Fresh on the heels of the Independent Film Festival of Boston screening of his second feature, Mutual Appreciation, director Andrew Bujalski will see his first, 2002's Funny Ha Ha, return to New York's Cinema Village and Boston's Coolidge Corner this Friday, April 29, in a brand-spanking-new 35mm print [blown up from the original 16mm]. Go see it. Go see it. Go see it again.
Film Comment's Amy Taubin described the film's strange, slow momentum last year:
In the two years of its "non-release," Funny Ha Ha has accumulated a dedicated fan base and a set of reviews (from critics of all ages) that most first-time filmmakers would die for. It was named one of the best undistributed films of 2003 by Film Comment, indieWIRE and The Village Voice; Bujalski was the winner of the IFP's 2004 "Someone to Watch" Spirit Award and Filmmaker magazine selected him as one of the "New Faces of Indie Film."
The cinetrix was fortunate enough to see Funny Ha Ha a few months ago. Shot in Boston, it's a lovely film about being in your midtwenties, feeling stuck in a shitty office job, and crushing out on someone who keeps toying with your heart. Oh, yes, and drinking your way into courage and catastrophe. Bujalski gets so many grace notes right about that ephemeral time in one's life that watching the film at, er, a more advanced age was almost unbearable. [That's good, in case you were wondering.]
Mutual Appreciation has been picking up buzz, too. Keep an eye out for it, Funny Ha Ha, and whatever Andrew does next. He's the genuine article. And a great guy to drink beer with, too.
UPDATE: Dennis Lim raves in the Voice. Also, an interview with Andrew.
