HappyThankYouMorePlease

I watched this without a clue what it was about. But soon after it started, I found myself wondering with bated breath what would happen next, and next, and next, and next. The dialogue was as fresh and colorful as the cast. The direction was steered by a steady hand that knew when to back off and when to tone things down, when to intensify, and how close and to and at what angle the camera should be to the actors. The direction never condescends to its audience as the direction of most romantic comedies do. Nor does this movie smother us with too much wit or too much symbolism. The movie was practically perfect in that it balanced what I think we ask of our comedic dramas: a fresh look at love and humor, believability, and poignancy. It felt so richly human that when it was over I felt that I had watched a new hot play instead of a movie, that's how vivid it was, that's how roughly hewn and real it was.

For those who desperately need some kind of plot-frame before seeing it, I'll give you a jumping off point. It starts with a New York late 20s/early 30s struggling novelist who decides to help a lost boy find his way back home.