Happythankyoumoreplease (2010)

Captures a generational moment - young people on the cusp of truly growing up, tiring of their reflexive cynicism, each in their own ways struggling to connect and define what it means to love and be loved.

Director:

Josh Radnor

Writer:

Josh Radnor (screenplay)

Stars:

Malin Akerman, Michael Algieri, Zoe Kazan

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Malin Akerman	...	Annie
Michael Algieri	...	Rasheen
Bram Barouh	...	Spencer
Dana Barron	...	The Gynecologist
Sunah Bilsted	...	Receptionist
Jimmy Gary Jr.	...	Police Officer
Tony Hale	...	Sam #2
Richard Jenkins	...	Paul Gertmanian
Zoe Kazan	...	Mary Catherine
Marna Kohn	...	Melissa
Kate Mara	...	Mississippi
Laith Nakli	...	MTA Worker
Katharine Powell	...	Girl Leaving Apartment
Josh Radnor	...	Sam Wexler
Maria Elena Ramirez	...	Jill

Storyline

Six New Yorkers juggle love, friendship, and the keenly challenging specter of adulthood. Sam Wexler is a struggling writer who's having a particularly bad day. When a young boy gets separated from his family on the subway, Sam makes the questionable decision to bring the child back to his apartment and thus begins a rewarding, yet complicated, friendship. Sam's life revolves around his friends-Annie, whose self-image keeps her from commitment; Charlie and Mary Catherine, a couple whose possible move to Los Angeles tests their relationship; and Mississippi, a cabaret singer who catches Sam's eye.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | writer | apartment | subway | singer | 

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Taglines:

Go get yourself loved.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Anchor Bay Films [us] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 2011 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Erotevmenoi sti Nea Yorki

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$35,063 (USA) (4 March 2011)

Gross:

$215,576 (USA) (22 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paper Street Films, Tom Sawyer Entertainment, Back Lot Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The filmmaker Mary is talking about is obviously Woody Allen, who makes a film a year and is married to his former girlfriend's adopted daughter.

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Goofs

During certain scenes, Malin Akerman's hair is visible from under her head wrap.

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Quotes

Sam #2: You can hear this, close your eyes
Annie: What?
Sam #2: I just want you to listen to me. Humor me please?
Sam #2: [Annie closes her eyes] It's not easy to be adored - you in particular - you have a tougher time with it than most, I get that, but I want you to give it a try. Think of it as an experiment. I promise I will be very wonderful at adoring you Annie. It an area where, I think I got a great deal of talent. You're worth the adoration Annie, you're worth it, and the fact that you don't believe it, has nothing to...

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Connections

Referenced in Maltin on Movies: The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Please Remain Calm"
Written by Craig Andrew Minowa
Performed by Cloud Cult
By Arrangement with Blue Buddha Entertainment

User Reviews

Living a Short Story

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.