''Funny Ha Ha'' is a 2002 American film written and directed by

Andrew Bujalski Andrew Bujalski (; born April 29, 1977) is an American film director, screenwriter and actor, who has been called the "godfather of mumblecore." Life and career Bujalski, born in Boston in 1977, is the son of artist-turned-businesswoman Sheil ...

. It has been described as the first

mumblecore Mumblecore is a subgenre of independent film characterized by naturalistic acting and (sometimes improvised) dialogue, low budgets, an emphasis on dialogue over plot, and a focus on the personal relationships of young adults. Filmmakers associ ...

film. It was shot on

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

on a very low budget. It deals with the lives of people in their twenties as they try to come to terms with life after college and confront the responsibilities of adulthood, if only to put them off for as long as possible.

Plot

Marnie is a recent graduate and is trying to find a temporary job. She wants to win the attention of a college friend named Alex (who is already in a relationship), while trying to cut down on her beer consumption. The story takes place around the

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part, Allston is ...

neighborhood of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Reception

The film was well received by critics, who praised it for its realism. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has an approval rating of 88% based on reviews from 41 critics. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

the film has a score of 78 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Wesley Morris Wesley Morris (born December 19, 1975) is an American film critic and podcast host. He is currently critic-at-large for ''The New York Times'', as well as co-host, with J Wortham, of the ''New York Times'' podcast '' Still Processing.'' Previou ...

of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' called the film a "smartly observed, unpretentious, and unconventional comedy of manners". ''

Daily Variety ''Variety'' is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in ...

s Robert Koehler said the movie was "beautifully observant and wholly unpretentious". It was named to top 10 lists by

A.O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at ''The New York Review of Books'', ''Variety'', and ''Slate'', he began writing film ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Kimberley Jones of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'', Mark Mohan of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' and Robert Koehler of ''Variety''. The film's widest release was three theaters. It grossed $82,620. The film later came to be described as the first

film, a new genre of American filmmaking characterized by low budgets, amateur actors and naturalistic settings.Lim, Dennis (August 19, 2007).
Mumblecore - The New Talkies: Generation DIY
. ''

''. Retrieved on July 27, 2008.

Blu-ray

The film was released on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

in 2017 by Factory 25. It included essays by

Chuck Klosterman Charles John Klosterman (; born June 5, 1972) is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for ''Esquire'' and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for ''The New York Times Magaz ...

and

Tao Lin Tao Lin (; born July 2, 1983) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, short-story writer, and artist. He has published four novels, a novella, two books of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a memoir, as well as an extensive assortment o ...

Awards

was the winner of the 2004 Someone to Watch Award at the

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

. The film won the featured film award at the 2004 Black Point Film Festival. In 2005, Kate Dollenmayer was runner-up for the

National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2024, ...

Best Actress award. The following year, she was also nominated for the Best Actress award by the Chlotrudis Society, who praised her "natural, nuanced performance".

References

External links

* *
Essay by Tao Lin
{{Andrew Bujalski American independent films 2002 films 2002 independent films 2002 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films Mumblecore films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language independent films English-language romantic comedy films