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Funny Ha Ha

Plot

American independent filmmaker Andrew Bujalski makes his feature debut as a writer/director with the microbudgeted Funny Ha Ha. Shot on-location in Boston on 16 mm film, the movie is predominately cast with unprofessional actors engaging in realistic discourse. Main character Marnie is played by first-time actress Kate Dollenmayer, a student at CalArts who previously worked on Richard Linklater's Waking Life. Marnie goes about her everyday life with a conflicted love for her friend Alex (Christian Rudder) and a dispassionate attitude toward her job as a temp office worker. While at work she meets the nervous Mitchell, played by the director. Funny Ha Ha was shown at the 2003 IFP Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Review

Even with the homemade look and feel of a student film, Andrew Bujalski's Funny Ha Ha manages to be a fairly engaging romantic comedy despite its obviously low production values. Kate Dollenmayer makes a pleasant protagonist as Marnie, a twentysomething college graduate with a sincere smile and regular problems. Her cycle of drinking, eating, and working is a comfortable background for the main romantic plot. The rest of the unknown cast of nonactors stammer through their improvised dialogue, but at least the bad acting is low key. The off-the-cuff comic moments feel natural and the painfully awkward moments are lightly developed. For instance, when Marnie runs into Alex and his new wife at the grocery store, the nervous energy is all too familiar. Similarly, Mitchell's problematic courting of Marnie is full of the tense, talky banter of real life. Bujalski seems to have a knack for observing friendly meandering conversation while not deviating from the story too far. Other than the slow pace, lack of musical score, and abrupt ending, Funny Ha Ha is a smart and unassuming little independent film that doesn't insult its audience by trying to be anything else. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Cast

Kate Dollenmayer - Marnie
Christian Rudder - Alex
Myles Paige - Dave
Jennifer L. Schaper - Rachel
Lissa Patton Rudder - Susan

Marshall Lewy - Wyatt; Andrew Bujalski - Mitchell

Credit

Morgan Faust - Associate Producer, Hagai Shaham - Associate Producer, Andrew Bujalski - Director, Andrew Bujalski - Editor, Matthias Grunsky - Cinematographer, Ethan Vogt - Producer, Jason Cho - Sound/Sound Designer, Kyle Gilman - Sound/Sound Designer, John Koczera - Sound/Sound Designer, Valery Lyman - Sound/Sound Designer, Myles Paige - Sound/Sound Designer, Justin Rice - Sound/Sound Designer, Andrew Bujalski - Screenwriter

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