JOSHY
US, 2016, 90 minutes, Colour.
Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, Alex Ross Perry, Nick Kroll, Brett Geldman, Jenny Slate, Lauren Graham, Aubrey Plaza, Joe Swanberg, Alison Brie, Paul Weitz, Jake Johnson, Lauren Weedman, Lisa Edelstein, Paul Reiser.
Directed by Jeff Baena.
This film is something of an acquired taste. It will probably appeal more to male 30 year olds rather than females, although there are quite a number of women characters, lesser roles.
It is one of those films that is popular with select audience, not from the mainstream. These are small budget films, made by writers and directors who are friends, filmed in a short space of time, this one in 18 days, and, many audiences will be not surprised to find that a lot of it is improvised. At times, it looks and sounds this way.
The central character is Joshy, played by Thomas Middleditch, who celebrates his birthday, leaves his girlfriend in the apartment, goes to the gym, returns to find that she has used one of his belts and fastened it in the door space and killed herself. Her parents have been highly critical of Joshy, accusations and not allowing him to come to the funeral.
Most of the action takes place four months later, Joshy at a country house, a number of his friends arriving for a kind of bachelor party weekend allegedly to cheer him up. They include the rather serious, open-minded Jewish, Ari, married but who will become involved with one of the girls they meet at the bar, Jody, Jenny Slate. There is the ultra-serious minded Adam, played by writer and director, Alex Ross Perry, preoccupied with his own breakup, bringing a huge computer game for them all to play in order to bond, observing rather than participating (with an unexpected conversation scene with a man repairing a spa, played by Jake Johnson). There is also a Eric, (stand-up comedian, Nick Kroll) ultra-life of the party, often obnoxious, interfering, laughing and controlling, and introducing his eccentric laughing friend, Greg, drinking, talk, interactions with the girls…
However, the friends seem to be more preoccupied with their own interests rather than consideration of how Joshy feels and his grief after the death of his girlfriend.
They do play the computer game, Jody coming back to visit them and to visit Ari.
However, the men invite a sex worker for interactions with them all. She is presented quite sympathetically, but eventually leaves. More importantly for Joshy, there is a visit of his in-laws, allegedly wanting to be sympathetic and forgive but, eventually, turning the tables on him, and blaming him even more than before.
And the audience is left, finally, with Joshy, has all his friends leave – alone, still grieving, probably not at all helped by the weekend.
The film was written and directed by Jeff Baena (who eventually married Aubrey Plaza who is one of this cast).
