Playlist Triple Feature

The term "mumblecore" was coined by sound mixer Eric Masunaga, but it was his director, Andrew Bujalski, who brought it to life. Though "life" might not be the best word choice for a filmmaker of such purposefully anti-plot movies. Three, to be exact.

The movie usually credited with launching the movement was Bujalski's 2002 debut, Funny Ha Ha. As if you had to guess, it's the story of recent college grad Marnie trying to find her place in adulthood. The movie drifts along with her, its structure bringing to mind Richard Linklater's 1991 Slacker, itself credited with kicking off the indie boom of the previous decade. While I can't deny Slacker's influence--Kevin Smith has said it directly inspired Clerks--I also can't deny that I didn't like it. Honestly, I really disliked it and it has come to symbolize that pseudo-intellectual pretentiousness that made going into an indie video or record store so painful in the early 90s. There was nothing authentic about Slacker's Austin denizens. Everyone spoke in monologues that sounded like excerpts from some stoner's thesis. The appeal of Funny Ha Ha, and the films that have followed it, is the dedication to un-pretentiousness. Or seeming unpretentious at the least. The problem with that approach, however, should be obvious if you have ever had a conversation with actual people: even the most interesting talks aren't interesting the whole time. If you ever read a transcript of yourself conversing you would probably start a blog just so you could flame yourself. It's why top screenwriters get paid so well. Audiences don't want real dialogue, but dialogue that seems real. That's the real movie magic.

I'll stop here to say I enjoyed the film. Kate Dollenmayer was a very watchable Marnie and while I wouldn't say her life was captivating, she held my attention, at least enough. I can see why critics were so taken by this movie when it was released (and the same goes for Slacker). Movies like these work best when they're unexpected. Timing always skews perspective, so it's not hard to imagine how refreshing a no-frills indie would be after yet another TV show remake or Ashton Kutcher masterpiece.

Dollenmayer wasn't an actress and, despite the potential displayed here, has only appeared in one other film. That would be Bujalski's 2005 Mutual Appreciation. As if Funny's 16mm rawness wasn't mumbly enough, Bujalski took it down another notch by going the black and white route with his story of a trio of 20somethings trying to figure out their lives. Indie musician Justin Rice is the lead and the only time the movie shows a pulse is when he performs on stage. The music's pretty good (Rice's Bishop Allen band mate, Christian Rudder was in Funny). I don't know what else to say about the rest of the film other than it was just dull. A concern facing talk-heavy films is that the talking doesn't just have to be good, it has to be better than that in another movie where it's offset by action. Or plot. Or monkeys. Here, I felt like I was watching the stuff that usually gets edited out of films. "Ums" and "ahs" have only so much charm.

(Bujalski co-starred in both of these films, as well as Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs. He's not a bad actor, but he's not very likable. Like that guy who would make you not go to a party on the off chance you might get stuck talking to him for even 30 seconds. You know who I'm talking about.)

Bujalski's greatest strength as a director is showcased in his most recent film, 2008's Beeswax. It stars identical twin newcomers (or rather, no-comers), Tilly and Maggie Hatcher as the latest non-professional actors whose talent he has been able to max out. He gets that people are naturally multidimensional and everyone is a character in someone's story. But again, that doesn't mean that story is necessarily interesting. I would rank this second of the three, closer to positive than negative. The production value is a tad higher and there's even a sampling of tension in the script. Listen, it's something. I know it's important to keep these in context, but after this triple play I wouldn't mind a car chase. Or five.