The Film
Following in the footsteps of Zach Braff (Scrubs), How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor wrote, directed and stars in the awkwardly titled indie, happythankyoumoreplease, coming out later this month on Blu-ray Disc.
Like Braff, Radnor made his movie magic while still tightly gripping onto his sitcom status. However, instead of producing the next Garden State, happythankyoumoreplease has shades of Singles and Reality Bites, as it follows three friends and their trials and tribulations of being on the verge of 30. Radnor's Sam is an aspiring writer with a commitment problem. It sounds fairly typical, but throwing in foster child (Michael Algieri) that he found on the subway is a pretty unique twist. Annie (Malin Akerman) has Alopecia and a severe problem picking men. Catherine and Charlie (Zoe Kazan and Pablo Schreiber) are a young couple dealing with couple stuff, which may or may not include a cross-country move.
Happythankyoumoreplease may seem a bit same-old-same-old. However, when it's done well, does it really matter? The little film never got a wide release. Hopefully, How I Met Your Mother fans (there are a lot of those!) will consider latching onto the Blu-ray release. It has a lot of similar tones, and is a pretty enjoyable 98 minutes.
The Picture
Because it's an indie, we want to cut happythankyoumoreplease some slack. It's not a horrible looking movie, but this 2.40:1 transfer is a bit on the noisy side and could have been better. Brighter colors are the film's biggest asset, especially when looking at Annie and her festive attire. Some of the darker tones, which plague a good portion of the movie, are just a tad bit more on the murky side. What do you want from a movie that made $216,000 at the box office?
The Sound
A movie about hip twentysomethings must have an equally hip soundtrack. Music plays a very important part in this movie (see The Extras below), and indie folk artist Jaymay does rule most the film's Dolby TrueHD track. Her contribution is very present throughout the soundfield, with breathy vocals and detailed guitar chords. The rest of the film focuses heavily on the dialogue up front. However, for a small-budget film, this track does have pretty decent atomospheric audio, with trains, bar and restaurant chatter, and street noises helping to round out the New York experience.
The Extras
You'd think that Radnor would want to supply a commentary for his baby. You'd be wrong. Or at least it wasn't in the budget. Other than the trailer and some deleted scenes, there's a featurette focusing on Jaymay's musical contribution, how the collaboration came about, and how she fits into the various points of the movie. But that's about it.
Final Thoughts
Happythankyoumoreplease doesn't speak for its generation, or any generation, for that matter. A few characters seem cliche, and the title is unfortunate. It's far from perfect, but it's a great first-time effort for Josh Radnor, who manages to squeeze a few new twists into a familiar genre. Certainly worth watching.
Product Details
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