Yorkers trying to find themselves amidst love, reality, and the prospect of making adult decisions.
While the movie wasn’t bad (it did win the award for best drama at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival) it had the potential to be much better.
Radnor, who also wrote the script, demonstrates his capacity for writing humor, yet he doesn’t utilize it enough. There were genuinely funny moments, which the actors executed well, yet the viewer is left wanting more such moments, like when Sam shouts profanity then immediately tells Rasheen not to swear. Much of the humor is shown in the trailer as well, giving the impression that more is to come, yet Radnor fails to deliver.
The movie is also punctuated by occasional awkward silences. They seem to be moments strategically placed to provoke a contemplative reflection on the last scene, yet they extend uncomfortably, making the viewer yearn for dialogue.
On the upside, however, the soundtrack for happythankyoumoreplease is a wonderful mix of folk/indie rock. New York native Jaymay comprises most of the soundtrack, and the blend of her voice and an acoustic guitar provides a great backdrop to the joys and heartbreaks of Sam and his friends. Other artists on the track list include Bear Lake, The War on Drugs, and Blind Pilots—definitely a soundtrack worth downloading.
There are also many truly endearing moments scattered throughout the movie, moments when characters exhibit personal growth, make sacrifices for someone else, or realize their own self worth. These are the redeeming moments in the movie, the heartwarming parts when you relate it to your own life. And while the characters are flawed, they are entirely likeable. You find yourself rooting for them, lamenting their failures, and celebrating their triumphs.
At one point during happythankyoumoreplease, Mary Catherine, a woman struggling to make the right decisions in a relationship, says, “We don’t need to know everything in advance.”
It is for this reason that the movie resonates with a younger audience, specifically college-age students unsure of their futures. The film encourages viewers to take things as they come and cherish whatever happiness comes their way.
While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend spending ten dollars to see happythankyoumoreplease (especially if you are a college student and most likely broke) it is worth seeing if you have money to spend. Though it isn’t very plot-driven and doesn’t live up to its potential, it does provide a great message set to a great soundtrack.
happythankyoumoreplease was released in theaters today.
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