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Review #322 of 365
Movie Review of Mutual Appreciation (2006) [NR] 106 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.75
Where Viewed: Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 29 November 2006
Time: 7:50 p.m.
Film's Official Website
DVD Release Date: unscheduled
Directed by: Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha)
Written by: Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha)
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Justin Rice (Funny Ha Ha) • Rachel Clift (The Girl I Used to See Who Stole My Love from Me) • Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha) • Seung-Min Lee (debut) • Kevin Micka (debut)
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Andrew Bujalski's Mutual Appreciation tips the balance calling for a new category for film recognition within the independent film world. The category would recognize small, ensemble cast films such this film, Bubble, The Puffy Chair, and Expiration Date, for example, and select the best one each year. The reason there needs to be an award and recognition for these generally lower budget films featuring often relatively or completely unknown actors, directed by people who beg and borrow every nickel to pour their blood, sweat, and probably gallons of tears into them is that these films represent the truest, most real art left in American cinema today. They are motivated by a germ of narrative that gets nurtured, often clumsily, just like real life, from its first biotic form growing organically as characters emerge, morph, and evolve, plot lines spin out, dangle, and entangle; conflicts, hopes, dreams, and love arise; and, finally, a story springs forth with a beginning, middle, and end. When compared to major motion pictures from studio back lots, these films pale in scope and grandeur, but they shimmer in every other way. The actors are real. The dialogue is real. The stories are real. Occasionally, the stories are mundane, futile, and reckless, but they always faithful and appealing to the raw human spirit. Unlike most major motion pictures where as one sits and feels as though he or she is watching a film, these films induce feelings more akin to those guilty feelings of being a voyeur as if one is peering through a hole in the wall and watching the lives of these people, not characters, unfold. "If only I could have been a fly on the wall when Lawrence decided to tell Alan that he knew that his girlfriend and his best friend had had 'a moment'" sort of thing. So, I think it's high time these little films got a place of their own in the annals of film history and the recognition they properly deserve. When placed together into a category, it becomes relatively easier to compare and contrast them, to evaluate their successes and failures, and to focus criticism.
"...Andrew Bujalski has created a warm and interesting little film with an engaging cast, especially Justin Rice and Rachel Clift whose on-screen chemistry creates the subtext and conflict within the film."
That said, I'd like to get this a bit out of the way and say that, to date, I have read four or five synopses written for Mutual Appreciation non of which does the film justice and none of which was particularly accurate, and I have no idea why? I don't know if these were created from press releases or by people who snoozed through the film. So, if the film sounded uninteresting based on the synopses you might have read, don't trust them. This is another aspect of this niche of films that brings them trouble, actually, because really, they don't boil down well to a synopsis precisely because the key to enjoying them is less about the journey the film takes and more about the interactions between the characters. In any case, I shall give a better synopsis here. The film is about a young musician who's obviously the son of a well-to-do family that sent him to a great college to get a great education and is trying as hard as it can to support his music 'career' while probably doubting it will ever amount to much. This one can draw from inference from the conversations Alan (Justin Rice) has with his father when he calls to ask for financial support. Alan has just arrived in Manhattan to live in a friend's apartment for a month and to play a gig in a week that was lined up back before his band, called the Bumblebees, broke up. So, here he is, with few financial resources, a gig, and no bandmates. He's invited to be a guest on a radio show by a young woman DJ, named Sara (Seung-Min Lee) who has discovered his band's music and played his record on the air many times. After the show, she invites him to her apartment and gets friendly with him. Eventually, in the conversation, she mentions that her brother, Dennis (Kevin Micka) could be just the drummer he's seeking to make his gig work the next Thursday. Meanwhile, since he's been in town, he's reunited with his long-time best friend, Lawrence (Andrew Bujalski) and Lawrence's girlfriend, Ellie (Rachel Clift). Sort of living together but still maintaining separate apartments, Lawrence and Ellie are in love, or so they believe anyway. Lawrence is a graduate student and Ellie is a blossoming journalist with an eye for musical talent. They both adore Alan, and who wouldn't. He's got one of those personalities and ways about him that