HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE: anunderratedunderappreciateddelight

I put this film on not really knowing what to expect beyond the brief synopsis on imdb and I was more than very very pleasantly surprised.
First-time writer-director and star Josh Radnor has crafted a sparkling gem with this New York City based comedy drama which more than matches anything that Woody Allen has turned out in recent years. The comparisons with Allen are inevitable given that HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE is set in Manhattan, and focuses on the lives and lovelives of three interconnected twentysomething couples trying to figure out their future both professionally and romantically. Radnor's script may not include the kind of sharply funny observations that have graced so many of Allen's best movies (but then neither have Allen's most recent films) but it does feature dialogue that feels fresh and natural and believable.
At the story's heart is Sam Wexler (Radnor), a struggling writer who befriends a young boy when he gets separated from his family on the subway. Rather than turn him in at the nearest police station Sam brings the boy home and lets him sleep on his couch. He assures his anxious friends that he will take the boy to the authorities but finds that increasingly difficult to as an unexpected friendship develops between the two.
While Sam tries to juggle his new found responsibility to the youngster with getting his writing career started and romancing a bartender named Mississippi (Kate Mara) his best friends are facing crisis of their own. Annie (Malin Akerman) is wrestling with commitment issues borne of a poor self image, while Charlie (Pablo Schrieber) and Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) are facing a breaking point in their relationship.
If all this angst and emotional turmoil sounds like heavy going it isn't. The personal dramas play out against the surprisingly calming and sunny backdrop of Manhattan's Greenwich Village and SoHo, and the life of this enormous, vibrant city helps keep these personal stories in perspective. They are a big deal to those involved but there's millions more stories just like these going on all around and, for the most part, they tend to resolve themselves without causing the world to end.
As much as this is a story about a group of friends lending one another their support as they each face their own personal crisis it's also about a group of young men and women making a final break with the hedonism of youth and crossing over into the world of fully fledged adulthood with all the responsibilities, pressures and opportunities that it brings with it.

The performances are uniformly excellent, but I was particularly impressed by 9 year old Michael Algieri as Rasheen, the boy Sam rescues from the subway, and Tony Hale as Sam #2, Annie's annoying office co-worker who reveals unexpected tenderness and maturity beneath his irritating exterior.
In 2004 I was blown away by 'Garden State' starring, written and directed by tv star Zach Braff making his big screen debut in these roles. In 2011 I've had the same kind of reaction to tv star Radnor ('How I Met Your Mother') doing the same with HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE. By the time the final credits rolled I was very happy and definitely wanted more. Doyourselfafavourandcheckthisoneout.It'sbloodybrilliant!