Humpday
Humpday is regarded as part of the "Mumblecore" opus: low-budget films made in the early millennium, by and/or about twenty-somethings engaging in endless (often improvised) chatter, exploring relationships, and so forth.
While Humpday was, indeed, largely improvised (based on a story devised by Lynn Shelton, the director), it shouldn't be dismissed as a "slacker emo" arch-naturalistic indulgence. This film may not be as tight or polished as it could or should be, but it is a more mature work than many of the films it has been associated with.
Ben (Duplass) and Anna (Dalymore) are a young married couple, on the verge of starting a family. Ben's friend, Andrew (Joshua Leonard) drops by unexpectedly, and inadvertently upsets Ben and Anna's life. While out one evening, in the company of sexually relaxed and free friends, and after imbibing drugs and alcohol, Ben and Andrew's inhibitions are lowered, and they entertain the idea of contributing a film to an arty porn festival, featuring the two of them having sex.
This film has been publicised as a comedy, but it can't stand securely on humorous content alone. It's more of a naturalistic, fly-on-the-wall drama, with lighthearted moments. The shortcomings, perhaps, would be that the ad-lib nature of the film is ironically, as often happens when people try to act natural, a bit forced.
Rather than being dismissed as a film for or about the "slacker" generation, Humpday deserves to be regarded - more substantially - as an interesting exploration of the way in which youth who grew up freely expressing affection towards each other, and who have prided themselves on being politically correct, may, in fact, not be as liberal as they suppose themselves to be. Furthermore, they are at an age where they must negotiate their way into a part of their lives characterised by stability and commitment.
In an era where image is everything, and "coolness" is de rigeur, one man wants to prove he has not "settled down", while the other seems eager to see a project through to the end. The question is: how will their plans pan out, and what does this say about the real level of intimacy in their relationship?
Hopefully, we can look forward to more films examining how this generation make their way through life.