Happythankyoumoreplease is a 2010 comedy-drama film written and directed by Josh Radnor in his directorial debut.[2] The film features Radnor, Malin Åkerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Michael Algieri, Pablo Schreiber, and Tony Hale, in the story of a group of young New Yorkers, struggling to balance love, friendship, and their encroaching adulthoods.[3]
Happythankyoumoreplease | |
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Directed by | Josh Radnor |
Written by | Josh Radnor |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Seamus Tierney |
Edited by | Michael R. Miller |
Production company | Tom Sawyer Entertainment |
Distributed by | Anchor Bay Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $951,016[1] |
Happythankyoumoreplease premiered at the 26th Sundance Film Festival in 2010, where it won the Audience Award and was further nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. On March 4, 2011 it was released in theatres throughout Los Angeles and New York.
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A story of relationships, Happythankyoumoreplease deals with the struggles facing several pairs trying to find their way in the big city. The film centers on Sam (Radnor), a writer who is trying (unsuccessfully) to get his first novel attempt into print, and Rasheen (Algieri), a foster care child, whom Sam meets when Rasheen is abandoned on the subway. The film also involves Sam's best friend Annie (Åkerman), a woman who has the autoimmune disorder alopecia (which has caused her to lose her hair), who is trying to find a reason to be loved; Sam's cousin Mary Catherine (Kazan) and her boyfriend Charlie (Schreiber), and Mississippi (Mara), a waitress/singer who is trying to make it in the city. Mary Catherine faces the prospect of either moving to Los Angeles with Charlie (to a new job offer) or staying in her familiar New York, which would mean ending their relationship. When Mary finds she is pregnant, the moving situation becomes more complicated.
Sam's attempt to return the young Rasheen to the proper authorities fails when the boy is determined not to re-enter the foster care program. Sam subsequently tries to adopt the boy, but botches the application process in a fashion that ends in his (brief) arrest. Rasheen is finally placed with a new foster family, but Sam keeps tabs, including providing the boy with drawing materials when he learns of his artistic abilities. Sam also works on bringing Mississippi into his life, with several setbacks, but at movie's end it appears that their relationship is in place.
Radnor wrote the film while working on the first and second seasons of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. He then had actors read for roles, wrote revisions, and sought financing for two years. Radnor received financing in April 2009 and began shooting in July 2009 in New York City, after six weeks of pre-production. The film was selected for the Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered on January 22, 2010.[3][4] It won the audience award for favorite U.S. drama.[5]
Myriad Pictures bought the international distribution rights for the film.[6] The publisher Hannover House bought the North American distribution rights,[7] but they were later acquired by Anchor Bay Films.[8]
Happythankyoumoreplease premiered during the 26th Sundance Film Festival from 21 to 31 January 2010, in Park City, Utah. The film was screened as part of the Gen Art Film Festival in New York City on April 7, 2010.[9] The female lead Malin Åkerman promoted the film with guest appearances on Lopez Tonight and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
It opened in theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on March 4, 2011.[10] The movie grossed $216,110 in the United States.[11]
It was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray disc on June 21, 2011.
One month after its US theatrical release, Happythankyoumoreplease opened in Spain where it did comparatively better, grossing $551,472.[12]
Over the following months, it was released in Belgium, Poland, Turkey, and Greece.
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The film received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 43% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10.[13] Metacritic assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14]
John Anderson at Variety praised the production values and the performance of Akerman, but wrote "the characters are uniformly annoying, their stories insubstantial and the tone one of smug contentment."[15]