Movie Review - The Puffy Chair

I'm not going to lie, I'm a big fan of Mark Duplass. The first movie of his that I saw was Humpday, which was an incredibly odd, Indie movie that was just a lot of fun. I was lucky to catch it at my local indie movie theatre and went in not knowing any of the actors/actresses. Even though I saw him in a couple other movies, it wasn't until earlier this year that I actually read up on him in an issue of EW magazine. After that he was suddenly in 3 things that I saw in quick success (People Like Us, Safety Not Guaranteed, and The League). After seeing his brilliance in those, it made me want to see other things he's done. Thus, tonight I watched The Puffy Chair.

This movie seems to be his first full-length movie he (and his brother, Jay Duplass) worked on. There were short movies before, but nothing like this. The first thing you can automatically tell is that it is indeed an Indie film. Yet that's not a bad thing, it's just something you need to acknowledge to better enjoy the film.

The basic plot is Josh (Mark Duplass) plans a trip to get a puffy chair for his dad's birthday. Originally planned to only be himself, yet soon his girlfriend Emily (Katie Aselton) and brother Rhett (Rhett Wilkins) join in on the road trip. Obviously they run into several problems and have difficulty over coming them in a real world way (none of the usual Hollywood "I'm going to snap my fingers and everything is right in the world again" BS). Cheating the system, lust at first sight, broken expectations, etc. It's not a movie where everything works out in the end, it had a surprise ending that fit perfectly.


It has some of the usual problems with an Indie film: not the best lighting, sound could occasionally be muffled, and very limited equipment so there is likely only 1 camera. And as with most Indie films, the plot is that of human fault that isn't tainted by a usual "my life is somehow better than everyone else's and just enjoy all the crazy coincidences that occur." Nah, this movie is all real world type stuff, things anyone can easily get into themselves.

For a bunch of amateur actors, everyone did a great job! Mark Duplass seems to have not changed his style of acting at all in the 6 years since this movie came out, I guess he found his niche and knows what the audience wants him to do. I didn't recognize Katie Aselton at all, just had a hint of "she looks familiar" going on and was incredibly surprised to see she's also on The League (and is married to Mark Duplass in real life). Rhett Wilkins played his character as a free spirit, quick to lust and will tell it like it is, no avoiding the subject even when it's in his best interest.

The dialogue has a feeling that everything is said exactly as it should, nothing forced and nothing sounding out of character. It's everyday speech, so sometimes it calls for stumbling as they arrange their thoughts. The cussing that makes this an R-rated movie fits when used, no feeling of the writers inserting it just to insert it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, but then again I absolutely LOVE Indie movies so it fit in my taste. This won't be a movie for everyone, that's for sure. There are many scenes with little dialogue, just the cameraman running around and catching the movement of the actors with just enough talking to get by. Some may find it boring (as shown in the IMDb forums), so if you want a movie to be top quality with no perspective moments then you likely won't enjoy this. If you're open to Indie comedies, or like Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton, check it out!