Humpday Review
The first time I saw a mumblecore film, I was at the Woodstock Film Festival’s venue in Rhinebeck, New York. The film I really wanted to see was Stuart Samuel’s documentary Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (an excellent film if you get a chance). The bus to Rhinebeck from Poughkeepsie was on a weekend schedule and, long story short; I ended up getting to the venue extremely early. If you couldn’t guess, the screening of Midnight Movies started at midnight. The movie screening before it was called Dance Party USA. This Aaron Katz-directed film follows teenagers in the days leading up to and following a Fourth of July house party. Dance Party USA is one of the seminal films in the mumblecore movement. I hadn’t seen anything quite like it. The footage is all shot digitally, made using low-tech camera and lighting equipment. Dance Party USA feels like it has no script and relies heavily on the improvisation of non-professional actors. For young filmmakers, one of the most disparaging things a parent or anyone who doesn’t understand the process can tell you is to just “go make a movie like they do on YouTube.” That night, Dance Party USA helped me see the bridge between amateur viral videos and the cinema. Mumblecore is truly do-it-yourself filmmaking. Buoyed by the festival success of films such as Baghead, The Puffy Chair, and Dance Party USA, mumblecore has become a film movement to pay attention to, despite its divergence from mainstream conventions. Lynn Shelton’s Humpday is the latest mumblecore offering.
Humpday tells the story of two heterosexual friends, Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard), who, after years of separation post-college, decide to reunite. Andrew, a failed artist and a seasoned traveler comes to stay with Ben, a family man devoted to his wife, Anna (Alycia Delmore). One night, when Ben and Andrew end up at a party thrown by some very open minded artists and free spirits, they both have a bit to drink and, due to misplaced macho pride, they decide to make a porn film for an upcoming adult film festival. The catch is that they will be having sex with each other in the film. They drunkenly decide to explore what porn has never ventured to ask: what if two straight men and recently reunited friends get together to make a gay porn film? In the days following the party, neither Ben nor Andrew wants to back down from making the movie. Andrew insists that Ben’s life is too safe and Ben thinks Andrew is not only completely lost but also close-minded. The film builds and builds until both men are in a hotel room, with their clothes off, wondering whether they should go through with the film.
Humpday, while its premise is fairly over the top, does have some important statements to make. The first involves the nature of marriage. Anna, when she finds out about her husband’s desire to make forays into the gay porn industry, launches into a pretty empowering bit of dialogue about how a marriage has to rely on the freedom of individuality as much as companionship. Both men clearly have something to prove. Andrew needs to prove to himself that he can see an art project through from start to finish and Ben needs to prove that he isn’t just going through life’s motions. Perhaps the most touching moment in the film comes when Ben discusses the first homosexual thoughts he ever had. He recounts a story about a video store clerk and a Frank Lloyd Wright 10-part film. This moment, as well as all the scenes stolen by Alycia Delmore, a very portrait of the struggle of a young wife and homemaker, is when Humpday really shines.
Surprisingly, the buildup leads to a lackluster final half hour. Once the two men get to the hotel room, the physical comedy is there, but the film loses a bit of its heart. The last scenes are meant to be awkward and uncomfortable but they end up dragging on far too long. The film also ends rather abruptly due to the lengthy final scenes. Humpday is, by no means, an easy film to get through. The free-form camera work, dim lighting and wordy conversations are sometimes difficult to process and follow. These are, however, defining traits of the mumblecore film. When Humpday works it is one of the most (if not the most) accessible mumblecore films. It’s a shame that it loses speed towards the end. Duplass does a great job playing Ben as a man who, despite his mature situation, may have some issues to work out with himself. Less inspiring is Joshua Leonard’s portrayal of Andrew. I will say that Leonard has an excellent look and physical demeanor to play the part but his performance nuances grow a bit tiresome towards the end.
Overall, I will say that Humpday, despite its obvious mumblecore overtones and traits, has the potential to impress mainstream audiences. It is a film that has something to say about living free (check out the tattoo down Andrew’s spine) and what freedom really means. The dialogue is witty and fresh at times and longwinded at others. The first hour of the film is a fine example of how the mumblecore movement has grown into itself in a short period of time. The latter parts of the film, while they lose some steam, are still decent. Humpday has an interesting premise and it is executed well. Mumblecore, like all film movements before it, will have examples that are examined and written about. I do not doubt that Humpday will be counted as a textbook example of the movement’s push into the mainstream.
