Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Indie romantic dramedy is gimmicky, but OK for older teens.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
HappyThankYouMorePlease
What's the Story?
Sam (Josh Radnor), a writer living in New York, is best friends with Annie (Malin Akerman), who works in an office and has an unnamed disease that has robbed her of her hair. She also suffers the aftermath of a series of loser boyfriends. Sam tries to rescue a lost child, Rasheen (Michael Algieri), on the subway and ends up babysitting him for several days. At the same time, he meets and hits it off with bartender/singer Mississippi (Kate Mara), who agrees to a crazy plan to move in with Sam for three days. Meanwhile, Sam's "cousin" Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) is having issues with her longtime boyfriend, Charlie (Pablo Schreiber), who wants to move to Los Angeles for a job opportunity. Will everyone find love and happiness?
Is It Any Good?
The movie plays well in little bursts, with some sharp dialogue to make things sound good. After several years on the hit TV show How I Met Your Mother, Radnor makes his feature writing and directing debut with this indie dramedy. The movie suggests that Sam is good with short stories but not so good with novels, and that's how this movie is, too. The overall storylines and emotional threads don't really go very deep or very far.
It also smacks of cheap shortcuts, such as Rasheed, whose character is used more for laughs than for responsibility, or Annie's unnamed disease. Whenever the movie has nothing to say, it resorts to playing a sensitive song by an ironic singer/songwriter. While the performances are fine, the characters are fairly shallow, and it seems like their happy endings come too quickly and too easily; they could probably have used a lot more work.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what the movie is saying about love and relationships. Are any of these couples in healthy relationships? Why or why not? What's important to you in a relationship?
Do you consider these characters role models? Teens: What do you think your life will be like when you're the age of the characters in this movie?
Movie Details
- In theaters : March 4, 2011
- On DVD or streaming : June 21, 2011
- Cast : Josh Radnor , Kate Mara , Malin Akerman
- Director : Josh Radnor
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Anchor Bay Entertainment
- Genre : Romance
- Run time : 100 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : language
- Last updated : September 21, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate