Greetings,
Earlier this year, I did a review of a great film called Liberal Arts. It starred and was directed and written by Josh Radnor, so I made mention of another really good movie he made, namely Happythankyoumoreplease. Again, not a typo, but kind of a significant part of the plot. Well, 'plot' might be a strong word to attach to this film. To be honest, it strikes me more of a character study type of story. It's something where we follow a group of people through the struggles of their everyday lives, struggles that others most likely deal with, but we see how different people can make similar situations unique.
The main character is Sam played by Josh Radnor, who as mentioned is also the writer and director. Sam is also a writer, and one day, he unexpectedly meets a little boy named Rasheen, played by Michaal Algieri, who has been abandoned on the subway. He tries to figure out what to do with the kid, which proves more difficult than one may think once Sam discovers that Rasheen has some special artistic talent. While Sam is the connective thread for the story, we also get a look at the lives of the people he knows and loves. First, there is his best friend Annie, played by Malin Ackerman in arguably the best performance of her career. Annie is a beautiful, spirited woman who also has Alopecia and pretty much just wants to live her life and feel worthy to be loved. And she also gets to say the dialogue from which we get our fantastic title. Speaking of which, I love this character, because she's the type of person you may meet in real life that makes you appreciate everything much more than you probably do. Then, there's Mary Catherine and Charlie, a couple contemplating whether or not to move from New York to Los Angeles. Who would want to do that? Sorry, I love New York. Anyway, these characters are played by Zoe Kazaan, who is so cute that it's almost annoying, but because she's so cute I can't be annoyed, and Pablo Schreiber, who is amazing, as per usual, because that is what he, as an actor, gets hired to do. He's kind of known for it, and I am fairly certain that he is not going to stop doing that any time soon. We also have Sam #2, played by the wonderful Tony Hale, who is one of the suitors for Annie, and he is just a delight. Finally, we get a great performance by another adorable soul, Kate Mara, as Mississippi. That's her name. Stop arguing with me. Yes, it is. Anyway, Mississippi is a waitress and a singer waiting for her big break, and she also serves as the object of affection for Sam. And to add on to her wonderful acting performance, Kate Mara also does her own singing in this. Very good. And I would be remiss not to mention the appearance of Richard Jenkins, who is always incredible, so no surprise there.
As I mentioned, this is not exactly a heavily plot driven film, so there's not a ton I can say about it where that is concerned. It's more about the characters, which is fine with me. Better than fine, actually. I really enjoy movies that are very much about the characters. Maybe it's because I'm a writer, I don't know. Come to think of it, it may be even more difficult to write a story like this and do it well. What we're seeing in films like this is just regular people living there lives and dealing with everyday things. As we all do. But when it is superbly written and acted, it can be something extremely entertaining and moving, even heartbreaking at times. Happythankyoumoreplease is not a movie with some crazy, twisty plot that you have to take notes on to understand. It's an effortless, beautiful story of life in it's simplest form. And life in it's simplest form is all of us struggling, loving, thinking and living through each day. It's just all of us trying to figure things out. That is something for which Josh Radnor has a real talent. He manages to capture the essence of ordinary lives and how people respond when things come into them or go out of them. That is certainly something I appreciate.
So, in case it's not obvious, I highly recommend this movie. I know it might not be to everyone's taste, but it's a really good film with fine acting, writing and directing, I say give it a shot.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
