I’ve been compiling my best of list from my Flickchart and it has led to a bit of a problem. See, the way Flickchart determines the release date for a film is when it gets it’s first public showing. A lot of the time this would be fine, but for the indie fare which pretty much always debuts at a festival and then takes a while to find a distributor, this can mean that Flickchart can be off by a year or two. I’ve now realised that two films which saw a limited release this year, but which Flickchart has as being released in 2010, were excluded from my draft list of best films for 2011. Happythankyoumoreplease is one of those films, the other is the next spot up in my rankings. This has lead to a 4a and 4b, not to indicate a tie, but rather as a means to include films on this list which deserve to be included.
Happythankyoumoreplease tells the story of a six New Yorkers who juggle love, friendship, and the keenly challenging specter of adulthood. Sam Wexler (Josh Radnor, who also wrote and directed the film) is a struggling writer who’s having a particularly bad day. When a young boy gets separated from his family on the subway, Sam makes the questionable decision to bring the child back to his apartment and thus begins a rewarding, yet complicated, friendship. Sam’s life revolves around his friends – Annie (Malin Akerman), whose self-image keeps her from commitment; Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) and Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan), a couple whose possible move to Los Angeles tests their relationship; and Mississippi (Kate Mara), a cabaret singer who catches Sam’s eye.
Ever since How I Met Your Mother came on the air in 2005 I’ve been impressed by Josh Radnor. He always comes across as a likeable guy even in his more douchey moments on the show. It was with that in mind that I was interested to see what he was like as both a writer and director. Turns out he’s good.
The film is for all intents and purposes a coming of age tale for people in their late twenties/early thirties, set in New York, and accompanied by an indie soundtrack. In other words, this is exactly the type of film that I love. You add in Radnor, Akerman, and the wonderful Tony Hale, and it’s plain as day that I would rank this high.
I often try and explain why I like a certain film to friends or family and more often than not I end up saying it has a “certain feel” to it. That’s typically my way of saying I enjoyed how it looked and sounded, and the mood it put me in both when I was watching it and after it had finished. Happythankyoumoreplease is another film that has an unquantifiable “feel” to it that will appeal to you if you’re a fan of indie dramas.
After watching Happythankyoumoreplease and Martha Marcy May Marlene, I was over the moon to learn that Radnor’s next writing/directing/starring project, Liberal Arts, also stars Elizabeth Olsen and is due to debut at Sundance this year. I can’t wait to see what he does as a follow-up.
