Review of Happythankyoumoreplease (2011) by Mattias L — 28 Jun 2011

There are many charming moments filled throughout the film. I feel like 4 stars might be a little high of a rating, but overall I really enjoyed myself. The editing, dialogue, and performances were what made HappyThankYouMorePlease.

I'm happy they never really go into the cliche indie film with "oh, we were in a relationship, you said you would never be mean, but you cheated on me" kinda thing. I'm just getting so sick of the cheating being the twist in the relationship storyline.

Or the "I'm having a baby and won't tell you, I'm just going to get an abortion" scenario. But if you don't go into these it seems like people just get mad that you're trying to be too self conscious about not going down that route.

However, Josh Radnor makes sure that he creates characters that are believable and they make the decisions those characters would actually make. They were alive. The reason why I think 4 stars might be too high of a rating is because of Mary Catherine and Charlie's story.

I didn't care. It felt like Radnor used their storyline to show his love for New York and hate for LA. I mean, there's more to their relationship than that. It also shows how love will ultimately win whether it feels like it's there or not.

The problem with their storyline lies within the fact that they are painfully dull. Just the typical guy and girl who live in New York that don't believe in marriage but live together. There really wasn't much more to them than that.

I never felt a strong grasp of either character. I guess what made me love Sam and Annie's storyline so amazing is that they had a lot to do with each other. They are two people who are constantly looking for happiness, but the reason why they aren't reaching it is because of themselves.

Radnor throws in some great subtlety and hopes the audience catches it. Right in the beginning we see Sam wake up late for a meeting and he says he doesn't know why he is always making himself fail.

Well, later he asks Mississippi to live with him for 3 days, and later he goes to a place where he can make Rasheen his foster child. These both seem like things that will make himself happier, but it's really a path to destruction.

Just like how he set up a meeting, but he was late for it. I enjoyed Annie and Sam 2. Sam 2 is first seen taking pictures of Annie, and we know that Annie has self-esteem issues because of her lack of hair.

Sam 2 loves the way she looks, and he's taking pictures because he wants to keep looking at her. It's interesting that Annie wants to go towards her ex who is obviously not good from the start, but she is really hesitant towards a guy who will love her no matter what.

We all know that Annie went to the bar knowing that her ex just wanted to have sex. The ending with Mississippi singing was quite annoying to be honest. Can she try to look more like a pop star while singing? Is she trying to be Christina Aguilera or something? The song wasn't bad, just her performance.

But I liked the ending even though you can see that from a mile away. Films like You and Me and Everyone We Know are annoying because they try so hard to be indie that they aren't genuine or truly create real characters, but HappyThankYouMorePlease is a success because of the rich characters Radnor is able to create.

Thank you! More Please! (cheesy, I know, but it had to be done).