Review of Happythankyoumoreplease (2011) by Jen W — 10 Jul 2011

I've contemplated the theme of happiness in films on several occasions. Romantic comedies pull that trick out like a bitch. The reason why they do it is because it is a 'trick', as I so called it, because happiness shouldn't carry a film. There should be something more, something below the surface. It's a trick because it fools the audience into thinking they saw something that really emotionally effected them, but what it really did was just plow you over with upbeat music, joyous laughter, and big grins.

In most cases, that's the number one reason why we idealize romantic comedies as lazy garbage, set aside that we can usually predict every single thing that happens in them. When us moviegoers want a realistic, human approach to a romantic comedy, we head over to indie cinema. And we look on over at the indie cinema, partially because of the pretentious bastards lurking within all of us, but also because we know that when you don't have studio marketing and a bloated budget pushing you, honesty and... well... life are much easier to come by.

Sam Wexler, along with a bunch of other twenty-five-ish-year old New Yorkers set the scene for Josh Radnor's movie baby (the guy writes it, directs it, stars in it.... is it). Not far from New York City and all of the crazy things happening in it, we have the future of our characters, one that doesn't look bleak or happy, but one that refuses to show its face entirely. Sam longs for something to work toward and someone to cherish while the others all have their own little quirks, situational mishaps, and difficult relationship problems.

It all begins when Sam finds a lost kid on a subway train and can't find his guardians. With no choice but to take the poor child under his wing until he can be placed in a home. Soon after, Sam starts developing some intense sexual chemistry with a bartender girl, and things snowball into something much more.

The other stories in "HappyThankYouMorePlease" go as follows: A bald girl feels she has bad habits with dating men and tries to straighten herself out; a couple debates on whether or not moving to LA is a good move. Just a little extra bit of info on that second one, all the hoopla is there because the girl feels she'll be homesick if she leaves New York.

What I'm really glad Josh Radnor has done here is he has taken this very sweet, cast-driven romance that starts out very subtle, and then builds into something much more mainstream and structurally relaxed. It doesn't do so in a way that feels contrived or obvious, but it works its magic by exercising a very keen sense of awareness.

By the time the end credits popped up and the love songs had been sung, all I can say is that I had oodles and oodles of happiness bursting up inside me. Of course, I did subsequently debate on all the puns I could use (being that 'happy' is in the title), but instead I decided to go for something a little less... pun-ny... and I know that isn't a word. You see, I thought long and hard about the problems with "HappyThankYouMorePlease", and there were plenty, but the more I thought, the more I didn't care.

When writing a review, it is true that there's some rules, that you're supposed to address everything. That means the good, the bad, and everything in between. But sometimes the rules can go to hell. This is an extremely solid romantic comedy. It's light, breezy, and it will put a big smile on your face when it's over. This isn't deep, contemplative, or any of that. It isn't "Blue Valentine", and you're not going to hear me complain about that.