(2009) "Let's do something stupid." What begins as a Judd Apatow-like bromance ("I love you too, man"), gradually takes on the fascinating frankness of an intimate dramedy at the core of two men's relationship. Director/writer/producer/actress Lynn Shelton's quirky comedy has the look of a reality video without actors.

Unexpectedly late at night Andrew (Joshua Leonard), a free-spirited, world-traveling artist ("like my brother"), coming up from Mexico City, arrives at the doorstep of Ben (Mark Duplass), his long-time buddy from college. Living the conventional life with a house, a car, and a job, Ben's married to Anna (Alycia Delmore), who's ovulating and allowing free kicks without the goalie.

The next day Andrew invites both Ben and Anna over to the Dionysius House for dinner where he's hanging out with Monica (Lynn Shelton) and her housemates, including Lily (Trina Willard), Monica's lesbian girlfriend. After Anna passes on the invitation (already having prepared pork chops for the evening repast, which she thought Andrew would be sharing), Ben promises to be home in an hour after a little face time.

Music, weed, wine, and weirdness hold Ben well into the night as Andrew describes his concept for an "awesome art project" for the Hump Fest, an amateur erotic film festival in Seattle, having a unique, profound and poetic, dude-on-dude, who are not gay, boning: "Beyond gay." (Apparently none of them had seen Brokeback Mountain.)

In a reckless effort at proving to Andrew & the others that he's not "all locked up," that he's willing to push boundaries, Ben volunteers to be Andrew's partner in the porn film. "It's on," declares Ben for the next evening, making a hotel reservation on the spot; "I'll be there," promises Andrew.

Upset that he's left her alone, not returning home until 3am, Anna listens to his vague explanation of having gotten caught up in the fun of the moment while she's missed her window for conception. Having assured Andrew that Anna would be all right with this, Ben broaches with Anna the topic of Andrew's project of reclaiming pornography as an art form but obfuscates his role in making the film.

Later that night when Andrew ("There's a new cock in town") returns to the house after realizing he's too square for a threesome with Monica and Lily, he gets drunk chatting with Anna (Ben's asleep) - "You are far cooler than you look" - and, thinking she already knows, reveals the birds and the bees about the film. Aghast at Ben's dishonesty and secrecy, she demands: "I need to know why you're doing this."

Off in a storage closet (where Andrew's been sleeping), the two guys have a frank discourse during which Andrew confesses to being a fraud, saying that what he is isn't what he pretends to be ("I wish I was more gay") while Ben tells of a strange attraction at 18 he once felt toward a male videostore clerk.

To Anna Ben justifies his willingness to take part in the film with Andrew because he feels compelled to do it; exposing one of her own secret sides from an incident during a party awhile back, she then replies: "Then you should do it. … See this through. … Get this out of you."

In the hotel room alone the two straight men try kissing - "Not bad" … "Horrible" … "No kissing" - then dealing with the awkwardness (Andrew: "I don't know how we actually get there") and discomfort (Ben: "What about this is a great piece of art?"), and analyzing the situation, as if it were their first time bungee jumping, as an act to "enrich our lives." Stripped to their shorts, Andrew (having found something he can finally accomplish) offers: "We're doing this because it scares us." "Do it!" Ben shouts. All the while the digital camera records their performance.

"But not this stupid."

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Copyright © 2009 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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