Four out of
Five stars
Running time:
92 mins
Enjoyable, sharply observed and frequently hilarious comedy with terrific performances from Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard.
What's it all about?
Written and directed by Lynn Shelton, Humpday stars Mark Duplass as thirtysomething Ben, who is settling into married life with Anna (Alycia Delmore), with whom he's trying to have a baby. However, when his old friend Andrew (Joshua Leonard) turns up out of the blue after a lengthy round of hedonistic globe-trotting, Ben finds himself getting nostalgic for his carefree former life.
When Ben accompanies Andrew to a party with some bohemian friends, the two of them end up drunkenly daring each other to sleep together, ostensibly to make an artistic porn film for an upcoming festival (called Humpfest). In the cold light of day, both men realise how ridiculous their bet is, but neither of them wants to be the first to back down.
The Good
Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard (from The Blair Witch Project) are great as Ben and Andrew; they have believable best friend chemistry that works well and essentially takes this into bromance territory. There's also strong support from Alycia Delmore, who has terrific scenes with both leads and whose character has a surprising confession of her own.
The humour works brilliantly throughout, veering from the excruciatingly embarrassing to the kind of comedic macho bragging and bantering that's vaguely reminiscent of The Inbetweeners. There's also an amusing tension that develops as the date and time for the bet approaches and you're left wondering just how far they're prepared to take the dare (and maybe even question their motives a little).
The Great
Shelton's script is excellent, with several hilarious lines (“Something just hit me – I think we might be morons...”) and a series of intriguing observations about male friendship, ego, masculinity and relationships. The film is also notable for tackling a daring subject in an original and intriguing way.
Worth seeing?
Humpday is a hugely enjoyable, superbly directed and genuinely original comedy with a sharply written script and terrific performances. Highly recommended.