The Puffy Chair (2006)

Josh (Mark Duplass) and Emily (Katie Aselton) are a NY couple with some unnamed problems. Josh finds a purple puffy chair reminding him of his father's chair and buys it for him. He has to drive cross country to pick it up and then deliver it to his father as a surprise gift. They stop along the way and invites his brother Rhett on the trip.This is one of those Sundance Mumblecore indie. It's the Duplass brothers' first full length movie. The camera work is slightly better than amateur. The characters are a little frustrating. I can't figure them out. They're a little annoying. They do weird stuff that doesn't make sense. I wouldn't call this movie a comedy. It's kind of a dysfunctional relationship/road trip/family drama.

The setup of this movie is pretty straight forward and it delivers a few jabs more than you would expect. What I like about this movie is how it elevated itself from a presumably mundane flick to a decent watch that will have you nodding at the craftsmanship of the script and the evolution of the characters.Shot in the renegade fashion of hand-held camera – the TV show, The Office would probably be the most accessible example – this film feels like what you'd probably imagine seeing if the story was relayed to you by one of the characters. This adds to the mood of the movie as well, wherein it doesn't feel serious and allows the viewer to relax and take it as it comes. The movie follows Josh, a booking agent for unknown bands, who wants to do something for his father's birthday in the vein of getting him a piece of childhood nostalgia- a puffy red chair. After igniting some angst, Josh decides to take his girlfriend, Emily along for the road trip. More characters join in and we get introduced to Rhett, the very 'dudeish' and oddly existential younger brother of Josh as he becomes the inevitable third wheel on the trip.The chair was to be picked up from a furniture store owner and ultimately throws a wrench in Josh's plans as the guy fails to deliver, imposing an unplanned stay in the surrounding town and a bit of tyranny on Josh's behalf. This kicks off a bit of character development as we see tension tighten with Josh and Emily, as far as their relationship goes, and we see just how free-willed Rhett is as he hooks up with a girl, Amber (Julie Fischer) from the town. The lighting on Josh places him as an average guy, I guess, finding himself in a relationship that he only seems to take seriously when pressed with, 'the talk'. Likewise, Emily seems to be at that point in her life where she wants to take more steps as opposed to the flippant, casual ideal that Josh appears to have. Rhett, on the other hand is impulsive and unattached, seeming to just want to experience life rather than adhere to a schedule, much like a light version of his brother. I enjoyed how the relationships panned themselves out as it gave you both the fishbowl perspective from both sides of the glass, be it a personal experience or one you just know about.It's not really an essential film to watch but it does have its unique qualities and offers a quaint take on how people handle pressure and life variables. I give Josh Duplass credit for the way the movie unraveled and the way it held both predictability and that little nudge to want to see it to the end.Standout Line: "What you're probably doing is waiting for something real good or real bad to happen to make the decision for you and you're not gonna get that break, it never happens"

If you're into indy character studies, don't care about camera effects or lighting, and want to see something off beat, check it out. The movie itself is fine, but there are several lines that are very well written, and even made me think about my own life/relationship.PS....the chair actually has very little camera time.Living in Atlanta, I expected this film to take place mostly full of hometown landmarks. The movie actually spends very little time in the actual city of Atlanta.Just remember, if you're into Hollywood blockbusters, this isn't gonna be the movie for you. If you're into off-beat, semi-comedic life influenced independent films, give this one a go.

I've read quite a few reviews of this film (as well as other "mumblecore" flicks) that are far too generous with the Cassavetes comparisons. Cassavetes dealt with deeply profound subject matter. His characters were struggling with issues of morality, death and sometimes sanity. This was a nice, cute movie, nothing more. The stakes are small-scale, the problems and concerns of he characters are personal to the point of being solipsistic and there's really nothing driving the action other than a pretty hackneyed sense of "loss of childhood." If anything, valid comparisons could be made for the films of John Hughes. His "brat pack" body of work seems to be a point of reference for many of these filmmakers, at least on an emotional level.