Mark Duplass

  • Jay Duplass & Mark Duplass – The Puffy Chair (2005)

    2001-2010DramaJay Duplass and Mark DuplassMumblecoreRomanceUSA

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    From Time Out London
    ‘I’ve got about 50 fuckin’ thoughts and strategies about how some shit is and I don’t know fuckin’ shit.’ Such is the lament of Josh (Mark Duplass, who co-wrote the script with director brother Jay), a would-be indie rocker turned booking agent adrift in an indefinite state of petulant post-adolescence. Josh leads his doormat girlfriend, Emily (Kathryn Aselton), and his hippy-dippy brother, Rhett (Rhett Wilkins), on a quest to retrieve an eBay purchase: the titular piece of furniture, seemingly identical to one from Josh’s youth, and therefore a big red hint about the approximate end-point of everyone’s emotional development. Holding up a mirror to slacker-manqué solipsism isn’t necessarily much more intriguing than the thing in itself, but the Duplass brothers are merciless in digging pot holes and contriving road blocks for the claustrophobic, infuriating road trip that ensues. Josh and Emily’s curdled intimacy rings painfully true, and a memorably aborted dinner early on rhymes with the film’s perfectly abrupt ending; when everyone finally shuts up, the silence is startling.Read More »

  • Lynn Shelton – Humpday (2009)

    2001-2010ComedyLynn SheltonMumblecoreUSA

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    College buddies Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Justin Leonard) are reunited in Seattle when the latter comes crashing into his pal’s marital bliss, in more ways than one. As a kind of bet – Andrew is involved in a porn-themed art project – they agree it would be pretty far out if two straight men were to have sex on camera. While drunk, they volunteer and set a date.
    In the cold light of day, neither wants to be the one to back down: the funniest idea in Lynn Shelton’s bracing, superbly-acted low-budget comedy is how this now-or-never challenge becomes a clinching test of machismo. Ben knows his wife (Alycia Delmore) is never going to be cool with it, and bottles out of asking. To be fair, the film does a fair amount of squirming itself, but not before giving honest and hilarious thought to the carnal intricacies of the whole project.Read More »

  • Craig Johnson – True Adolescents (2009)

    2001-2010ComedyCraig JohnsonUSA


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    Craig Johnson’s poised and poignant first feature follows Sam (Mark Duplass), an, unbeknownst to him, washed-up rocker in the early stages of haggard. Jobless and apartment-less, he crashes with his aunt (a compassionate Melissa Leo) as a last resort and becomes reluctant camping-trip chaperone to her teenage son and a pal. That the three males are on par, maturity-wise, makes for engaging ensemble juvenilia. But in the stirring Pacific Northwest wilderness a surprising discovery turns dire — and the distance from boy to man must be covered overnight. Duplass’s ballsy and at times balls-out performance is a winner, particularly when Sam at long last takes stock of himself: it ain’t pretty.Read More »

  • Jay Duplass – Baghead (2008)

    2001-2010ComedyJay DuplassMumblecoreUSA

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Quote:
    Following up on the surprise success of their micro-budget production THE PUFFY CHAIR (2005), brothers Jay and Mark Duplass turn their handheld DV camera toward skewering the pretentiousness of the independent film world while tossing in a few horror film scares for good measure. The result is entertaining and unique, with enough laughs, insight, and excitement for adventurous viewers. After seeing the accolades heaped up on a colleague for his laughable film (WE ARE NAKED) at a Los Angeles film festival, Matt (Ross Partridge) decides that he can do better. With his sometime girlfriend, Catherine (Elise Muller), and friends Michelle (Greta Gerwig, HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS) and Chad (Steve Zissis) in tow, they immediately set off to a cabin in the woods for the weekend to create the film that will make them all famous on the festival circuit. While Chad focuses his energy on winning the affections of uninterested Michelle, Matt comes up with the cinematic construct of a stranger with a paper bag on his head terrorizing a group of people in the woods. After the initial evening of alcoholic brainstorming, though, the idea becomes reality, and the friends’ relationships are tested as they find themselves in a truly scary situation. The idea for BAGHEAD was hatched on the set of the THE PUFFY CHAIR when, during a discussion requesting those involved to think of the scariest thing imaginable, someone said, “A guy with a bag on his head staring into your window.” Though it may be a flimsy starting point for a film, the Duplasses surround the idea with a believable cast, truthful insight into relationships, and a few genuine chills. The result is clever, funny, and refreshingly difficult to classify.Read More »

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