HUMPDAY Review (LA Film Fest)

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I recently got a chance to see Humpday, which is going to be playing at the 2009 LA Film Festival.

I had already mentioned Humpday a couple of times before. I posted pictures and the trailer and was pretty curious to find out more about it. Now that I have, I can tell you one thing for sure, Humpday, although very funny, is definitely not going to appeal to everybody simply because of its unconventional story. When I told one of my friends about it, he was like “and why would I want to see that?” but for those of you adventurous types out there, how about I tell you a little more about it?

Humpday first introduces us to Ben (Mark Duplass) and his wife Anna (Alycia Delmore) in a very funny genuine opening scene. They are both then awaken at 2am in the morning by Andrew (Joshua Leonard), Ben’s very good friend whom he hasn’t seen in years, who just shows up unannounced. The next night, while Ben and Andrew are at a party and drunk, they come up with the idea of doing an “art” porn film for the upcoming amateur porn Film Festival. But here is the thing, in order for the film to be the most original it can be, Ben and Andrew sort of dare each other to have sex together. Which leads Ben to say the best line of the movie “It’s not gay, it’s beyond gay.” Haha.

From there starts a whole chain of events that will lead these two to end up in a hotel room trying to make their porn… no I’m sorry their “art film” in one of the funniest scenes that I have seen in a long time.

When the movie first started, I honestly wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. While I thought the two main actors provided some genuine performances, it took me a little bit to get warmed up to the film. However, the more we got into the movie and the more these two characters were sort of digging their graves, if you will, the more hilarious it got. By the last scene I was literally in tears from laughing so much. I really have to applaud Lynn Shelton for one of the most hilarious and sincere scene that I have seen in a while.

Now I’m not going to tell you if they end up going through with it because where is the fun in that? But I can tell you that it is definitely a movie worth checking out.

Humpday is definitely not a big blockbuster movie, it doesn’t have any explosions or visual effects, but what it does have is a good, simple story about two guys that decide to take their friendship to the next level, and how that affects them and the people in their lives. Turns out Ben’s wife, Anna, doesn’t exactly see things the way Ben and Andrew do.

Overall, I really had a great time watching Humpday. The performances from the main actors were strong, the story was original and funny, and the directing was non-intrusive, which allows us to feel like a fly on the wall. We are able to spend a few days with Ben and Andrew and their insane idea, and somehow it makes you feel good to know that there are people with even crazier ideas than you.

You can catch Humpday at the 2009 LA Film Fest tonight, Friday June 19 at 10pm at the Mann Festival or Monday, June 22 at 4:45pm at The Landmark. (Official LA Film Fest Website)

Humpday will also be released to theaters on July 17, 2009.