Written by Linda
February 07, 2009
How many times have we seen a film about troubled 20-somethings unable to commit to each other? How many times have we seen a road trip movie where life-altering things are revealed to the characters as they make their journey, both literal and metaphorical? Well, a lot. But still, despite its familiar themes, The Puffy Chair is a fun ride with a group of immature 20-somethings that take their collective time trying to sort out their own personal issues.
Josh (Mark Duplass) and his long-time girlfriend Emily (Kathryn Aselton) are the ones partaking on said road trip. Emily wants Josh to commit. For god's sakes, she's freakin' 26 YEARS OLD and doesn't want to waste any more time on Josh unless their relationship is leading to marriage. In the meantime, Josh shrugs and rolls over pretending to sleep whenever her questions flare up, usually late at night.
Their trip is taking them from New York down to Atlanta where Josh's parents live. On the way, he is planning to pick up a puffy chair that he bought on Ebay as a surprise for his dad's birthday. You see, the puffy chair is just like dad's favorite chair when Josh and his brother were kids. Maybe the chair will be the symbolic band-aid that will heal any rifts between parent and child. Or parent and children. You see, on the way, Josh and Emily swing by to say hi to Josh's brother Rhett (Rhett Wilkins), and before they know what happened, Rhett is curled up in the back of the van, happy to tag along for the ride. Needless to say, Emily is not pleased.
The Puffy Chair is loose and playful. It has the real-life urgency of a Dogme film, with its hand-held camera and naturalistic acting. It is one of those films where nothing really happens, but hilarity still ensues. Among my favorite scenes are when Josh lies to a motel owner, saying he needs a room for one, making his brother and his girlfriend (ohhhh, yes, she is pissed) duck in the van so the manager doesn't see. Why does he does this? Simply because he is cheap. Haven't we all known a clueless cheap bastard like this?
The trio of actors are all pleasing. Duplass is like a more rumpled slacker version of John Krasinski of The Office, and Aselton has the tough job of being the "straight man" of the three, though she gets to show her chops in an extremely sympathetic scene where she tearfully confronts Josh one more time in a hotel room, demanding to know what he is thinking. But Rhett Wilkins probably has the most fun—his hippie-boy character is dreamy and goofy, and spontaneous in unexpected (and annoying) ways. He's a hoot.
DVD NOTES
You just know that the Duplass Brothers (Mark's brother Jay directed The Puffy Chair) were filled with glee, thinking of the things they could add to a DVD release of their film. Treats include the usual commentary and outtakes, plus and interview with the brothers. Most fun however is seeing several of their short films included, usually starring Mark, often as a variation on the same clueless yet pompous 20-something he plays in the film. There are also cute low-budgets ads for the film, including their mother attempting to praise the film in a straight-faced talking-head interview. The problem is that she bursts into uncontrollable giggles, as does the person (one of the brothers most likely) holding the camera. Very cute, and good, clean fun.
