The Puffy Chair: Movie Review

PRODUCED BY
Mark Duplass

WRITTEN BY
Mark Duplass
Jay Duplass

The Puffy Chair is quite an interesting film to review. It's part no-budget inide flick, part comedy, part romance, and part road film. You'd think such a "kitchen sink" style of filmmaking would result in a mess of a movie, but somehow the Duplass brothers make it all work.

As the film opens, we meet Josh and Emily. It's quite clear that the two have been dating for some time now, and their relationship seems to be trapped in that phase between casual and seriousness. Emily wants to take things to the next step, while Josh wants to keep things right where they are. It's obvious by the end of the film a choice will be made.

However, Josh's relationship problems are put on hold as he finds a purple La-Z-Boy on Ebay that he thinks will be the perfect gift for his father's birthday. He purchases the chair, and he and Emily set out on a road trip to deliver it. On the way there, they run into Josh's brother Rhett, a sort of philosophical poet who enjoys making National Geographic-style documentaries about the lizards that live in the bushes in front of his apartment building. Josh and Emily's relationship is put to the test yet again when Rhett decides to invite himself along for the rest of the trip.

As quirky and strange as the plot and characters seem, The Puffy Chair is a film that actually takes itself quite seriously. At no point in the film do any of the characters seem forced or familiar. Even Rhett, a character that could have easily turned out to be nothing more than a hippie stoner stalk-character feels very genuine.

There are a few times in the film when the tone seems to take some pretty big leaps. For example, a very goofy scene involving Josh trying to sneak into a hotel room in his underwear quickly follows some very serious and heartfelt moments. However, for the most part, The Puffy Chair shows us these three characters as they are, and not how they should be. Like real life, there are times when we like them, times when we feel sorry for them, and even times when we're annoyed and hate them. In an age where most filmmakers are bending over backwards to create characters that audience will "like," it's refreshing to see a film like The Puffy Chair that attempts to create characters an audiences will understand.

Rating: B-