Humpday
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''Humpday'' is a 2009 American
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 ...
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film directed, produced, and written by
Lynn Shelton Lynn Shelton (August 27, 1965 – May 15, 2020) was an American filmmaker, known for writing, directing, and producing such films as '' Humpday'' and '' Your Sister's Sister''. She was associated with the mumblecore genre. Early life Shelton was ...
and starring
Mark Duplass Mark David Duplass (born December 7, 1976) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and musician. With his brother Jay Duplass, he started the film production company Duplass Brothers Productions in 1996, for which they wrote and directed ''The ...
,
Joshua Leonard Joshua Granville Leonard (born June 17, 1975) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director, known for his role in ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999). He has since starred in films such as '' Madhouse'' (2004), '' The Shaggy Dog'' (2006), ' ...
, and
Alycia Delmore Alycia Delmore (born 1977) is an American actress in films and theater. Early life and education Delmore was born in Seattle, Washington. She attended Roosevelt High School and studied at Western Washington University. Career She is most famous ...
. It premiered at the
2009 Sundance Film Festival The 2009 Sundance Film Festival was held during January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. Awards *Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - '' We Live in Public'' *Grand Jury Prize: Drama ...
. International distribution rights were purchased by
Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures LLC is an American independent film distributor and production company, and is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in ...
for a mid-six figure sum. The film opened in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in a limited release on July 10, 2009. The story line follows two male heterosexual best friends, Ben and Andrew. The plot line centers around a "mutual dare" that is introduced at a party, which involves the two main characters engaging in a pornographic film together. The film was shot on-location in
Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
around Seattle from September 2008 to January 2009, and much of the dialogue for the film was improvised. ''Humpday'' received positive critical reception and won the Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Independence at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, among other awards. In 2012, a remake in French entitled '' Do Not Disturb'' was released.


Plot

In
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
during the late-2000s, two
heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions ...
male friends Ben and Andrew meet after having not seen each other for 10 years. During a party, they find themselves locked in a "mutual dare" situation engaging to make a gay pornographic film, including
anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and pelvic thrusting, thrusting of the Erection, erect human penis, penis into a person's Human anus, anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex inform ...
, as an "art project" between two straight guys and submit it to the HUMP! film festival, an annual amateur pornography contest put on by the underground newspaper '' The Stranger''. They do not decide yet who will penetrate whom. Ben tells Andrew that he will discuss the project with his wife Anna, an otherwise introverted record store clerk at Easy Street Records. As Ben begins to describe the project to Anna, she reacts skeptically at the mere mention of amateur pornography. Ben finds himself lying to Anna; he talks about the project with only vague detail, telling her that he will likely act as a behind-the-scenes assistant to the hypothetical film crew. Later, after a raunchy debate with her coworkers about the contest, Anna finds herself alone with Andrew and suggests that they have a drink together in an effort to get to know one another. Now drunk, the two begin discussing Ben and Andrew's art project, Andrew assuming that Ben has completely informed Anna of their intentions. After Andrew bluntly reveals that Ben will potentially have a gay experience, Anna becomes upset and confused, confronting Ben personally. The next morning, Ben insists that he still wants to go through with the project, and Anna consents. Ben and Andrew meet in a hotel, bringing a video camera. Their attempts to have sex are prolonged by lengthy discussions and frequent analyzing of how to approach the experience. Although they film themselves kissing each other on the mouth, and
hug A hug is a form of Affection, endearment, found in virtually all Communities, human communities, in which two or more people put their arms around the neck, back, under the armpits or waists of one another and hold each other closely. If more th ...
ging each other in their underpants, neither Ben nor Andrew appears comfortable becoming completely naked, let alone having sex. The two continue to talk, not sure if either one will be able to achieve an erection, and begin to question the validity of their experiment as a work of art. Ben finally suggests that they call off the project, and the two laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Ben leaves the hotel, intending to apologize to Anna. Andrew prepares to leave shortly afterward, but not before reviewing the footage that the two have recorded.


Cast

In addition to Duplass and Leonard, the film features appearances from multiple indie musicians based out of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood in the late 2000s as well as noted Seattle icons Ken Schram, Dan Savage and
the Spoonman ''The Spoonman'' was an Australian late night talk back show hosted by radio personality Brian Carlton. Carlton is known professionally as "Spoonman". The show ran from 1998 to 2008, and was rebooted in 2019. The Show The original version of t ...
.


Reception

''Humpday'' received positive reviews from critics. It has an approval rating of 79% 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 ...
, based on 137 reviews, and an average rating of 6.70 out of 10. The website's critical consensus states, "Observant and insightful, this indie comedy takes a different tack on the "bromance" but still makes a point without sermonizing." 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 weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. It has been categorized by some reviewers as part of the
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 ...
movement in indie cinema. Reviewing the film for
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, Bob Mondello wrote that though the setup may sound "preposterous", "if you bear with writer-director Lynn Shelton a bit, she takes her concept places that are a lot more resonant than you'd expect. And she does it without shortchanging the laughs that flow from the fact that these guys are going to have male-intimacy troubles that go way beyond backslapping…The film ends up being about not just a really idiotic dare, but about the bounds of friendship and the bonds of marriage — and about how unsettling it can be to look at yourself in the cold light of maturity, and realize you're not who you thought you'd grow up to be." It was an award winner at the 2009
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
, receiving a "Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Independence". In 2009, ''
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 ...
''
Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
selected the movie as a "NYT Critics' Pick" and ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'' magazine also selected it as a "Critics' Pick".


Accolades

The film won both "Best Director" for Shelton and "Best Actor" for both Duplass and Leonard at the 2009
Gijón International Film Festival The Gijón International Film Festival ( or ''FICXixón'') is an annual film festival held in Gijón, a city in northwest Spain. The festival is mainly concentrated on independent and auteur cinema. Gijón's International Short Film Competition ...
. At the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards, the film won the John Cassavetes Award.


Remake

In 2012, a French-language remake was released under the title '' Do Not Disturb'', directed by
Yvan Attal Yvan Attal (; ; born ) is a French actor, scriptwriter and film director. Life and career Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to History of the Jews in Algeria, Algerian-Jewish parents, he grew up in the outskirts of Paris. His acting debut was in Éri ...
and starring Attal and
François Cluzet François Cluzet (; born 21 September 1955) is a French film and theatre actor. Cluzet has collaborated with many important European and American directors, including Claude Chabrol, Bertrand Tavernier, Claire Denis, Agnieszka Holland, Robert ...
.


References


External links

* * * {{Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award 2009 films 2009 comedy-drama films 2009 independent films 2009 LGBTQ-related films 2000s buddy comedy-drama films American buddy comedy-drama films American LGBTQ-related films American sex comedy films Films about gay male pornography Films about pornography LGBTQ-related comedy-drama films Films about male bisexuality Films about sexual repression Films set in Seattle Films shot in Washington (state) Films directed by Lynn Shelton Films shot in Seattle Mumblecore films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films John Cassavetes Award winners Sundance Film Festival award–winning films English-language comedy-drama films English-language independent films English-language buddy comedy-drama films