Mutual Appreciation (2005)

Alan is a musician who leaves a busted-up band for New York, and a new musical voyage. He tries to stay focused and fends off all manner of distractions, including the attraction to his good friend's girlfriend.

Director:

Andrew Bujalski

Writer:

Andrew Bujalski

Stars:

Justin Rice, Rachel Clift, Andrew Bujalski

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Justin Rice	...	Alan
Rachel Clift	...	Ellie
Andrew Bujalski	...	Lawrence
Seung-Min Lee	...	Sara
Pamela Corkey	...	Patricia
Kevin Micka	...	Dennis
Ralph Tyler	...	Jerry
Peter Pentz	...	Scotty
Bill Morrison	...	Walter
Tamara Luzeckyj	...	Esther
Mary Varn	...	Rebecca
Kate Dollenmayer	...	Hildy
Keith Gessen	...	Julian
Salvatore Botti	...	Ron

Storyline

Adults in their 20s circle each other, their bodies in motion, with occasional attractions and lots of talk. Alan is a musician, just down to New York from Boston, hanging out with his friend Lawrence and Lawrence's girlfriend Ellie. Alan and Ellie are on a bed talking: is this prelude or possibility? Sara, who has interviewed Alan for the radio, seems attracted to Alan, but Alan may not be so sure. They, too, sit on the edge of a bed. He has a gig; it goes well. How should he handle Sara? Has the moment with Ellie passed? Do things play out or does time merely pass as bodies move through space?

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Plot Keywords:

new york | musician | mumblecore | boyfriend girlfriend relationship | guitarist | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2007 (UK)

Also Known As:

Admiração Mútua

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutual Appreciation LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Spin-off Peoples House (2007)

User Reviews

An offbeat comedy about a young musician and his new life in New York

I saw this film yesterday at the Independent Film Festival of Boston and was pleasantly surprised. I just randomly picked it because i wanted to see something at the IFFB, and i loved the movie. Andrew Bujalski did a great job writing this conversion driven movie. The conversation felt so natural that I thought most of it was ad-libbed, but after the film he told us that while parts of the script were somewhat left open for ad-libbing, it was mostly written dialog. The main character, Alan (Justin Rice) has this wonderfully unique charisma, which really pulled me into the movie. Mr. Bujalski told us that much of that character was based on real life Justin Rice, and it came across well. I would definitely recommend checking out this movie if you can, especially for fans of Woody Allen, and it reminded me of Wes Anderson's work in some ways, probably just because of the characters.