“HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE” | Love, laughs.
1 hour, 38 minutes. Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman. At Denver FilmCenter/Colfax.
“HappyThankYouMorePlease,” a Manhattan rom-com starring, written by and directed by Josh Radnor (Ted on TV’s “How I Met Your Mother”), is a case of when bad scripts happen to good actors. Given its similarities to a bygone sitcom, one might call it “Friends” without benefits.
The film shares much in common with Radnor’s character, Sam, a gifted short-story writer who has yet to master long form. While individual scenes are appealing, the movie does not cohere.
Its three central characters are at that awkward age: too old for casual relations and not ready to commit. Sam is a writer circulating the manuscript of his first novel, a one-night-stand kind of guy. His friend Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) has a boyfriend who wants to move to L.A. His best friend, Annie (Malin Akerman), isn’t over her ex.
Sam is irresponsible on so many levels that it sabotages the movie. On the subway to meet with his literary agent, he rescues a young boy, Rasheen (Michael Algieri), separated from his companions. Sam uses Rasheen to ingratiate himself with Mississippi (Kate Mara, sister of Rooney), a flirty redheaded bartender, and to create third-act complications.
The performers are likable and their attitude is fundamentally sunny. But the plausibility quotient is so low that though you like some of the characters, you don’t believe in them.
