The Puffy Chair

It’s a film about schmooping, the horribly embarrassing way in which young lovers talk to each other when they think no one is looking. It’s also a film about feelings, specifically, Josh’s feelings of trying to be a grown-up, his girlfriend Emily’s feelings about the perfection of love, and his brother Rhett’s feelings about the prettiness of lizards. Josh, Emily and Rhett take a road trip south to see Josh’s dad. Emily has the emotional maturity of a 7-year-old girl with a large collection of princess of dolls. She thinks life is about the starry-eyed feeling of love that Disney characters feel when the Beast turns into the Prince. Rhett has the emotional maturity of a pot-headed hamster. He thinks life is about, like, clearing away the bad mojo, man. And Josh has the emotional maturity of a hipster accounting robot. He thinks life is about making the best financial deal possible while still knowing everything about Explosions in the Sky, The Decemberists and the latest Mountain Goats tour. Although The Puffy Chair lacks a plot, it is strong on character and dialogue. There’s definitely enough material here for a 63-minute film, which isn’t bad, considering that The Puffy Chair is only 85 minutes long.