The Puffy Chair

The hippie brother is such a dipshit. Damn it, I hate hippies so much. Duplass is such a dude, wants his cake and to eat it, too (his g/f, she sucks ass, is the cake in this metaphor, by the way), and goes Rambo on two different dudes for fucking with his chair. Really great stuff. Man, the g/f sucks so much. Total nightmare witch, inviting herself onto the man-trip and then stirring up crazy shit. Witch Brew. But Duplass is such a dude he's like, "You can come and we'll fuck, but that's that."

The minimal production values are overcome by three really strong leading performances and a tone that hews so closely to real life that I was totally drawn in. The emotional impact of certain scenes was downright visceral.

Mark Duplass' film persona is not necessarily likable, but I can't deny that he is funny. Rhett Atkins is also pretty funny in this. The story is not so great, but there some good comedic moments.

This a movie too good for me to have almost forgotten it. Very funny and insightful as three people try to do just one thing together and end up getting in each other's way. Very much worth a watch.

I can't really speak to the film's role in the Mumblecore movement because I still don't get exactly what separates it from a lot of American independent cinema dating back several decades, but overall I thought it was pretty good. It establishes this kind of intimacy with the main relationship that makes it hard to not get emotionally involved. The ending was its most superb moment, one that really rings true to life with its frankness.

I get how The Puffy Chair was super influential by basically starting the whole Mumblecore genre, but there are much better offerings in said genre. I really like Mark Duplass as an actor, I'm more of a Joe Swanberg fan when it comes to writers/directors. IDK, I just found the movie kinda confusing. Like I was totally into the DIY Indie vibes of the film, but the screenplay could have definitely used more work. There was only one conversation towards the end that felt well fleshed out.

I liked it. The hippie brother character and the actor playing him was quite annoying. Other than that, yeah, pretty good.

Fun little indie drama-comedy. At times the charactes feel a bit too caricature like but the cast has an awesome chemistry between them. Also Mark Duplass is just always a joy to watch.

Luv those Duplass bros.

Maybe it's because I've been watching The League lately and consequently find Mark and Katie immediately likeable, but I thought this was a compelling, beautiful, complex depiction of a real, messy relationship, and relationships in general. Far from being plotless, it uses the MacGuffins of the road trip and the titular chair to tell a series of short stories illustrating the fascinating flaws of these complex characters. Even the lame ending with all its false catharsis seems appropriate.

I thought the story would involve their parents/childhood more, especially after the brother got involved, but it sort of went off and mainly concerned the boyfriend/girlfriend and their relationship instead, which wasn't really what I wanted, and was sort of a waste of this setup/situation imo.

Duplass-Brothers feature debut is a road trip on a shoestring budget, and we're following two brothers and a girl on a funny,charming and emotional journey; a slice of life that's realistic and relatable thanks to the screenplay and good performances from the lead trio, especially Katie.A is impressive. *Preview*: #12#, exp-3*, story, reviews, writers-directors Duplass'/1, Katie.A/6, M.Duplass/4, R4.

There's something about the story of The Puffy Chair that hits a really hard chord in me, and I'm not even sure why. Way more effective than you'd think.

I can't remember why I thought this would be worth watching. It gives me respect for the noodlings of Andrew Bujalski. It's shot like home movie --overburdened with close-ups, zooms and herky-jerky movement, and the screenplay shows its seams in several places. The story is sort of a cross between The Break-Up and Little Miss Sunshine, and just as unfunny.

Shows a mastery of tone that's rare among first time filmmakers. The characters are all interesting and well-layered. The horribly annoying camera (evoking The Office) and lackadaisical plot really keep this from being something I could really into though.

"No budget, no problem. Instead we'll create simple stories that border on absurd and yet feel incredibly realistic because we create meaningful characters that everyone can relate to in some way." - The Duplass Brothers to Hollywood

It is really inspiring seeing a movie that doesn't rely on cinematography, especially for guys trying to create no budget films. This was just fantastic writing and GREAT performances. The Duplass brothers know how to write, direct, and act. An incredibly talented duo!

This is an amalgam of every quirky, post-Wes Anderson indie dramedy cliche imaginable.

A pretty good script - some of the relationship dynamics really rang true. But come on Duplass Bros. - you're filmmakers, learn how to focus a camera already.

"The film never quite strikes a comfortable or graceful balance between silliness and solemnity." - Nick Schager

Good Movie

One of the more effective "mumblecore" films, The Puffy Chair is a no-budget independent effort that relies on genuinely interesting characters in realistic and interesting situations. Co-director Mark Duplass plays the lead, a conniving douchebag who is somehow sympathetic.

A guy, his girlfriend and his brother drive cross-country to pick up an armchair, running into a couple of bumps along the way. Towards the end there are two or three very good discussions on the subject of marriage/relationships, but too many pointless scenes throughout (mainly involving the hippy brother) add nothing and just take up valuable time in such a short film. Having never seen Duplass acting before, I was impressed by his performance in this.

I love the Duplass style, but the plot of the film just wasn't cutting it for me.