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Funny Ha Ha
- Directed by: Andrew Bujalski
- Starring: Kate Dollenmayer, Christian Rudder, Myles Paige
- Release Date: 15 March 2007 (ICA, London only)
Indie director Andrew Bujalski's first film, which follows a disillusioned graduate through temping hell and relationship purgatory, is a lo-fi triumph
If you like minimalist aesthetics, over-intellectualised relationships and wallowing in self-doubt (check, check, check) you'll feel the same way about discovering Bujalski as you would about making a new best friend. Funny Ha Ha follows the story of the 24-year-old Marnie (Kate Dollenmayer) as she gets fired from her job, rejected at parties, and has a torturous non-relationship with scruffy-haired cutie Alex (Christian Rudder).
Luminous and insecure, Dollenmayer recalls a Ghost World-era Scarlett Johansson, and Bujalski captures her with a loving lens. Masochistically playing the role of an unattractive loser, as well as writing, directing and editing; Bujalski's grainy style (shot on hand-held 16mm) is as generation-defining as anything by Larry Clark or Gus Van Sant. Long, static shots show people that look like people, not like stars, caught with an over-the-shoulder, in-the-bed intimacy.
With a rough-hewn style, awkward interactions and a character roster of
neurotic young hipsters, it would have been easy for Bujalski's first feature
film to seem like an exercise in vapid artiness. Like his second release
Mutual Affection, Funny Ha Ha starts and ends mid-conversation
and no character is capable of a concise sentence. But a charismatic cast
and confident directing counteract the potential for pretentiousness. It's
refreshing, affirming and scarily true to life.
Jess Holland
