Sam Mendes has brought us some of the darker and moodier films of the last few years, from his directing debut American Beauty to the Iraq war drama Jarhead. He’s also a versatile guy though, as the variety in his three films has shown, and now he’s stretching his muscles even more. Variety reports that Mendes is shifting into comedy, directing a movie about a young couple trying to find a place to raise their unborn baby.

Even better, the screenplay is written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, the husband-and-wife pair who have brought us wonderful things like A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, McSweeneys and The Believer magazine, and the upcoming adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are (OK, I’m just assuming that one is wonderful). Eggers in particular has demonstrated an amazing sense of humor balanced with human drama, and a small story about a couple and a baby seems well-suited to his brand of empathetic comedy.

Mendes is wrapping up his work on Revolutionary Road, his next project starring wife Kate Winslet and her Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio which is bound to be a major Oscar contender next year. Mendes has been careful about his choices since American Beauty made him famous, and this project sounds like the most promising one he’s taken on yet. I’m not even going to hedge my bets: I will see this movie. What can I say? Dave Eggers says jump, I say how high. Throw Sam Mendes in there, and I’m jumping through the roof.