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Mutual Appreciation
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MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring Justin Rice, Rachel Clift, Andrew Bujalski, Seung-Min Lee, Pamela Corkey, Kevin Micka, Ralph Tyler, and Peter Pentz
Alan (Rice), a musician whose band has just broken up, shows up in New York to pursue his burgeoning rock and roll career. He starts by searching for a drummer for a show he’s already lined up, and otherwise goes about the mechanics of self-promotion. He finds a champion in Sara (Lee), a radio DJ who sets her sights on a submissive but uninterested Alan -- and finds him a drummer. In his down time, Alan drinks and strategizes with his old friend Lawrence (Bujalski), a grad student, and Lawrence’s girlfriend Ellie (Clift), a journalist. Alan endeavors to keep his shoulder to the wheel, while Ellie finds herself compelled by him. The attraction is mutual, but both parties are reluctant to take a next step. (Goodbye Cruel Releasing)
| GENRE(S): | Comedy |
| WRITTEN BY: | Andrew Bujalski |
| DIRECTED BY: | Andrew Bujalski |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: February 13, 2007 Theatrical: September 1, 2006 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 110 minutes, B/W |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
Jury Award (Best Screenplay), 2005 Newport International Film Festival
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 6.3 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Esteban I. gave it a6:
Cringe-worthy and cute even if its superfluous. The main enjoyment I got out of it was Justin Rice's performance which is reminiscent of Henry Fonda in 'The Lady Eve'.
Chad S. gave it an8:
"Mutual Appreciation" never overstays its welcome, not when the writer/director has the uncanny knack of replicating how people really communicate with each other. They talk talk, not movie talk; the seemingly artless banter in "Mutual Appreciation" makes this no budget-film feel revolutionary, and its author, a maverick. These indie rock-informed post-grads have nothing in common with those nihilisitic tweens from Larry Clarke's "Kids", but both films convince you that the actors aren't reciting dialogue from a carefully worded script. Justin Rice, who plays Alan, the struggling artist(a Jonathan Richman-type informed by, perhaps, The Buzzcocks), and Rachel Clift, who plays Ellie(a plain Jane who grows more pulchritudinous before your very eyes with each passing scene) generate effortless good-will and exude more chemistry than any of those million-dollar actors that the studio-execs throw together in some banal romantic comedy. If Ellie followed her heart, she'd be with Alan, and not with his best friend, Lawrence(Andrew Bujalski, the New York-based writer/director who's more like Richard Linklater than Woody Allen), an equally nice guy with better career prospects, and most importantly, a job. Since "Mutual Appreciation" is about living in the moment, we never learn if Alan's music career will pan out, but if his knock-'em-dead, albeit poorly attended gig is any indication, Ellie should join The Bumblebees as a musician(she's already Alan's manager), and be a Claudia Gonson to his Stephin Merritt. Rice rocks with an indefatigable DIY spirit. "Mutual Appreciation" is a two-fisted, one-finger salute to both, corporate rock and Hollywood.
Matt D. gave it a6:
I guess I was kind of underwhelmed by this. I admit I was interested in it primarily because Justin Rice is in it and I really like his band Bishop Allen. So the highlight for me was the performance of "Quarter to Three". The movie is filled with conversations that are important to the people involved but kind of mundane to everyone else (or at least to me). I enjoyed watching it, but it didn't leave much of an impression.
Roger B. gave it a1:
In one scene Ellie pulls down Lawrence's pant so Alan can see the mole on his ass that they are all discussing. When they showed a close up of his ass and Ellies face it look like boy and girl twins, both with warts. The most annoying movie I've ever seen. No redeming qualities.
Philip D. gave it a10:
This is a brilliant film.
Jack J gave it a1:
This movie was terrible. None of the characters are interesting, and the film is basically a bunch of awkward conversations with nervous people. I suppose reviewers are calling this the future of film because it's honest and tries to be realistic. But how is this film daring? There have been many films about twenty-somethings who feel lost and aren't sure where they're going in life, or why they're dating who they're dating, and so on and so forth, but often they're funnier, have wittier dialogue (which would be more realistic anyways if you're trying to capture twenty-something hipsters), and manage to have more highs and lows. This movie left me completely under whelmed. Basically, if I grabbed a camera and filmed my friends conversing and figuring out life, I'd have a much funnier, wittier, and touching movie.
Jay C gave it a3:
As the director said, he prepared scenes, but they kind of let the "actors" decide. For a movie that relies so extensively on dialogue, this one seemed to be mostly uncommunicative. Confused, disconnected and pretty boring. Why would we care about these people's lives?
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