If John Cassavetes had directed a script by Eric Rohmer, the result might have looked and sounded like "Mutual Appreciation." Indie auteur Andrew Bujalski ("
Funny Ha-Ha") has studied his mentors closely--Mike Leigh and Jim Jarmusch are among his other obvious influences--and put whatever lessons he learned to good use in this unaffectedly naturalistic and appealingly quirky low-key comedy about twentysomethings in the process of inventing themselves.
Mutual Appreciation
Rogers is a man who has seen many funny things - 'funny peculiar, not
funny ha-ha' as his West Walian peers might say - and relishes all the experiences he gets in life.
In search of the Holy Grail in the vaults; Oh yes, we have had the Holy Grail in here, certainly. But it's gone now
The home movie-ish result is more funny peculiar than
funny ha-ha. For Soderbergh fans only.
WHAT'S ON AT THE MOVIES: Wacky Williams is a real hoot..
THE HANGOVER PART II Follow-up from the surprisingly funny original - which wasn't just
funny ha-ha but also funny-clever in places.
AT THE MOVIES
It is a comic piece but it's not
funny ha-ha all the way through it.
Overcoming a nightmare loss; The world of plastic surgery is explored at one of the region's main theatres this week. Entertainment Editor GORDON BARR chats to the man doing the ops
FUNNY HA-HA: Laughs at the on-board Jongleurs comedy club; SADDLE SAW: A bike excursion from the Island Star
ECHO Travel: I say, I say, I say; In association with trans pennine express Michael O'Flaherty tells the one about the cruise ship, the comedy club and blind panic at being on stage
"Because my husband also works within the NHS as a low-paid worker, the 1.5% pay increase they are proposing this year is a joke - not
funny ha-ha, but funny in that it makes you feel like crying."
A 1.5% pay rise? On your bike! Nurse can't afford the bus to work
Then I came upon Manhattan one night on TV and found it to be a better film without the distance, not as
funny ha-ha, perhaps, but braver and edgier, invested with a dreadful fullness that my self-protective presumption of irony had previously diluted.
Signs and the times
Death is usually a pretty grave affair, but it can be a funny business at times - funny peculiar AND
funny ha-ha.
TV PLUS; LAUGHING; Why I nearly died
FUNNY HA-HA! is a board game packed with jokes and a tape of fun laughter - but to win you mustn't laugh or even smile.
MORE THAN pounds 10,000 WORTH OF GIVEAWAY GOODIES FOR YOU!
COMEDY is a funny business, but not always
funny ha-ha. Michael Aitken's Waiting for God was hilarious, but the jury's still out on his new one, A Perfect State, even with the wonderful Gwen Taylor.
Linda makes it wish 'n' ships; Linda makes it
But humour has moved along apace in four decades, and often the result here is more good fun than
funny ha-ha.
Review: Happy days of Sunday radio and roast beef; ROUND THE HORNE REVISITED Liverpool Playhouse
I say funny, I mean
funny ha-ha. Funny peculiar still has to go to the show about the man who inseminated cows.
KAYE ADAMS: I can't face telly; I WANT A JOB ON RADIO SO THAT I DON'T NEED TO SPEND HOURS IN MAKE-UP BEFORE GOING ON AIR
NOISY TRIX: John shows the audience his exploding banana trick; Pictures: JASON ROBERTS;
FUNNY HA-HA: The youngsters roar with laughter, and John shows off his special number plate
FOR MY NEXT TRICK I'LL MAKE YOU LAUGH
Funny peculiar that is, not
funny ha-ha. He can make jokes about the Irish while he reports that his company's sales are down again.
Record View: Life ain't sweet