The Puffy Chair Review (2005) A Duplass Brothers Film.

 

Simply, to begin, I'll say that I am a Duplass Brothers fan. I like the style of their films and the everyman, modest and down-to-earth quality that each of their films possess. The Puffy Chair, starring brother Mark and directed by brother Jay is no different. Another wonderfully grey film with a soulful integrity and welcoming familiarity that immediately draws you in.

 

I saw this film much later than perhaps I should have, it was made in 2005 and I didn't see it until 2012, a few months ago. I had seen other Duplass-made pictures prior, enjoying each in different ways. Cyrus and Jeff, Who Lives at Home being the two that I most enjoyed and are perhaps the most well known of the films made by these talented indie filmmakers who had their start in short-film. It shows in their fairly short running times of their feature length flicks.

 

The Puffy Chair was made on a tiny $15,000 budget and it seldom shows because this isn't a film that really needs a budget, all it needs are a small amount of talented actors, a van, an open road...oh, yeah, and a puffy chair.

 

The film follows Mark Duplass's character Josh and his girlfriend Emily, played with subtlety by Katie Aselton, who is well-known in the Duplassverse. She does good here. Josh and Emily along with Josh's brother Rhett, plan to travek together from New York to Virginia, picking up a puffy chair along the way, that is identical to one that Josh's father had once owner. Josh plans to take the chair to his fathers house to give his dad for his birthday. An important thing for Josh to do, seen in his expressions and dialogue throughout the film. Rhett, the brother, is a hippy type who doesn't like conflict but also doesn't like to do anything to help anyone either. A fact that intrudes on the relationship of Josh and Emily at times during their road trip.

 

Mark Duplass plays the character of Josh with a mild anger at the world and while he at times seems cold he also backs it up with reason. He's likeable in his own way. His relationship with Emily is the basis for this film, she feels ignored and unsupported by Josh, and Josh just wants things to be fine without explanations needing to be given for things. Emily wants him to be more present in their partnership and she is deeply bothered that he doesn't appear interested in her worried regarding it. Rhett's character is perfect to bring a little insanity (or, at times, alot of insanity) to the mix. His "love for all things" is amusing on various occassions and scened, later in the film, are indeed "wackadoo".

 

The film takes on a documentary style of filming which works with the low budget but makes things seem very real and raw. This allows for improvisation to be done and it works really well, the lack of polish acts in the film's favour. The places that they visit throughout the movie appear real, lived in and used. It's a breath of fresh air to see places that are honest and at times dirty. Hollywood take note.

 

At times the dialogue gets a little mixed up and the Rhett character goes from being a realistic representation of someone who might be a little off kilter and generally happy to lay on the grass and stare at the sky while the world pays for him, but it takes turns that seem out of sink with the film and I would have preferred the subtlety to be constant.

 

The writing is top notch, the performances are excellent and the setting is perfect. It goes to show that all you need are a good script and a few people who can grab it and run with it.

 

It's on Netflix streaming now and I advise you to check it out.

 

8 puffy chairs out of 10.