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Is There a Connection Between Baumbach's 'Frances Ha' and Bujalski's 'Funny Ha Ha'?

Reviews

It seems so obvious. “Frances Ha.” “Funny Ha Ha.” Coincidence? We think not. But wait… One is about an awkward 20-something delaying adulthood, while her romantic planets fail to get in line. The other is ... well, yeah, pretty much about the same thing. Except that one rocketed to obscurity in 2002, and the other seems poised, based on reviewers more or less genuflecting since its U.S. premiere at Telluride last fall, to become an indie hit of major (albeit relative) proportions.

By John Anderson
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May 15, 2013 1:48 PM
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1 Comment

Reviews

Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha" (May 17) follows a young woman drifting through the generous definition of "coming of age" that has become en vogue with the advent of Mumblecore and American indie films over the past decade. Frances Halliday (Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the film and also starred in Baumbach's "Greenberg") is the questionably tender age of 27, facing the woes of Brooklyn rent, a would-be career in modern dance that has stalled mid-pirouette and a best friend who is slowly breaking up with her.