Happy Anniversary

'HAPPY ANNIVERSARY': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The new indie comedy from writer/director Jared Stern, in his feature film directorial debut. It tells the story of a couple that's struggling to decide if they should stay together or not, on their three year anniversary. The film stars Noël Wells and Ben Schwartz, and it was released by Netflix through it's streaming site. I really enjoyed it.

Mollie (Wells) and Sam (Schwartz) are celebrating their three year anniversary, with breakfast in bed that Sam prepared for Mollie, when Sam announces that she's not happy. This is a big surprise to Sam, who thought things were going great in their relationship. They argue about it, and reminisce on past experiences together, before Mollie suggests a temporary split. The two spend the rest of the film evaluating how they feel about each other, and whether they should stay together or not.

I love relationship studies, with lots of character development, and clever dialogue; like most notably the majority of Kevin Smith's work, or 'SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK' (my all-time favorite movie). This film does all of those things well, and the two leads are really likable and good in their roles too. I think Stern definitely impresses as a writer and first time director also. It's a feel good film, that's also a pretty honest examination of both the positives and negatives of relationships. I think it's definitely well worth a watch.

Good film, good acting, decently funny, nothing ground breaking, nothing which makes it particularly stand out, probably won't be something I remember or ever come back to but if you have nothing else to do and you want to watch a shortish film, why not give this one a try?

Though there are some faults with this film I can't say that I would say you shouldn't watch it, if someone asked me should I watch this film? I would defiantly say yes but I wouldn't out right tell anyone that this is a great piece of cinema that they should watch.

4/2/18. Awful. Barely made it to the 10-minute mark. A couple is going to try and talk their way through the day of their third anniversary. If they have to talk about it, then it's not a happy anniversary and there shouldn't be a fourth one either.

Also living apart - and jumping through hoops or time. Yes this isn't linear and yes this is not your usual rom-com. And that is what makes it enticing and entertaining to watch. Good dialog, different perspectives and a look into relationships and how complex it can be. It feels real and you get the usual "he said/she said" situations, where you have to decide which side you are on - but you also get different layers that might valid your first choice obsolete and make you think again.

It's I reckon more complex than other movies, just a fair warning. More complex than just boy/girl, like/not like that is. Not talking highly complex movies that are hard to follow. If you are into light entertainment, good dialog and some love in your movies, you could do much worse than this

It's a believably romantic story told over a weekend or so. Good movie, funny, doesn't take itself too seriously.