Humpday (1/16/09)

The first film I've seen is Humpday. It was a documentary-type film that followed two men who had been friends a decade ago, but had since parted ways. Ben is in a seemingly flawless marriage, and Andrew hasn't been able to stay in one place. They are reunited, and on the first night Andrew takes Ben to a party with, to put it loosely, some very alternative people. After several beers and hits to the bong, both men begin discussing the festival in Seattle called "Humpfest". It accepts only pornographic films, and gives the prize to the most artistic. The two men decide that the most artistic type of porno would be two straight men doing the deed. They drunkenly agree to the endeavor, and are left the rest of the movie to soberly make the decision. Should they or shouldn't they? And why?

I absolutely loved this movie. I was a little hesitant after reading the description of the film, but had decided to go anyways. I thought the writing was some of the best I'd ever heard- it sounded so normal and day-to-day, as I would imagine the scene would take place in real life. At the end of the film, the director let the audience know that there was absolutely no dialogue written for this movie. All of it was complete improv. I was truly taken aback, and grateful for the casting director to pick the actors she did. They were stereotypical heterosexual men who, in my mind, were reacting to something the way most heterosexual men would.

The movie was extremely funny, and I found myself laughing throughout the whole film. You could tell that these actors got along famously, and because of that the movie came across as if we were just watching a group of friends in a not-so-normal situation. The film created a normalcy of this situation, and I think the filmmaker is a genius for making this so. I didn't realize how outlandish the story was until I began explaining it to friends. This was a great first film to see, and I hope that people continue to look past the basic description and enjoy it for the movie that it is.