Humpday (2009)

Director:

Lynn Shelton

Writer:

Lynn Shelton (writer)

Release Date:

16 September 2009 (France)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Sometimes male bonding can be taken a little too far.

Plot:

Two guys take their bromance to another level when they participate in an art film project.

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Art | Friend | Sex | Party

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Mark Duplass	...	Ben
Alycia Delmore	...	Anna
Joshua Leonard	...	Andrew
Lynn Shelton	...	Monica
Trina Willard	...	Lily
Olivia	...	Kid on Bike
Stellan Mathiesen	...	Kid on Bike
Steven Schardt	...	Disgruntled Driver
David Bundgren	...	'Dionysus' Extra
J. Martin Dinn	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Paddy Evans-Winfield	...	'Dionysus' Extra (as Patrick Evans-Winfield)
Joy Brooke Fairfield	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Monica Fisk	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Lori Goldston	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Jane Hall	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Tinka Jonakova	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Tania Kupczak	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Julian Martlew	...	'Dionysus' Extra
John Naito	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Clyde Peterson	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Eric Richards	...	'Dionysus' Extra
Jessie Smith	...	'Dionysus' Extra

Directed by
Lynn Shelton

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lynn Shelton		writer

Produced by
Sue Corcoran	....	associate producer
Jennifer Maas	....	co-producer
Dave Nakayama	....	executive producer
Steven Schardt	....	co-producer
Steven Schardt	....	line producer
Lynn Shelton	....	producer
Ted Speaker	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Vinny Smith

Cinematography by
Benjamin Kasulke

Film Editing by
Nat Sanders

Production Design by
Jasminka Vukcevic

Production Management
Jennifer Maas	....	unit production manager
Kathie McCallister	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jennifer Maas	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Indus Alelia	....	art department production assistant
Rena Bussinger	....	art department production assistant
Cristen Frieszell	....	art department production assistant
Rashad Green	....	art department production assistant
Aaron Heinzen	....	art department production assistant
Gunnar McGrew	....	art department production assistant
Nishali Nanayakkara	....	art department production assistant
Megan Sandford	....	art department production assistant
Ted Speaker	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Dave Howe	....	sound mixer: 5.1 surround sound, Bad Animals
Vinny Smith	....	sound designer
Vinny Smith	....	sound mixer
Vinny Smith	....	sound
Sam Gray	....	additional foley recordist (uncredited)
Jamie Hunsdale	....	additional foley artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Megan Griffiths	....	director of photography: second unit
Benjamin Kasulke	....	gaffer
Jason Knoll	....	grip: "Dionysus" scene
Phil Laaveg	....	grip: "Dionysus" scene
David R. Lipson	....	second assistant camera (as David Lipson)
Paul Mandeville	....	grip: "Dionysus" scene
Nathan M. Miller	....	first assistant camera
Nathan M. Miller	....	grip: "Dionysus" scene
Nathan M. Miller	....	second camera operator
Sean Porter	....	director of photography: second unit
Sean Porter	....	gaffer: "Dionysus" scene
Sean Porter	....	second camera operator
Lynn Shelton	....	second camera operator
Ted Speaker	....	camera operator: behind the scenes
Ted Speaker	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Ryan Adams	....	color timer: Alpha Cine
Marc Brown	....	digital film services: Alpha Cine
Lisa Cohen	....	digital film producer: Alpha Cine
Laurel Cyr	....	post-production assistant
Sean Donavan	....	assistant editor
Bevin Flynn	....	digital film services: Alpha Cine
Jannat Gargi	....	digital film producer: Alpha Cine
Clint Holland	....	post-production intern
Tim Maffia	....	color grader: Modern Digital

Music Department
Lesley Braden	....	musician
Lori Goldston	....	musician
Matt Hutchinson	....	musician
Brendan Mills-Mccabe	....	musician
Vinny Smith	....	musician

Other crew
Josh Braun	....	distribution advisor: Submarine
Alycia Delmore	....	script consultant
Mark Duplass	....	script consultant
Tania Kupczak	....	title designer
Joshua Leonard	....	script consultant
David R. Lipson	....	assistant to writer (as David Lipson)
Trina Willard	....	script consultant
Lance Rosen	....	legal representative (uncredited)

