Hav Plenty (1997)

Hav Plenty is the kind of romantic comedy that wins you over with conversation instead of contrivance, buoyed by a lived-in New York atmosphere and a warm, intelligent sense of humor. Christopher Scott Cherot’s triple-duty debut as writer-director-star feels confident and fresh, letting charm come from character and timing rather than sitcom beats, and the result has that early Woody Allen snap without the sour aftertaste. The movie glides through New Year’s Eve with wit and a gently simmering romantic tension, finding sweetness in the awkward spaces between what people feel and what they can admit. If you want big set pieces or glossy escapism, it may feel small and talky—but if you like romances that feel like they’re happening to real people, it’s a lovely surprise.

Hav Plenty is clearly aiming for a low-budget, talky New Year’s romance about class differences and the messy timing of feelings, and you can feel the filmmaker’s affection for the characters. The problem is it often plays like a rough draft: the dialogue can be stiff, the story drifts without much momentum, and the whole thing has an amateur, uneven vibe that never quite clicks into a confident direction. If you need sharp writing, polished performances, or a strong narrative engine to stay invested, this will likely test your patience. But if you’re in the mood for something scrappy, intimate, and occasionally charming in that indie “we’re figuring it out as we go” way, you might still find it sweet enough to finish.