With just over a month until Liberal Arts hits theaters, we were beginning to wonder when we would finally get to see a trailer for Josh Radnor‘s second directorial feature. Well today, we finally have it, courtesy of The Film Stage.
The How I Met Your Mother star made his directorial debut with 2010’s HappyThankYouMorePlease, a charming film that won over fans prior to hitting theaters and was rewarded with the Sundance Audience Award. Liberal Arts also received a very warm reception at Sundance, and from what I hear, it is possibly even more loveable and pleasing.
For those who haven’t already seen it, the synopsis of the film is as follows:
Newly single, 35, and uninspired by his job, Jesse Fisher worries that his best days are behind him. But no matter how much he buries his head in a book, life keeps pulling Jesse back. When his favorite college professor invites him to campus to speak at his retirement dinner, Jesse jumps at the chance. He is prepared for the nostalgia of the dining halls and dorm rooms, the parties and poetry seminars; what he doesn’t see coming is Zibby—a beautiful, precocious, classical-music-loving sophomore. Zibby awakens scary, exciting, long-dormant feelings of possibility and connection that Jesse thought he had buried forever.
Uh-oh, Radnor is infatuated with a girl described as precocious, and classical-music-loving? That description of Zibby makes it sound an awful lot like she could be the mother, How I Met Your Mother fans have been waiting for, despite no mention of her playing bass.
It doesn’t seem that Radnor ventured too far from his most famous role, which, for Ted Mosby fans, is probably a good thing. It’s also good to see that he keeps his trademark style of almost exclusively wearing plaid button-downs.
Radnor and Elizabeth Olsen show great chemistry in the trailer and should be a quality leading duo. They will be supported by a strong cast too including Richard Jenkins, Zac Efron, and Allison Janney.
I’ve been excited for this movie ever since I saw what the director did with HappyThankYouMorePlease. There’s no doubting Radnor’s talent at developing a likeable character as an actor, but his talent as a writer and a director has been a pleasant surprise as well.
Check out the trailer below and let us know your thoughts.
