Review of Tiny Furniture (2010) by Matthew L — 17 Nov 2010

This movie has been getting incredible buzz, which I don't quite understand because it is very dull. At one hour and thirty-eight minutes, it seems like it is three hours long. Yes, there is evident talent here. The performances are solid. The writer/director/actor cast her mother as her character's mother and her own sister as her sister. Her sister is fine, and her mother does a particularly good job in the film.

The problem is that there isn't much of a story at all. Apparently this is an autobiographical film, but it falls into the trap of being the result of someone thinking that their life is much more interesting than what it actually is. A recent college grad with no job prospects beyond a low-paying restaurant gig meanders around, presumably unaware that these kinds of characters were called "slackers" in the 90's. The majority of the movie is her moping around pantless around her mother's stark white apartment. There are hints of hipster and art culture, as well as mentions of Brooklyn neighborhoods that no one outside of New York is going to get.

The interesting thing to do after seeing this movie is to figure out why it is striking a cord with critics, and why this is seen as such a fine piece of work. Am I not getting it because it is more of a woman's story? Is it the self-reflective current portrayal of video in our culture? I don't know. This is a mystery to me.