Happy Birthday, Harris Malden

On Friday, we were lamenting yet another Paul Blart-less weekend. (Any time we remember, we check the library and the local redbox to try and score a copy of Paul Blart. Never around. Why do we want to see Paul Blart? Because the previews for it looked terrible, so I predicted it would flop. And then when it came out, it hung around the top ten for weeks, and ending up making 146 million, something like 40 million more than Watchmen. Now, I've gotta see how a movie that seemed like it had no audience made 146 million.) So, we looked around Hulu and Christina chose two movies. 1) Heart and Souls, which has to have one of the most boring opening 45 minutes and 2) Happy Birthday, Harris Malden.

You might ask, "What is Happy Birthday, Harris Malden"?

And I will answer, "Oh, just the most surprisingly great movie I've seen in a long time."

I would put in the same class as Lars and the Real Girl, but funnier and less poignant or maybe Napoleon Dynamite, except more low-key. (So, basically, your low-budget innovative indie comedy.) The basic plot is this: Man draws on facial hair every morning because he can't grow facial hair after an incident with fire that gave him a scar on his upper lip when he was five. If that's not enough of a hook for you, than you'll most likely hate the movie and shouldn't watch it anyway. (Although not the center of the story, I think the best moments feature Harris's younger brother Melvin and his modeling career.)

That's all I've really got to say about it. Be ye warned all those in-laws to whom I will be giving Christmas presents this year.