Big fans of How I Met Your Mother (BTW, seen on DC50tv every weeknight at 6 PM and 6:30 PM) get to see actor Josh "Ted Mosby" Radnor show off his writing and directing skills as well, but it's co-star Malin Ackerman who proves to be more than a pretty face. In one of those movies where twentysomething hipsters talk about their feelings, Radnor plays Sam - a struggling writer who meets a lost little boy, Rasheen (Michael Algieri), and starts to take care of him, while also trying to win the heart of Mississippi (Kate Mara).
Meanwhile, Sam's best friend, Annie (Ackerman), struggles with an illness that causes baldness, while fending off the romantic advances of a dorky co-worker, Sam #2 (Tony Hale).
Then, because we need more people talking and feeling the angst, the audience gets to take a peek into the lives of Mary (Zoe Kazan) and Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) as they struggle with staying together and weigh the possibilities of leaving NYC for LA (YIKES!).
Radnor might be considered a triple threat after this one. Smartly, he makes a small, but interesting movie where he lets the dialogue and acting speak for itself. Avoiding the great temptation to which most first time directors fall prey, he isn't enamored with showing the audience every visual trick he can muster. Instead, the audience gets to focus on each character, and the troubles he or she faces, which is the most daring direction of all.
Radnor spruces up the dialogue with some cutting wit and fun playfulness, but HappyThankYouMorePlease sometimes comes off too much like a TV sitcom, which isn't shocking since that is our writer/director/actor's background. Some will be upset with the lack of story in the movie, especially since it feels like everyone is talking and talking and talking without getting anywhere, but I think the actors save it.
HappyThankYouMorePlease gives the audience a chance to see Ackerman in the most real acting performance I can remember from the beauty. As Annie, she is stripped of the sexiness that makes her a wanted commodity in Hollywood, and shows off an acting ability that should be treasured more. Ackerman creates a warm, sympathetic character without wallowing in the obvious.
You'll have to search for it, since HappyThankYouMorePlease is in a very limited release, but the payoff is worth it.
3 Waffles (Out of 4)
HappyThankYouMorePlease rated R for language
Radnor spruces up the dialogue with some cutting wit and fun playfulness, but HappyThankYouMorePlease sometimes comes off too much like a TV sitcom, which isn't shocking since that is our writer/director/actor's background. Some will be upset with the lack of story in the movie, especially since it feels like everyone is talking and talking and talking without getting anywhere, but I think the actors save it.
HappyThankYouMorePlease gives the audience a chance to see Ackerman in the most real acting performance I can remember from the beauty. As Annie, she is stripped of the sexiness that makes her a wanted commodity in Hollywood, and shows off an acting ability that should be treasured more. Ackerman creates a warm, sympathetic character without wallowing in the obvious.
You'll have to search for it, since HappyThankYouMorePlease is in a very limited release, but the payoff is worth it.
3 Waffles (Out of 4)
HappyThankYouMorePlease rated R for language
