Lena Dunham

[Zot!]

No, but this is a thread about Tiny Furniture. I'm willing to believe that the cinematographer's other work might be wonderful, but that has little bearing on this topic. I am also concede that Tiny Furniture looks completely acceptable, but certainly not noteworthy. Your comparison to the Taiwanese director seemed rather unusual.

edit: oh, I understand, you were talking about his work on the other film, which I'm unable to comment on.

[swo17]

Criterion somehow came up with more than zero reasons to watch Tiny Furniture

[mfunk9786]

1. Your date might have sex with you afterwards if you haven't fallen asleep

[swo17]

My favorite comment about this video on Facebook:

the fact that this movie was made by someone my age and is this good makes me feel like i can do something half this good although I probably won't get around to it

[matrixschmatrix]

Is reason number 3 a fat joke because it seems like a fat joke

[jwd5275]

Yep. They could only squeeze out two real reasons, so they made the redundant number 3 a fat joke.

[Jeff]

They should have had number one be a picture of an angry-looking Scott Rudin and left it at that.

[domino harvey]

Number Three could easily have just been two Criterion producers alternating light pushes on either shoulder of the consumer instead

[Anthony]

My horrible secret is I hate Criterion for putting out this horrible movie.

[Jazzkammer]

My brief thoughts on Tiny Furniture:

-I thoroughly enjoyed the film, a very auspicious debut for someone so young

-Despite enjoying the film, I couldn't help but acknowledge that it was ultimately a minor film, and thusly undeserving of a spine number in the Collection. Especially at the expense of Certified Copy, which I consider a far superior film

-Even though it's a decidedly "minor film", I am gleeful that its entry in the Collection is outraging so many myopic Criterion fanboys (the operative word being "boys"). I find it especially hypocritical that many of these fanboys weep tears of joy when truly minor films like Bottle Rocket and Blow Out (arguably less deserving of places in the Collection than Tiny Furniture) get announced as new entries.

-I don't know if the vitriol directed at this film is necessarily motivated by misogyny, as others suggested - rather, I think it's a combination of a willful lack of care and understanding about the young adult female experience, and a disdain for the mumblecore genre/aesthetics. I imagine that if The Puffy Chair was announced with a spine number, it would piss off alot of people, but not nearly as many as has Tiny Furniture (because The Puffy Chair is from a male perspective, and is also directed by men).

[matrixschmatrix]

Yeah deffo my lack of interest in this and love for An Angel at My Table is based on a lack of care and understanding about the young adult female experience, thusly spake I.

[Jazzkammer]

I find that ironic, since I consider Tiny Furniture to be a superior film and a much more significant accomplishment than Campion's dull Angel At My Table adaptation

[knives]

That brings it into a realm of taste then (with me agreeing with matrix that Campion is the bomb) instead of the misogyny that you're proposing. Guess what else does, that women also dislike this film (my sister laughed at the news for a good three or four minutes). There are certainly people who have made misogynistic arguments against this and many other movies, but that doesn't make it so that every argument against it so.

Also Blowout is one of the best in the collection if just for Lithgow.

[Jeff]

I am gleeful that its entry in the Collection is outraging so many myopic Criterion fanboys (the operative word being "boys").

I think it's a combination of a willful lack of care and understanding about the young adult female experience, and a disdain for the mumblecore genre/aesthetics. I imagine that if The Puffy Chair was announced with a spine number, it would piss off alot of people, but not nearly as many as has Tiny Furniture (because The Puffy Chair is from a male perspective, and is also directed by men).

This kind of stuff is a pretty good way to ensure that people are not going to take your opinions seriously. Also, it's more jocular bemusement than outrage. Criterion has released a lot of silly shit over the last 25 years.

I find that ironic, since I consider Tiny Furniture to be a superior film and a much more significant accomplishment than Campion's dull Angel At My Table adaptation

I do not think you understand the meaning of the word "ironic."

[Gregory]

(deleted)

[Jazzkammer]

I find that ironic, since I consider Tiny Furniture to be a superior film and a much more significant accomplishment than Campion's dull Angel At My Table adaptation

I do not think you understand the meaning of the word "ironic."

You are mistaken. User Matrixschmatrix defended him/herself against my implicit accusation (which was by no means directed at him/her, or anyone particular in this thread) of "a willful lack of care and understanding about the young adult female experience" by asserting that this could not possibly be true, because he/she enjoyed Angel At My Table, which is also about the young adult female experience. I find it ironic because Tiny Furniture is actually a more authentic, and hands-down more relevant film about the "young adult female experience" than the antiquated period-piece convention of Angel At My Table. It is ironic precisely because Matrixschmatrix unintentionally validated my assertion (by virtue of the aforementioned differences between the two films), when his/her obvious intent was to refute it.

