Sundance Review: HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE

At Sundance you will see a few films by first time writers/directors, sometimes they hit and sometimes they miss. With HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE we already knew that Josh Radnor could act, since he is one of my favorite characters on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. I wasn’t sure how he would fare as a writer/director but after the screening I knew that Radnor was the real deal and we would definitely be seeing more of him behind the camera.

HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE centers around Sam, a writer who is trying to push his novel to get it published. On his way to a meeting with a publisher he stumbles upon a boy who has been separated from his family. Being a kind hearted guy, he takes the boy, Rasheen, with him with the intention of dropping him off at the police station. One thing leads to another and Rasheen comes with him to his meeting which was a recipe for disaster.

The movie also revolves around Sam falling for a waitress named Mississippi, his best friend Annie who has Alopecia, and his cousin/friend Mary Catherine who is dealing with her boyfriend wanting to up and move to LA. All of Sam’s friends quickly become worried after he takes Rasheen in, especially with all of the NY state laws about foster children.

The character development is deep, and the story lines go just even deeper, so I wont ruin or spoil anything for you here. I will tell you that Radnor took his time with the script. It didn’t feel rushed or over done. Its a very touching story and you honestly feel close to every character in the film.

The entire cast does an amazing job in the film. Everyone plays to their roles perfectly. Kate Mara is not only absolutely stunning as Mississippi, but does a great job acting and singing. I was also really surprised by Tony Hale in the role of Sam #2, who takes a bit of a departure from things we’ve seen him in previously. Michael Algieri who plays Rasheen in the film is a great child actor, cant wait to see what else he will be doing.

After interviewing both Radnor and Malin Akerman (who plays Annie) about the film I realized how much work they put into making Annie as real as possible. The character is based off of one of Randors friend in real life who has Alopecia, and it feels like they did her justice. Malin Akerman even went as far as to shave her eyebrows to avoid the use of makeup. She has never done a role like this and I was blown away by her performance. It was very real, and very touching.

I was blown away at the connection Radnor made me feel with him and Rasheen in the movie, there were scenes that I got a little choked up, which really surprised me.

This is definitely one of my favorite movies of the festival, and Josh Radnor has some great things ahead of him. I really hope this movie gets picked up so everyone has a chance to experience it.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5