What could have ended up as crass, cringy and possibly offensive actually results in a very funny and realistic treatment of the premise.
Humpday (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:115
Fresh:91
Rotten:24
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: Observant and insightful, this indie comedy takes a different tack on the "bromance" but still makes a point without sermonizing.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some strong sexual content, pervasive language and a scene of drug use.
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Jul 10, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $254,272
Synopsis:
It's been a decade since Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) were the bad boys of their college campus. Ben has settled down and found a job, wife, and home. Andrew took the alternate route as a...
It's been a decade since Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) were the bad boys of their college campus. Ben has settled down and found a job, wife, and home. Andrew took the alternate route as a vagabond artist, skipping the globe from Chiapas to Cambodia. When Andrew shows up unannounced on Ben's doorstep, they easily fall back into their old dynamic of macho one-upmanship. Late into the night at a wild party, the two find themselves locked in a mutual dare: to enter an amateur porn contest together. But what kind of boundary-breaking, envelope pushing porn can two straight dudes make? After the booze and "big talk" run out, only one idea remains -- they will have sex together on camera. It's not gay; it's beyond gay. It's not porn; it's art. But how exactly will it work? And more importantly, who will tell Anna (Delmore), Ben's wife?
Writer/director Lynn Shelton, director of My Effortless Brilliance and recipient of the "Someone to Watch Award" at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards, expertly mines the biggest ironies of the male ego to hilarious effect. Humpday is a buddy movie gone wild. --© Magnolia
Starring: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton
Starring: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton, Trina Willard
Director: Lynn Shelton
Director: Lynn Shelton
Screenwriter: Lynn Shelton
Producer: Lynn Shelton
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
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Reviews for Humpday
What finally lifts ‘Humpday’ above macho junk like ‘The Hangover’ is its all-inclusive warmth: for all their adolescent self-delusion, Shelton truly loves these characters. And after 90 minutes, so will you.
Immensely enjoyable, an insightful and humorous depiction of complicated, yet ultimately simple, male drives.
Humpday is a high-concept comedy made for low-budget money that might just be one of the funniest films of the year.
The ending of the movie is an awful let-down, which is a shame: the film had been weirdly involving and Alycia Delmore is good as Ben's outraged wife.
The film does a fair amount of squirming itself, but not before giving honest and hilarious thought to the carnal intricacies of the whole project.
Shelton has been tagged as an extremely adept chronicler of the associations between men. It’s fair to say that the director is good on relationships, period.
Writer-director Lynn Shelton has crafted a richly rewarding script that enables the viewer - with a minimum of effort - to buy into an idea which in lesser hands would flail impotently. As the guys say "it's beyond gay."
Fresh, funny and subtly insightful, this daring little indie bromance feels like the movie Hollywood wouldn’t have the balls to make.
The farce that follows is both ridiculous and surprisingly real, mining a very rich seam of comedy while also making some very sharp points about male friendships and the often very blurred line between straight and gay.
Shelton's wry script, together with a troika of perfectly judged performances, transforms a set-up that has the potential to be endlessly distasteful into a wry, engaging version of the “will-they-won't-they?” movie.
An intelligent, low-key look at male sexuality which is sensitively handled. What a pity, then, that the ending's such a let-down... or an anti-climax, you could say.
Forget the buddy movie and the "bromance", this wryly provocative comedy takes man-love to a place of palm-sweating uncertainty.
The film is also notable for tackling a daring subject in an original and intriguing way.
Shot in a disarmingly improvised style, it's not clear whether this is a dramatic comedy or a very funny drama. Whatever it is, it boldly faces one of the biggest taboos of American society: male intimacy.
We've had romcoms - now here's the first of the homcoms. And I've gotta admit it made me feel both happy and gay.
Though often very funny, writer/director Lynn Shelton's film lacks some of the insight into the awkwardness of male friendship found in recent mainstream comedy hits.
This audience-friendly indie sex comedy features almost no sex but plenty of nervous male bonding and a whole new angle on performance anxiety.
Latest News for Humpday
July 09, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
This week at the movies, we've got Austrian audacity (Bruno, starring Sacha Baron Cohen) and graduation gratification (I Love You, Beth Cooper, starring Hayden Panettiere and... More...
June 28, 2009:
Edinburgh 2009: RT's 10 Must-See Movies
The Edinburgh Film Festival has come to a close and Rotten Tomatoes thought we'd make a traditional look back over all of the films playing at this year's fest and present to... More...
June 28, 2009:
Edinburgh 2009: Humpday wins RT Award
Humpday, directed by Lynn Shelton, has become the second ever winner of the Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus Award, it was announced today at an awards ceremony in Edinburgh.... More...
May 10, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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