I wanted to but couldn't!

hyped garbage

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Having recently graduated college without any useful real world skills or training, a young woman gravitates between various friends while trying to secure a meaningful job and long term boyfriend in this independent American drama. The film starts off fairly well with her struggle to with what to do with her life after college resonating, especially as her friends express envy for her spontaneous lifestyle when what she really craves is direction and order. This early potential is, however, never maximized as the film mostly consists of awkward conversations between lead actress Kate Dollenmayer and her friends with a lot of whiny complaining. The uncertainty facing Dollenmayer might be heartfelt, but her lack of ambition and unwillingness to take charge of her life renders it incredibly hard to relate to her first world problems. To be fair, bits and pieces of the tale are memorable, like an experiment involving sitting on laps and Dollenmayer talking to the sister of the boy she wants to go out with, unaware that he is listening in the background, but the high points are few and far between with the film concluding in an unsatisfying abrupt manner. The supporting cast here are pretty decent (given that most were first time actors) and some of the dialogue occasionally hits home, but this is still mostly just a series of awkward filmed conversations at the end of the day.

FUNNY HA HA is a meandering, whimsical look at Echo Boomers. Adult Life hasn't taken hold, direction seems clear, yet where is the forward momentum? I doubt very seriously if people within this age group would identify with this representation. I think that the film works better for people who are much younger, or decades and decades older. Teenagers might envy the leisure time and absence of adult responsibility depicted in the film, and older folks might view it through the lens of rosy nostalgia. The film has a very Independent look, and is not without a certain elemental charm. However, it is certainly not a definitive statement, but maybe that was the point.

First time filmmaker Andrew Bujalski's extremely low-budget feature "Funny Ha Ha" has many of the hallmarks of an early John Cassavetes film: grainy camera-work, minimalist storytelling, and naturalistic, ad lib performances. Bujalski's cast of characters is made up entirely of white urban youth in their early to mid 20's - that awkward period in life after an individual has finished college yet before he has moved on to building his own career and family. Given what appears to be their first real taste of freedom and independence, the characters do little but sit around, get drunk, and talk about their romantic relationships, but Bujalski observes all this without hysteria and judgment, thereby lending the film the aura of real life being caught on film. The focal point is an attractive young woman named Marnie (Kate Dollenmayer) who drinks a bit too much, seems vaguely directionless and lacking in energy, and is somewhat inexperienced in the ways of love, but who, nevertheless, seems reasonably well grounded and knows her own limits as a person. "Funny Ha Ha," despite its occasional raggedness and self-indulgence, is blessedly free of contrivance and melodramatics. These may not be the most goal-oriented or socially-conscious youth we've ever encountered in the movies, but neither are they the most troubled or self-destructive. They seem like pretty ordinary kids living in the moment and only vaguely aware that there's a world outside of themselves that they are destined to become a part of in the very near future.The beauty of the dialogue rests in its ability to capture with uncanny accuracy the way people in the real world actually speak. The characters interact in ways that are genuine and believable, and life just seems to be unfolding as we watch it on screen. This is due in small measure to the fine performances from a cast of virtual unknowns who know how to appear relaxed, honest and natural in front of the camera. With its improvisational and off-the-cuff film-making style and its abrupt, the-camera-just-ran-out-of-film ending, "Funny Ha Ha" makes us feel as if we are eavesdropping on the daily lives of a handful of relative strangers. Lucky for us, they turn out to be people in whom we can see something of ourselves reflected, and with whom we enjoy spending our time.

I Love Indy films and foreign films. I do appreciate their quirkiness and non-mainstream story/filming. This is not one I would run out and purchase for my video library and invite everyone over to watch it over and over. It drags on and on where no one can articulate anything, not even a clear thought. Maybe that is funny? or haha on me. It has the premise of figuring out life day in and day out post college pre-marriage. Hum-drum. Others have done this and perfected this like Larry David but he is funny and Woody Allen as he is not only funny but clever. Both of these self-visualization directors have a resolve at the end. This movie misses the mark on all. It was like watching a home movie- so many parts of the scenes were hard to visualize or focus on (too much close-up not that the movie was "out of focus"). Now that was interesting as the filming technique parallels each characters' life. Though that may not be the depth this director was going for. If the US Open Tennis finals are on the TV and this is too, watch the tennis. It has humor, drama, real life and a resolve.