Review: Happythankyoumoreplease DVD

STUDIO: Anchor Bay | DIRECTOR: Josh Radnor | CAST: Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman, Zoe Kazan, Pablo Schreiber, Kate Mara
RELEASE DATE: 6/21/2011 | PRICE: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray $39.99
BONUSES: commentary, deleted scenes, singer-songwriter Jayma featurette
SPECS: R | 99 min. | Romantic comedy | 2.40:1 widescreen | Dolby Digital 5.1/Dolby TrueHD 5.1 | English and Spanish subtitles

RATINGS (out of 5): Movie  | Audio  | Video  | Overall

Kate Mara catches Josh Radnor's eye in happythankyoumoreplease.

A romantic comedy with serious undertones about New York thirty-somethings looking for connections and love and finding themselves in the process, Happythankyoumoreplease fits squarely in the (500) Days of Summer and Garden State mold.

Writer/director Josh Radnor (TV’s How I Met Your Mother) also stars in his movie as a struggling writer who takes under his wing a young boy in foster care he meets on a subway. Meanwhile, Radnor’s best friend (Malin Akerman, Couples Retreat) struggles with relationships while she loses her hair from a disease, and Radnor’s cousin (Zoe Kazan, TV’s Bored to Death) deals with the likelihood that her boyfriend (Pablo Schreiber, TV’s Lights Out) wants to move to Los Angeles. All this and Radnor takes a liking to a pretty bartender (Kate Mara, 127 Hours) who is an aspiring singer.

Bittersweet moments and laughs propelled by smart writing and a fine ensemble cast bring this independent film to quirky life. While there’s a lot going on, Radnor keeps the narrative flowing, concentrating more on his well-etched characters than the plot complications. While all of the characters reveal their flaws, Radnor seems to genuinely like them, and his feelings are conveyed as everything comes together at the end.

Adding flavor to the Manhattan locations is a fine musical score highlighted by songs from female singer-songwriter Jaymay. In many ways, the multi-character film may remind viewers of a male variation of the femme-oriented works of Lisa Cholodenko (Laurel Canyon) or Nicole Holofcener (Walking & Talking). And that’s a good thing.

Bonus features on the DVD include commentary by Radnor and producer Jesse Hara that delves into the film’s shoot in New York and a featurette on Jaymay, the NYC-based folk singer/songwriter whose songs are played throughout the film.

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