Harmony and Me (2010)

One of my all time favorites.

Fresh and Exciting

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Funny, funny, funny . . .Low-fi movie, that has a "homemade" feel to it . . . but it's FUNNY. And it's edited very well as far as pacing goes.Want more from this filmmaker.Why do I have to write ten lines to make a review.That's really annoying.I said what I wanted to say.Good film. Worth watching. Oh my God! I have to write even more to submit this review! That's 3 times now. Maybe now this will be enough text or lines to submit my review.One more line for good measure. Ugh.

On first glance, director Bob Byington's award-winning comedy is just another link in a long mumblecore chain. Upon closer inspection, this hilarious and brutally honest film couldn't be further from its supposed bedfellows.Shot on HD DV hand-held, "Harmony and Me" awakes in the aftermath of the title character's break-up. The shakiness of the aesthetic, combined with the episodic division of the film, brilliantly mirrors the protagonist's emotional instability and fragmentation.Throughout the first half of the film, Harmony wallows in his victimization and vies for sympathy from friends (Kevin Corrigan), family (Byington), and nemeses (Pat Healy). Eventually, when the pity of others can no longer quell Harmony's need for emotional validation, he turns to the therapy music, which invariably helps him move forward.Within this theme, Byington finds a poignant honesty and brutal humor which has garnered the film accolades and awards.Byington is currently gearing up to helm his next film "Seven Chinese Brothers", which stars Patton Oswalt, Tunde Adebimpe (TV On the Radio), and Pat Healy.

Rarely have I had the pleasure of laughing as much as I did while watching this movie."Harmony and Me" may be the funniest film I've ever seen--it captures perfectly that all-too-human self-pitying pitiful state of rejection, lost relationship, heartbreak that we've all descended into at some point in our lives. The movie offers that rare opportunity to laugh at our own despair. Watching Harmony chew on his misery mirrors the mental replay that you can't seem to escape when a relationship goes wrong. It's a timeless tale. Yet Byington uniquely spotlights the emotional obstacle course of relating. The tone is quirky, and the story rings all the more true for it. The characters feel very real.Perfect comedic timing. Hilarious script. Excellent acting. Brilliant.

HARMONY AND ME plays like a scrapbook of found scenes; all somewhat centering around our main character trying to get over a breakup. Everything in the film is hilarious, because it's totally true. My friends and I got some pie after the screening, we were talking about how almost worse than going through an actual breakup is when all your friends tell you how you're supposed to get over the breakup. As we were eating, we kept recalling our favorite parts and lines - it's intensely quotable ("She's breaking my heart, she's like a bear with my heart in it's claws") but also so fast paced - most scenes are not even a minute long.I saw it with quite possibly the best audience - we were all totally laughing the entire time. Come to think of it, many films like this; there's always a part near the end where it gets sentimental or real - this film goes SO FAR the other way. It's one of the funniest and most ridiculous endings I've seen in a feature film. They really went for it - and the crowd I saw it with at least, we were totally into it. And the film is never slow - I doubt it was longer than 90 minutes.But it's funny; while the film is linear - it really does have this scrapbook feeling to it. In a weird way, the film has the feeling of "Harold and Maude" and "Nashville" but seen thru the lens of more modern indies like "Mutual Appreciation" (but this is just way funnier than that one).I'm always looking thru my netflix cue to find new indie comedies to rent - I really wish there were more films like this one. Totally up my alley. Totally recommend it.