draws people to like him—perfect for a pop musician. You know, he's the kind of guy whose hair can be tousled completely and he still looks just fine rather than looking like a person who just got out of bed. The same cannot be said for Lawrence. His hair does always look like he just got out of bed. Come to think of it, so does Ellie's. Maybe it's a new Manhattan thing? Anyway, the point is that everyone adores Alan. To illustrate, however, one of the common things in this niche of films, there is always extraneous stuff that happens that really never goes anywhere. For example, after Alan and Dennis's gig, Alan ends up at a party that's mostly over, where the remaining women are thrilled to see him arrive and end up cross dressing him. Huh? This whole encounter doesn't flow into the plot or help us understand anything more about Alan and the kind of person he is really except that you can get him to do almost anything when he's properly liquored up. Yet, these scenes add to the realistic nature of the film as a look into someone's real life. Each of us, every day, participates in scenes of our lives that never play much of a role in who we are. Many films filter these out because they have a supposedly grander more poignant story to tell. Yes, humans do go to the bathroom, every day, usually more than once. Right? But, we don't often see this in films. We don't see the small stuff, the mundane stuff, the stuff that doesn't really matter. Well, in these films, we do see it. We see virtually everything that happens to our characters through the course of the film. And, you have to like this kind of thing, to enjoy these movies to their fullest. If you don't, you'll find yourself bored quite a bit. Instead, one has to approach this from the angle of understanding that this is more realistic. It's not an edited version of someone's life, it's their life.
So, Andrew Bujalski has created a warm and interesting little film with an engaging cast, especially Justin Rice and Rachel Clift whose on-screen chemistry creates the subtext and conflict within the film. Do we end up with the person with whom we are supposed to be? Do we trap ourselves too early in life with one person and fail to explore all the options? Are we meant to settle down and settle in? Think about the duality of meaning of the term 'settle' in those two expressions. Will Mutual Appreciation change the world? Not likely. These films are not ones of grandiose purpose either. They are meant to open up the lives of some people you haven't met, and help you learn a bit about yourself in the process. At this, the film succeeds quite well. Beware, as these films often end abruptly without the Hollywood need for resolution of dangling threads. They always end with the feeling there will be a sequel, even though there most likely won't be, just as today ends one day of your life, but there will be another tomorrow, these people's lives, presumably go on as well.
So, Andrew Bujalski has created a warm and interesting little film with an engaging cast, especially Justin Rice and Rachel Clift whose on-screen chemistry creates the subtext and conflict within the film. Do we end up with the person with whom we are supposed to be? Do we trap ourselves too early in life with one person and fail to explore all the options? Are we meant to settle down and settle in? Think about the duality of meaning of the term 'settle' in those two expressions. Will Mutual Appreciation change the world? Not likely. These films are not ones of grandiose purpose either. They are meant to open up the lives of some people you haven't met, and help you learn a bit about yourself in the process. At this, the film succeeds quite well. Beware, as these films often end abruptly without the Hollywood need for resolution of dangling threads. They always end with the feeling there will be a sequel, even though there most likely won't be, just as today ends one day of your life, but there will be another tomorrow, these people's lives, presumably go on as well.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
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Other Projects Featuring Mutual Appreciation (2006)
Cast Members
Justin Rice
• Rachel Clift • Andrew BujalskiSeung-Min Lee
• Kevin MickaWriter / Director
Andrew Bujalski
| DVD |
Mutual Appreciation (2006) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Andrew Bujalski's Mutual Appreciation calls for a new category for film recognition within the independent film world. The category would recognize small, ensemble cast films such this film, Bubble, The Puffy Chair, and Expiration Date. When placed together, it becomes easier to compare and contrast them, evaluate their successes and failures, and focus criticism. This film is about a young musician, Alan (Justin Rice) who has just arrived in Manhattan to play a gig in a week that was lined up back before his band broke up. In the process, he's reunited with his long-time best friend, Lawrence (Andrew Bujalski) and Lawrence's girlfriend, Ellie (Rachel Clift). Bujalski has created a warm and interesting little film with an engaging cast, especially Justin Rice and Rachel Clift whose on-screen chemistry creates the subtext and conflict within the film. Do we end up with the person with whom we are supposed to be?
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