'How I Met Your Mother' Star Josh Radnor's New Indie Flick
by Shannon Keirnan
If you haven’t quite had enough new trailers to last you today, then I offer up one more, of a slightly different genre.
In “Liberal Arts,” Josh Radnor plays Jesse, a sad-faced 35-year old who returns to his alma matter in Ohio (a nod to Radnor’s own home state?) and gets swept back up into the college life.
Along the way he meets 19-year old Zibby, played charmingly by Elizabeth Olsen, and the two spark up an unlikely romance.
Hey, I like unlikely romances. I like quirky-looking movies about moving from the big city to places Hollywood considers borderline unlivable (Ohio. Michigan. Really, anything in the upper Midwest). I like being able to laugh at jokes about the professional futility that accompanies a Liberal Arts degree, while I sob into my soda.
And of course I’m a huge fan of Radnor on “How I Met Your Mother.” The man’s got comedy down, and we definitely know he’s capable of being a sulky and lovelorn.
The trailer focuses on Radnor struggling with his feelings for straight-shooter Olsen, but does it hit the mark? It’s got a lot of those great, indie-flick long pauses and jumping off of benches while looking struck by a realization, but the dialogue, thusfar, seems to fall a little flat. Yet, I remain hopeful.
It was written and directed by Radnor himself, so there's got to be something there, right?
Since also features Allison Janney and Richard Jenkins, who are always perfect in these kinds of roles, that’s a definite note of optimism. Maybe the movie is (gasp) actually saving its big moments for the big screen, rather than just blowing them at us in a trailer and calling it good?
What do you think? Will you pack up some tissues and go to see if there’s any chemistry between Radnor and Olsen, or will this one fly under your radar?