HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE (Josh Radnor). 100 minutes. Opens Friday (April 1). See listing. Rating: NNN
Josh Radnor writes, directs and stars in this story about six young New Yorkers trying to get over their cynicism so they can find love. Too bad everyone’s so damn likeable. Happythankyoumoreplease could use a little edge.
Radnor plays aspiring writer Sam, who sees a small boy (Michael Algieri) being separated from his family on the subway and tries to do the right thing – all wrong – by taking the kid home with him. This gets in the way of his attempts to woo bartender Mississippi (Kate Mara).
Meanwhile, best friend Annie (Malin Akerman), who has an immune deficiency disorder, falls for all the wrong guys, and cousin Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) won’t move to L.A. with her boyfriend, Charlie (Pablo Schreiber).
When Annie meets a nerdy guy who’s crazy about her, she tries to resist. When Charlie asks Mary Catherine to marry him, she freaks out. And when Sam starts feeling something for Mississippi, he runs in the other direction.
Except in Annie’s case, where we know illness takes it toll on an individual’s self-esteem, we have no idea what’s making all these people so negative. They’re all, however, very watchable Radnor does hangdog with the best of them. Cool tunes, especially from Jaymay, too. Just don’t hope for anything too intense.
