A Moving Picture: Baghead (2008)

Did anyone catch the movie "The Puffy Chair"? I saw it maybe a year or so ago while surfing channels. I fell asleep and when I awoke, there was this movie on. A movie that initially annoyed me because it seemed a little dumb, cheap, and seemed like another lame drama about twenty-somethings. I was too lazy to change the channel though, so I kept watching. It turned out to be a really enjoyable movie with some great acting and a good story. I didn't find out until later that all of the dialogue in the movie was improvised and unscripted. There was no conventional script to speak of, no real budget to speak of, and it just felt...real. The film was a hit apparently, and brought a lot of attention to Mark and Jay Duplass. They wrote it while Jay directed and Mark acted. It's also recognized as one of the first movies in a movement known as "mumblecore". The movement being low budget indie flicks with improvised dialogue that are usually about twenty-somethings and relationships. I suppose.

Yeah, it's pretty much the dumbest name ever. It makes it sound like something pretentious or like it's for "hipsters" or something. I know the guy who coined the term and made it popular and I would punch him. It's an annoying label, but then again most labels are.

Anyways, this brings us to the Duplass brothers' second full length film, Baghead. It's about four struggling actors who go to a cabin in the woods. There, they're determined to write a great screenplay that will make them famous. They come up with the story of a killer with a bag over his head who torments a group of friends. Mysteriously, the story begins to become reality. Is someone playing a joke on them, or are their lives in danger? If you go in expecting it to be a slasher flick, then you will be greatly disappointed. The horror aspect of the movie not the focus at all, though it plays a part. The focus is on the relationships between the friends in the cabin. Let's see if I can sum this up. Matt and Chad are best friends. Catherine and Matt have been dating off and on for 11 years and Catherine wants to get Matt back. Michelle and Chad have been friends for a few months. Chad wants to be her boyfriend but Michelle isn't into him like that and wants to get it on with Matt. All in all, it's pretty common stuff in people's lives. It's not nearly as dramatic as it sounds. Who hasn't had that off and on romance at some point or wanted to be with a person who didn't like you in the same way? It's handled pretty realistically, and the characters are fairly likeable. The guy who plays Chad was great. He was perfect as the "nice" guy. The guys who are really great and funny but not what most girls go for physically, you know? I also thought Greta Gerwig as Michelle was good. She was kinda quirky and cute. The story was interesting to watch, some parts made me laugh quite a bit, and it kept you guessing a bit at to how it would all turn out. I have to commend the brothers on the horror/slasher elements of it. They did pretty well on it.

The only real bad thing about this movie is that it's alot of talking. There's usually no background music during these scenes so you just have to listen to them talk. The improvised dialogue is good and all, there's just alot of it. So, there's a chance you could get bored during some parts. Don't turn it off though, because it's still a pretty decent movie. I might watch it again this week.

Check out the trailer so you can have SOME idea of what I'm talking about.