Happythankyoumoreplease (2011)

i must have seen a different film!!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Sam Wexler (Josh Radnor) is a story writer living in NYC. One day on the subway, he finds little Rasheen who lost his foster mom. He's not eager to go back and Sam is in a rush to a job interview. Then he takes him to his friend Annie (Malin Akerman)'s party. Annie is suffering from alopecia and hounded by an annoying co-worker Sam #2 (Tony Hale). Her sometimes mantra is "Thank You! More Please." Friend Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) is also at the party whose boyfriend Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) wants to move to L.A. for a job opportunity but she doesn't. Sam #1 is infatuated with waitress Mississippi (Kate Mara).I want to like this more. The characters are indie-quirky and likable enough. However, a couple of little things keep bothering me about this movie. First the truly minor thing is that the kid should be cuter. Don't get me wrong. The kid is cute but he really should be cuter. Second, I kept thinking that this is kidnapping. The movie would work fine if he just kept the kid overnight. The longer he stayed, the more unreal the movie became. It got to be so ridiculous that the other characters are annoyed at him. Finally, the characters need more connections. They don't work together and they aren't roommates. The stories just feel a little bit separated. It would be better for them to be connected and therefore have more easy meetings together. Overall, there are some funny moments and some nice indie moments. I'm just bothered by the unintentional kidnapping.

This will be my first review on IMDb. And I thought that I owed it to Josh Radnor and the team that brought this film to us, that I tip my hat in appreciation of their efforts.I, like probably everyone else was first introduced to Josh Radnor like such "Have you met Ted?". I'd seen that he would be directing a film, and was intrigued to see what the outcome was. I read nothing more on the subject, wanting to have as little preconception as possible.Then the time came and my heart sank. I am not a fan of large ensemble casts, and the telling of multiple stories at the same time. Perhaps I'm too simple.I often find it difficult to relate to so many characters. Developing each respective character and their story is a fine balance. I usually get left feeling "Why didn't we see more of this/them, instead of those/that?". If I find one or more of the characters boring, I just turn off during their scenes. Or the casting can be off, and I wish one actor or actress had played a different role in the film. Obviously this is all personal. But ultimately I feel unsatisfied. That the concept could've been better "if"…But I do appreciate it when it's done well. And bravo Mr Radnor, et al, this is very well done. All the players fit their roles. Everyone seemed so comfortable which came across on screen. Not one character or relationship was over/under cooked. I was able to relate and empathise with every situation in some way or another which ultimately got me invested in the outcome.When you read the story line your thoughts may jump to Love Actually, New Year's Eve or similar. These are the films that have previously left me unfulfilled. They may have good moments, but on the whole feel very contrived. But with Happythankyoumoreplease each scene felt natural, as if I were watching a moment of a real life.I can happily say that this genuinely surprised me. A real diamond of a find.Worthy of so much more acclaim than it has received. And deserving of so much more success than it has gained.

Three stars: two for the music, one for Mississippi.This is one of those 'misplaced irony' movies that this decade seems to have a monopoly for. I hear echo's from Gilmore Girls, Ally Mcbeal, and other hip 'ironic' series: series where characters have an ironic take on their (drama-deprived) lives, but it's a totally misplaced irony. Misplaced, because you know from the beginning that nobody really suffers from anything at all. It is as if the characters know from the first second that they are in a movie in which everything is going to be fine, so they 'take their problems rather lightly', and only act as if in pain.Everything in this is unrealistic. There is a writer, but we don't know what he really writes about. He is just the appearance of a writer. Somehow he thinks that being born black and poor is guaranteed a success, while being a white suburban kid doesn't deliver anything: if there is one thing though, that makes a lousy writer, it's a lack of spirit and imagination. A writer who sees a small boy drawing magnificently, and only thinks about how 'big' and 'succesful' and 'rich' this kid could become? That's the least inspiring take on such a thing. It reveals the writers and director of this movie as a new york bunch who try their best at being creative themselves, but in a superficial, and sort of boring kind of way, more as a being part of a hip trend than as necessity.The role of the kid in the story is the worst. He's nothing more than a dramatic instrument.A movie that looks like a lot, but when watched with your BS-detector switched on, is endlessly empty.I am sorry! I want to like movies, and I am the easiest victim when a movie is even a bit good!!!

Starring a plank of wood named Josh Radnor, who is capable of two expressions throughout the film, bewilderment and... (ok, just one, but he pouts his lips a lot), this film made wonder if the title wasn't better suited for an adult film. A movie with an incredulous, perhaps creepy storyline, it promotes kidnapping as a legitimate form of adoption and coercion as a legitimate form of dating. Akerman comes off like a Hollywood tour director with her unnaturally happy portrayal of Annie, and her new beau "Sam #2" played by Tony Hale scares the poop out of you, though he's really supposed to be heart-warming. Perhaps the only two bright spots of the film are Kate Mara's charm and the occasional lines of dialogue that are actually good. Unfortunately, by the end of the film I was just happy it had ended, even if the ending was like a TV show that had been cancelled well before the end of the season. So maybe I get the "happy" part of the title, as in "Happyitsover", but the rest should read, "NOthankyouIwantedmoreplease".