CBS’s How I Met Your Mother is one of my, if not my favorite TV CBS’s How I Met Your Mother is one of my, if not my favorite TV show on the air right now, so when I heard that its star, Josh Radnor was writing, directing, and starring in a romantic comedy, I was instantly hooked. The film came and went in theaters relatively quickly, so I had to wait for the DVD release. The first week it was available, I went to the video store, rented it, and sat down with my laptop and hoped for the best.

The definition of the term Indie Film, in my opinion, has changed considerably since I first heard of it. I always thought of indie films as being movies with sickeningly low budgets, mostly unknown actors, and a relatively new writer/director. I learned quickly that this isn’t the case. Maybe instead of saying that the definition changed, maybe I should say I changed to realize what the true meaning was. HappyThankYouMorePlease (which from now on in this article will be known as HTYMP) is most definitely an indie film, but it’s a “new” kind of indie film. It still has that low budget. The director is unknown in the directing world, but is a very successful actor, and some of the actors are name actors, some are not. It’s made to appeal the 20-something generation who isn’t sure what they want in their life. The ones who think they’re in love and might not be, or the ones who are in love, and just aren’t ready to be. Then there are those who want to be in love, but just aren’t ready to be. I could take the easy way out, and label all these people as hipsters, but I think I can be a little more inventive, and a little fairer, than that. Can we really label these kids as hipsters because they like a specific type of music or film? Well we could but we wouldn’t necessarily be right. The term hipster is overused, or, to the two, maybe three people who know what this means, the term is fin. Hipsters are (hopefully) a thing of the past, and it’s time to realize that and accept that all bad things come to an end. The hipsters are getting older and are starting to realize whom they really are. That’s what HTYMP represents in some ways; the transition period. That place in your life where you really know what it means to be an adult. But I’ve already spent almost 3/4ths of a page setting up my opinion on the film, might as well get to it.

HTYMP is a very funny, extremely cute, moderately cliché, but still very good romantic-comedy. The writing, much like that of our struggling protagonist, is witty, relatable, and always engaging. The dialogue rings alarmingly true, and no character is left one-sided or underdeveloped. I stand by the opinion that this is a writer’s film. Anyone who’s attempted to write a book, a screenplay, or anything like that, can identify with Sam Wexler (Josh Radnor). Sam is a struggling short story writer who is trying to get his first novel published. On his way home, he sees Rasheen (Michael Algieri), a young boy who was left on the subway by who appears to be his mother. Sam takes him in, trying to find him a way home. By chance, he meets Mississippi (Kate Mara), a local bartender. They make a deal that to avoid a one night stand, Mississippi must live with Sam for three days. Sam’s best friend is Annie, who is bald due to an auto-immune disorder that is never fully explained. Finally, there is Sam’s cousin Mary Katherine and her boyfriend Charlie (Zoe Kazan and Pablo Schreiber). Charlie wants to move the two of them out to LA, but Mary wants to stay, and she’s not completely sure why.

HTYMP’s core message is being young and being in love, and it conveys this very well. All the characters are believable, with their respective sub-plots being fleshed out enough so that we care about them and what’s going on in their lives. Don’t worry either, the film’s title is explained. As far as cutesy rom-com’s go, this is about as good as it gets.

Grade: B+