Bohemian Cinema By Jonathan Pacheco

“Confusions of an Unmarried Couple” (2007)

Directed by Brett and Jason Butler

Satisfaction:Pleased Tags: Butler Brothers, Uber-indie, Comedy, Canadian

Confusions of an Unmarried Couple is, in essence, one big long argument. Dan (Brett M. Butler), months after catching his fiance Lisa (Naomi M. Johnson) cheating on him, has decided he wants to set things straight. What ensues is a rollercoaster ride of love and hate (mostly hate) peppered with “confessionals”—scenes where the characters speak candidly to an off-the-screen party. And they get pretty candid, all right.

While the film seems to say things just to be shocking or vulgar, you’ll notice that there’s a lot of truth to what’s being said, even if it doesn’t necessarily apply to you. During a confessional to the camera, Dan tells us that he’d never, ever cheat, but if he did, he could find it very appealing to sleep with a variety of girls. He goes on listing different types of women, and he adds in a description of a petite girl with a “little boy body.” The phrase is funny and a little disturbing, but there’s such an honesty there about things people normally don’t talk about; it’s the kind of honesty that makes up some great stand-up comedy.

Butler (who looks shockingly a lot like one of my brothers), is just hilarious; part of it is the character, and part of it is just the guy himself. While he doesn’t seem totally at home with the dialogue that takes place between Dan and Lisa, his delivery and general goofiness makes up for anything he lacks. I’m not sure why, but, there’s something about the way Butler stares and the way he swigs a bottle of beer that never fails to make me laugh. In the confessionals, I think Butler is great, and at moments he really shines. You know this character is being honest, and his obscene delivery of so many lines gives him the potential of being the type of character or sidekick you find in a Judd Apatow flick.

Unfortunately, the weakest point of this film is its lead actress, and in a film with only two actors to begin with, that’s pretty big. The dialogue never feels like it’s hers, even during phrases like, “Jesus Christ, Dan!” Considering how many times she yells stuff like that, it got to be annoying. There were only a couple of times where I actually “bought” her, and that was during a couple of the confessionals. There were times that she could have been ad-libbing, because it all felt real. She had almost a trace of a smile as she spoke about Dan’s stupidity and her own cheating; these were the times that I could see why Dan would be attracted to her. With her hair up in a ponytail and fire in her mouth, she had a clean yet vicious look to her that made her exude a sort of odd sexiness. These were the moments that I “got it.” Sadly, these scenes made up a very small percentage of the film; the rest of the time she never felt at home with her own words.

The dialogue between the couple, while mostly funny, ended up sounding like a string of punchlines, and it was recited that way as well. The emphasis of certain lines and the pauses between them sort of frame each individual joke, and you can almost hear the cry for a laugh track in the background. So while there’s some comical lines in there, it never seems to fit the documentary feel that the film is supposed to have.

There’s a moment in the film where Lisa brings up a past event, and the film screeches to a halt and flashes back to that scene. This is easily the most memorable part of the film, because the scene is executed almost perfectly; the camera, the editing, and especially the music all come together to bring a hilarious sequence that seems to come way out of left field. While I think the transition to the flashback may have been a tad over the top, the abruptness and reality of what you’re seeing makes it the type of scene that you want to tell your friends about. Kudos to the Butler Brothers for giving us a scene like that; trust me, a lot of good films can’t even do that.

There’s another moment that I have to describe because, while it uses a cliche in such a shameless way, the ridiculousness of the situation makes it into such a funny bit. Dan has a list of possessions he wishes to take back from Lisa’s apartment; one of these possessions is a mattress. He sneaks into the apartment (with his old key) and while Lisa practices guitar, Dan goes into the bedroom and, yes, starts trying to drag his mattress out of the room. He struggles and soon finds himself pinned between the wall and the mattress; he also finds Lisa asking him what in the world he thinks he’s doing. After a beat, Dan says, “I think we should talk.” The moment was just so silly, yet I couldn’t resist laughing at the line and at Dan’s face as he peers over the top of the mattress.

There are a couple of times throughout Confusions that the film utilizes voice-overs to reveal thoughts in the characters’ minds. Voice-overs are tricky enough, and I don’t think they’re necessary here, or that they really work, except in the film’s final scene, where they work very well. I don’t want to spoil the last scene, but I will say that it’s the type that’s found in so many films and botched in so many films. Confusions takes an approach that I’ve rarely seen and makes it funny and interesting instead of making it one of those “Oh, here we go” moments.

But back to the voice-overs: in this scene, the character’s thoughts are very important, and we’re able to see some inner struggles that are the culmination of what’s been going on for the entire film. In the scene, Dan wants Lisa to be happy, but he also fears the inconvenience that it’ll cause himself—and let’s face it, Dan’s problem is that he thinks way too much of and about himself. Lisa struggles because she herself wants to be happy but at the same time she wishes for Dan to suffer for the torture he’s put her through. The result of all this is, I think, the film’s most insightful perception about several elements in relationships (selfishness, power, pleasure), and it does it in such an unassuming way.

The film then ends abruptly and unexpectedly, and in this case, it works. It serves as a successful kicker to the whole ordeal, and it’s one that made me laugh.

The rest of the film is actually a little loose and could benefit from a little trimming in the editing, but despite this and all of the other flaws, I still enjoyed Confusions. It’s essentially one big fight and some of the acting is not very good, yet I’m okay telling other people to check out this “brew,” because, while a lot of the dialogue felt manufactured, I always felt that there was an honesty to the jokes and the insights. That’s where the film’s strength lies. Plus, it’s pretty funny, too.