Thanks
Mary Pat Bentel	....	special thanks
Mel Eslyn	....	thanks
W. Puscie Jones	....	special thanks (as Julian A. Mitchell)

Production Companies

• Magnolia Pictures
• Seashel Pictures

Distributors

• Festive Films (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Fugu-Filmverleih (2010) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Pictures (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Maple Pictures (2009) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Pyramide Distribution (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• Wild Bunch Benelux (2009) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Film1 (2011) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• HD Net (2009) (USA) (video) (VOD)
• Madman Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (all media)
• Magnolia Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Magnolia Pictures (2009) (USA) (all media)
• Prisvídeo - Edições Videográficas (2010) (Portugal) (all media)
• Versus Entertainment (2011) (Spain) (DVD)
• Vertigo Films (2009) (UK) (all media)

Other Companies

• Alpha Cine Laboratory  digital film services (as Alpha Cine)
• Bad Animals  sound mixing: 5.1 surround
• DBA West  marketing
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Modern Digital  color grading
• Submnarine  distribution advising

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sexual content, pervasive language and a scene of drug use

Runtime:

Argentina:94 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | USA:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45334) | New Zealand:R16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:18A (Alberta/Ontario) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:R21 | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA (2009) | Hong Kong:III (film festival rating)

Filming Locations:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Company:

Magnolia Pictures

Trivia:

As he walks to the hotel room for the final scene, Andrew walks in front of the home of Edith Macefield. Macefield was famous for stubbornly resisting the offers of developers and remaining in her tiny 108-year-old farmhouse while the surrounding properties were turned into a five-story commercial development.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): As Ben and Andrew explain to their video camera their story so far, Ben mistakenly refers to Andrew as "Ben".

Quotes:

Andrew:That's the tricky thing. It's the difference between this and bungee jumping, is that bungee jumping, you just walk to the edge and jump...
Ben:...and the whole thing takes care of you...
Andrew:...and you don't have to have a hard-on to bungee jump.

Movie Connections:

References Pretty Woman (1990)

Soundtrack:

Dionysus

Breaking down male homophobia

Those thinking that "Humpday" is about any ordinary Wednesday are in for a rude awakening from this flick written and directed by Lynn Shelton. For everyone else, you know you're in for a brave and, at times, very funny account of two straight guys who decide to make a gay porno. The two guys are best friends Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard), whose lives have taken very different directions since High School. Ben is married to Anna (Alycia Delmore) with a baby on the way and Andrew is an artist and world traveler spending time with different women and experiences. The night after Andrew just shows up at Ben's doorstep looking to reconnect, the two find themselves at a party (at a house called Dionysus) thrown by Andrew's friend. Alcohol and the bong get passed around, guards are let down, and the conversation turns to sexual pleasures such as letting the dog lick peanut butter off you. Andrew mentions that he'd really like to make an erotic art film and Ben thinks that porn is a dime a dozen and if you really want to make something memorable, it has to be unique. The combination of these ideas plus being intoxicated leads to a pact where the two agree to have sex with one another. Can they do it? Will the two figure things out about themselves? Will Anna go along with it? The later question presents some very funny dance-around-the-subject moments. The developments in this movie about breaking down the walls of male homophobia are interesting. Actual nudity or sex is never shown nor does the movie fall back on crude humor but there is a lot of talk. Both guys feel like they have something to prove; Andrew that he is an uncompromising artist and Ben that he is not the boring, buttoned down family man that people think. Yet both are threatened, Andrew at a dildo introduced during a three-way and Ben at having feelings for a video store clerk. A scene where a basketball game between the two turns into a wrestling match says something for comfortable vs. uncomfortable physical intimacy between men and an honest conversation where Ben and Anna talk of their multi-faceted sexual needs not being met in this relationship alone are nice additions. Of course in the final scene the big question is broken down and analyzed, and some of the funniest stuff the movie has to offer is introduced. Will the physical fear become too real for the guys once hump day finally comes? The film is very talky and the camera work is grainy and dull-looking but what keeps the movie rolling are two very good performances from Duplass and Leonard. Duplass as the buttoned down, responsible Ben and Leonard as the wild-eyed, energetic Andrew; both display a willing but anxious chemistry of two guys who desperately want to be braver than they actually are. "Humpday" isn't always fun to watch but it's brave, funny, and interesting.