The Maturing of Mumblecore

The New York Times last week had a fine piece (here) about the evolution of the key members of the past decade's Mumblecore movement as they advance in their 30s.

Here are a few of my favorites from the past 10 years:

• "The Puffy Chair" -  The Duplass brothers, writer/director Jay and writer/star Mark, make the first great Mumblecore film, about a guy who is determined to drive cross country to deliver a chair to his dad on Father's Day.
• "Humpday" - Perhaps my favorite of them all. Lynn Shelton's third film is a brilliant study of male relationships. Perfectly paced and expertly acted, it's both funny and touching.
• "Mutual Appreciation" - Andrew Bujalski's only watchable film so far, the first of the genre that I saw, features a strong cast led by Justin Rice as a musician falling for his pal's girlfriend.
• "Nights and Weekends" - Joe Swanberg directs and stars with Greta Gerwig in an insightful analysis of a long-distance relationship.
• "The Color Wheel" - Alex Ross Perry and Carlen Altman meld Mumblecore with the '70s road-movie aesthetic in a dark comedy about abrasive siblings on a mission to retrieve her belongings from her ex's house. The dialogue crackles (and sometimes disturbs).
• "The Do-Deca-Pentathlon" - The Duplass brothers take the Judd Apatow model and give it some depth. Here, two grown brothers re-create their childhood competition, involving 25 goofy feats of athleticism and stupidity.
• "Tiny Furniture" - Lena Dunham's gem, which introduced us to her "Girls" voice and to Alex Karpovsky (who had also been featured in "Beeswax," a passable Bujalski effort).
• "In Search of a Midnight Kiss" - A sweet tale of a couple who find each other on New Year's Eve. 
• "Momma's Man" - From Azazel Jacobs ("Terri"), the laconic escapades of a grown man who returns home to live with his parents.

Disappointments: "Funny Ha Ha" (the granddaddy of the genre, from 2002), "Hannah Takes the Stairs," "Beeswax"

And the genre goes mainstream:

• "Your Sister's Sister" - Lynn Shelton uses Mark Duplass to great effect again as a guy mourning his brother and retreating to a friend's cabin, only to get snagged in a triangle between the friend and her lesbian pal. Rosemarie DeWitt and Emily Blunt give heft to the proceedings.
• "Jeff Who Lives at Home" - Jason Segal, Ed Helms and Susan Sarandon lend the Duplass brothers Hollywood cred in this under-appreciated indie. 
• "Frances Ha" - Fortysomething Noah Baumbach and his new girlfriend, the Queen of 'Core Greta Gerwig, splash the genre in multiplexes in all its black-and-white glory.

Bonus Track

"Bishop Allen Drive," from Justin Rice's band Bishop Allen: