Review of Funny Ha Ha (2003) by Sonia D — 21 Apr 2008

As with Mutual Appreciation, not so much plot-driven, but more naturalistic. However, I would say that it at least has a little bit more of a plot than MA. It mainly follows college-grad Marnie around her different romantic/drunken endeavors, centering on kind of this unspoken attraction between her and her buddy Alex (who's played by Christian Rudder of Bishop Allen).

I think a big part of the appeal and intrigue of the film is how Marnie and Alex seem unable to ever bluntly state their attraction to each other, and it even gets somewhat heart-breaking when Alex decides to spontaneously marry some other girl.

Yet by the end there is hope again (not to sound cheesy or anything). I will say Kate Dollenmayer gives an incredibly endearing performance; another part of the appeal is just simply following her around.

I feel like I'm slowly becoming a big fan of Andrew Bujalski's work. While at first this and Mutual Appreciation may seem as if they're lacking enough plot, and too different from what we're used to, to me they just keep getting better and better in my mind the more I think about it.