Writer/director Josh Radner of “HappyThankYouMorePlease” with on screen co-star Michael Algieri in a scene from the film. (Photo Courtesy of Anchor Bay Films)

“Happythankyoumoreplease” features the works of television’s “How I Met Your Mother” Josh Radnor as its premiere writer and director.

With a strong showing at the annual Sundance Film Festival, “Happythankyoumoreplease” was a subtly surprising movie that picked up the always-coveted “Audience Award” while at the festival.

The film follows Radnor’s character, Sam Wexler, who is a struggling, almost dead-beat, writer who just can’t seem to catch a break.

Downtrodden and defeated, Wexler’s life takes an unexpected turn when, on his way to a potential job interview, he stumbles upon a orphaned child who has separated from his family on the subway.

Forced by his conscious Wexler decides to take the child under his care until he can find the lost child’s home.

The child, Rasheen, who for half of his screen time only communicates with blank stares, adds a sense of whimsy to the sometimes beaten script, but after reflecting on the movie, one starts to question why the kid was even there in the first place.

Wexler’s romantic life takes a positive shift as well when he walks into a bar and lays his eyes on the angelic Mississippi, played by Kate Mara.

When Mississippi and Sam have their second encounter at the bar Mississippi works at, the two young city slickers end up spending the night together.

It is during this time period, that the intoxicated Wexler proposes a plan that involves him and Mississippi avoiding a one-night stand.

Wexler scribbles down a contract that binds him and Mara’s character together for a total of three nights, if successful, the two would conveniently avoid the awkwardness of a one-night stand, and who knows, a relationship might come from it as well.

However, when Wexler wakes up the next morning, the gravity of the situation takes effect and immediately, with a smiling Mississippi lying next to him in bed, the regret sets in.

Much of the film’s plot is dedicated to Wexler and Mississippi’s unconventional relationship; however, Radnor takes a little weight off his main character by intertwining two additional story lines.

The first involves alopecia stricken, yet undeniably gorgeous, Annie, played by the Swedish sensation Malin Akerman. Annie, much like Radnor’s character, is stopped at a crossroad in her life.

Having to choose from her wild, reckless ex-boyfriend, and the newly found, sweet but dorky, Sam No. 2, Annie’s role is easily the movie’s most dramatic.

Constantly using her condition as an excuse to sell herself short, Annie must finally accept that she is worth all of the good things that come her way, and it is from these two relationships, that she finally learns that lesson.

One of the movie’s most heartwarming scenes comes when Annie is out on a date with the determined Sam #2.

Trying to call off the relationship and leave things where they are, Annie finally realizes what she deserves, only after a stunning monologue by Tony Hale.

The second intertwined story line comes from the young, stereotypical artsy character Mary Catherine, played by Zoe Karzan.

After finally being reunited with her long time boyfriend, who has been in Los Angeles in search for a job, Mary Catherine undergoes a series of life changes that involve her potential move from New York to Los Angeles.

With the move causing plenty of strife between herself and her boyfriend, Mary Catherine’s life takes on a new focus when she receives news that she never expected to happen.

“Happythankyoumoreplease,” despite its cluttered title, is charmingly simple. Radnor’s first stab at filmmaking is quite a formidable one and the film’s stripped down and honest characters are worth the ticket price.