I wasn't trying to start an argument about why people should like Tiny Furniture - no one is obligated to like it, and I certainly can't fault anyone for disliking it, or for disapproving of its presence in the Collection. I was merely speculating as to the reasons why. Also, I contend that the overzealous backlash against Tiny Furniture runs deeper than "jocular bemusement". I could quote numerous posts from this thread to prove that.

[onedimension]

Out on a limb: 'St. Elmo's Fire' has more to say about the young adult post-collegiate experience than 'Tiny Furniture'.

Re: the fans of Dunham's film, I don't think one should underestimate just how charming she is, which accounts for the HBO interest and the benevolent grown-up patronage/patronizing ('wonderful work'!). But directing is a different skill, and we're all pretty auteur-happy here, so it's easy to minimize what many people care about: who's in front of the camera rather than behind it.

[matrixschmatrix]

You are mistaken. User Matrixschmatrix defended him/herself against my implicit accusation (which was by no means directed at him/her, or anyone particular in this thread) of "a willful lack of care and understanding about the young adult female experience" by asserting that this could not possibly be true, because he/she enjoyed Angel At My Table, which is also about the young adult female experience. I find it ironic because Tiny Furniture is actually a more authentic, and hands-down more relevant film about the "young adult female experience" than the antiquated period-piece convention of Angel At My Table. It is ironic precisely because Matrixschmatrix unintentionally validated my assertion (by virtue of the aforementioned differences between the two films), when his/her obvious intent was to refute it.

Your assertion is that people aren't watching Tiny Furniture because they're not interested in movies about the experiences young adult women, made by young adult women. The Campion is inarguably a movie by and about the experiences of a young adult woman. Your assessment of the relative qualities of the movies is totally irrelevant- unless you are arguing that liking An Angel at My Table inherently means that I do not understand young adult women, or that young adult women who are playing other young adult women fifty years ago don't count.

[Jeff]

You are mistaken. User Matrixschmatrix defended him/herself against my implicit accusation (which was by no means directed at him/her, or anyone particular in this thread) of "a willful lack of care and understanding about the young adult female experience" by asserting that this could not possibly be true, because he/she enjoyed Angel At My Table, which is also about the young adult female experience. I find it ironic because Tiny Furniture is actually a more authentic, and hands-down more relevant film about the "young adult female experience" than the antiquated period-piece convention of Angel At My Table. It is ironic precisely because Matrixschmatrix unintentionally validated my assertion (by virtue of the aforementioned differences between the two films), when his/her obvious intent was to refute it.

He refuted your baseless (and frankly obnoxious) assertion that the reason that many people do not like Tiny Furniture is because they have "a willful lack of care and understanding about the young adult female experience." He did so by naming a film that he likes that is also about "the young female experience."

The fact that you personally prefer Tiny Furniture to An Angel at My Table is irrelevant to your suppositions about the personal character of Tiny Furniture's detractors. The fact that you don't like An Angel at My Table does not change what the film is about. Your assertion was not validated, unintentionally or otherwise. In any event, irony is a rhetorical literary device, and not subject to arguments about artistic quality or personal preferences.

Out on a limb: 'St. Elmo's Fire' has more to say about the young adult post-collegiate experience than 'Tiny Furniture'.

"Man in Motion" over the closing credits of Tiny Furniture would have improved it tremendously!

[Cold Bishop]

a disdain for the mumblecore genre/aesthetics.

Well, yeah... you really don't need another reason.

[HistoryProf]

There are plenty of other, legitimate, reasons to disparage the film for those who wish to continue doing so. I thought it was lousy, but you should give it a shot.

I actually can't wait to see it. Largely in part b/c of the strong reaction from here.

so you are a hipster!

Incidentally, I find it interesting that neither the DVD or blu ray of this are in the top 100 Criterion sellers on Amazon. Even the Gorin and Czech New Wave Eclipse sets are in the top 40...and as far as I can tell every single pre-order out there other than TF is in the top 100, most in the top 50. I assumed $ was one of the main reasons they released this, but the backlash seems to have taken on a very real dimension in their bottom line. Frankly, this amuses me and feels a bit like vindication for my own disdain for it, but I'd hate to think it's failure would keep Criterion from choosing other small independent films that don't suck.

[knives]

I figured it was for connections more than anything else.

[domino harvey]

Incidentally, I find it interesting that neither the DVD or blu ray of this are in the top 100 Criterion sellers on Amazon. Even the Gorin and Czech New Wave Eclipse sets are in the top 40...and as far as I can tell every single pre-order out there other than TF is in the top 100, most in the top 50. I assumed $ was one of the main reasons they released this, but the backlash seems to have taken on a very real dimension in their bottom line. Frankly, this amuses me and feels a bit like vindication for my own disdain for it, but I'd hate to think it's failure would keep Criterion from choosing other small independent films that don't suck.

One problem of acquiring such a youth-targeted title is that the majority of hip youths will just download or borrow+burn a film they like. Whoops!

[Taketori Washizu]

Nepotism buys you a spine in the Criterion Collection. Nice.

[Gregory]

What nepotism?