The Puffy Chair

THE PUFFY CHAIR is a nostalgic journey of the heart. Mark Duplass' characters take you along this funny yet painfully true adventure of love and self discovery. The entire cast is to be commended for such natural and endearing moments. Although Julie Fischer is not a main character, her beauty and aura make her scenes glow. Mark Duplass and Kathryn Aselton play wonderfully off each other, throwing tension back and forth like a stick of dynamite. And Rhett Jordan adds harmony, playing the irresistible goofy sibling. Jay Duplass perfectly sets the film's mood and pace with some shots that took my breath away and made me ache for simpler times. I look forward to future projects by the talented Duplass Brothers but THE PUFFY CHAIR deserves to be seen by a larger audience. So go out and find it.

I was lucky enough to see "The Puffy Chair" at Sundance this year, I had to fight for a seat and it was worth it. The movie is explores two relationships, one between two brothers and another between one of the brothers and his girlfriend. The characters are right out of life, totally real and funny. The directing and acting is excellent and it never misses an opportunity to sharpen the portrait of these muddled angels. The Chair in the title refers to a gift for the brothers' father that becomes a catalyst for not only the road trip that forms the spine of this excellent film, but inflames all the character's flaws and passions to hilarious dénouement. More than once I heard people saying that there were scenes out of their own lives on the screen in the "Puffy Chair"; I wish that we could all see ourselves as precisely and humorously as the Duplass brothers do. I eagerly look forward to their next project.

I saw "The Puffy Chair" at South by Southwest, and it is an excellent film. It is genuine, thoughtful, and alternately hilarious and melancholy. It deserves to be the new "Garden State."

The movie's premise is simple: Josh and his girlfriend Emily go on a road-trip to pick up an old puffy recliner that Josh won on ebay and bring it to his dad for his birthday. Along the way, they stop to visit brother, a well-meaning but slightly insane lover of all things - especially nature and women - who ends up tagging along. One of the funniest scenes in the movie occurs when the three attempt to stay at a motel in Virginia but only pay for one person to save ten bucks; the ridiculous scheming (which of course backfires) to save a few bucks is on par with any of George Costanza's finest moments. The exchanges between brothers remind me of my banter with my own siblings, and the relationship that Josh and Emily have feels both unique and universal. The direction and and hand-held camera work give the film a documentary feel that really works well, and the music blends well with what is going on. The director and screenwriter used their low budget to great advantage, keeping things totally authentic; eliminating the documentary-style camera and getting rid of the improvisation would have ruined the mood of the movie.

Overall, the film moves seamlessly from comedy to melancholy and from jubilant romantic beginnings to bittersweet possible endings. If you get a chance to see this flick, give it a try: it's short and sweet, but it will stay with you for a while.

The Puffy Chair is a pleasure to watch; human and funny and full of well- observed moments that ring so true they elicit long, gorgeous belly laughs.

Josh, his girlfriend Emily and his brother Rhett are on a road trip to visit Josh's father. On the way they plan to pick up a puffy chair for Dad's birthday.

The film, although buzzed as a road trip movie, is essentially a relationship comedy-drama, and unfortunately falls into gender stereotypes. Emily, focused (entirely?) on marriage issues, is less sympathetic than the two guys, Josh and Rhett. It is disappointing in such a character driven movie that the female still...isn't given enough character. However, Katie Aselton as Emily does a terrific job, as do Mark Duplass and Rhett Wilkins, and the film's appeal, as in BottleRocket, is motored by the immense charm of its lead actors. Warmer and less measured than Napoleon Dynamite or Garden State, The Puffy Chair is a lovely and--one more time--truly charming film. I highly recommend it.

It actually refreshing the amount of people who have totally missed the point of this film...perhaps they have found something most of us yearn for...that amazingly simple feeling of total and mutual infatuation.

For those of us more vulnerable, the main theme of this story will be an all too familiar one. Doubts of commitment, and about committing. That which should be simple, is suddenly a struggle for affirmation. As a guy, I totally related to poor Josh (and his cowardice). I see myself in the reasons he resorts to baby talk and humor (it avoids sincerity), the frustration he represses, and that feeling like you are the only sane person left. As for the women out there...watch this movie and then ponder this: If he is crazy about you and if hes worth being crazy about, then he will make you know it. End of story.

If you don't know it, hes either not crazy about you and doesn't have the balls to admit it, or you want someone who can show it more...move on.

Id like to believe true love is simple, and amazing, like the telling of the story of The Puffy Chair.