Jay Duplass Movies
- 2008
- NR
Two people who fall in love while separated by 800 miles find it's hard to stay friends while living in the same city in this low-key independent drama. James (Joe Swanberg) and Mattie (Greta Gerwig) are in love and trying to make their relationship work. But James lives and works in Chicago, while Mattie calls New York home, and though they try to visit one another as often as they can, their infrequent weekends together are punctuated by telephone calls, e-mails, on-line chatting, and sending digital pictures back and forth. As much as Mattie cares for James, in time the space between them is too much to deal with and they break up. Twelve months later, James' career as a video-game designer is taking off, and a new project necessitates a move to New York City; while they're no longer lovers, he tries to reconnect with Mattie, though his recent success has added a new and uncomfortable element to their relationship. Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig wrote, directed, and produced Nights and Weekends as well as playing the two leads; the film received its world premiere at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Gerwig, Joe Swanberg, (more)
The Puffy Chair filmmaking duo Jay and Mark Duplass return to the realm of cinema with this tale of a man, a bag, and the strangeness that occurs when the two independently inconsequential factors come together. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Zissis, Ross Partridge, (more)
Dejected by his failure to achieve fame as a New York City indie-rocker and unable to figure out just when it was that his life took a sharp turn for the worse, a small-town boy who had once harbored big dreams for the future sets out on a cross-country adventure to give his father a birthday the old man will never forget in director Jay Duplass' nostalgic road trip comedy. Josh (Mark Duplass) may not have found the success he was hoping for in the big city, but he's determined not to go back home empty-handed. When an eBay browsing session leads Josh to a vintage Lazy Boy recliner just like the one that used to grace his childhood living room, the loving son opts to purchase the purple relic and deliver it to his father as a surprise birthday gift. Josh's simple plan is suddenly complicated by the appearance of his emotionally demanding girlfriend, Emily (Kathryn Aselton), and his granola-munching brother, Rhett (Rhett Wilkins) -- who both insist on joining him on his homeward-bound mission. While the hapless would-be rocker sets out with them on a mission to deliver a piece of his childhood to his father back home, he might also learn a thing or two about himself and his relationships in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Duplass, Kathryn Aselton, (more)
Emerging artist Sean Fields (Jeremy Fox) is haunted by the hidden brutality of his upbringing at the hands of his abusive stepfather Ray, a powerful Texas judge (Ev Lunning Jr.). This mental state is reflected in his sexually explicit and controversial paintings. On the brink of being discovered (he's been tapped for a major exhibition), Sean falls in love with the sexy and wild Hannah (Amalia Stifter), whose life is complicated by a relationship with crude and protective redneck Davie (Stephen Bruton). Davie seems to know something about Hannah that Hannah would rather Sean did not discover. As it happens, Judge Fields has hired Hannah, through lowlife intermediaries, to keep Sean from painting; the judge thinks Sean's success will disgrace his name and prevent him from winning a seat in Congress. It all comes to a horribly violent end.
~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Fox, Amalia Stifter, (more)
