this review is bloody awful. you make the movie look like a stupidass frat comedy. had i read, and taken seriously, this write up, i would never have even thought of seeing the picture, and would have missed out on one of the best of 2006.

I must admit, the composition is poor, even for me. This was originally posted as a comment to another review and I made a hasty attempt to punch it up for this entry. I think it's far worse however, to misrepresent this little indie comedy by invoking the names of John Cassavetes and Bob Rafelson by comparison. Everything in your review was correct and gave an insightful, spot-on analysis of the film, but it sounded a more like an audition for 'Senses of Cinema' than something the target audience of ‘The Puffy Chair’ might find useful. After all, who are reviews written for?

you need to see the movie again..get over the supid jokes, stop laughing like an idiot, and discover the only film-makers of this wannabe era who can rightfully claim to be the heirs of cassavettes and rafelson.

who are reviews for? whoever wants to read them.

My impression of this film was that it was technically poor, but the material was very humorous and entertaining in an odd and unconventional way. The audience, a sell-out at SIFF, roared through most of the film, as did I.
Suggesting they possess the ability to convey "the fleeting emotions of domestic conflict … more succinctly than any film since John Cassavetes…" creates an impossible expectation for the Duplass brothers to live up to, and shows a genuine lack of respect for a legend of American cinema, or at least a total failure to understand Cassavetes work.
All this aside, when I am told I "need to" do anything, or that my natural reaction toward a film should be different, the discussion is ended. The "laughing like an idiot" remark also shows your contempt for the people (filmgoers) who read your reviews and subscribe to newspapers.
I have included links to yours and several other reviews of this film below my own poorly written capsule so folks can make up their own minds.

i guess we need frivolous writers like yourself to tell us when a movie we have taken seriously is a mere comedy.
may i suggest you spend more time watching cassavettes movies and less time lionizing the director? if you familiarized yourself with his work, you might recognize his influence on the "technically poor" duplass brothers.
before film became the folk art that it is today, cassevettes and paul morrissey made the only "technically poor" features that were regularly shown in mainstream theatres.
now of course, nearly every american indie director boasts such "technical poorness," but in my viewing, this picture by the duplass brothers is the only time i have seen the cassevetes style emulated with any success.
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At the very least, I am familiar enough with this director to spell his name correctly.

pointing out spelling errors...
a nice way to avoid the issue