It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

When I decided to watch this movie, I was in the mood for some stupid American jackass film and Humpday, with its title and the poster picture appeared spot on. I was in for an unexpected (but very pleasing) surprise. This movie is actually slow, indie and, put simply, nice. It strips off all the douchebagy nonsense someone would expect out of a movie where two straight dudes decide to get down on each other and instead offers talks, discussions and ideas on what brings someone to get to this idea and to go through (or not) with it.Apart from this, all the three leads are absolutely great. I'm pretty sure more than half of the movie is improvised, you can literally feel the nervousness and tension and chemistry among the cast, and I wish I could have a relationship like the one between Ben and Anna.

It's simplistic and inaccurate to say this is a movie about homophobia. The two guys are not homophobic in the least. If anything it's about peer pressure and machismo, albeit in an unconventional, post-feminist context. The movie's framework, two straight guys considering whether or not to have sex with each other for an Art/Porn movie, generates an absurd dialog. Does Art justify a willful, forced, deviation from the norm, or is a willful, forced, deviation from the norm automatically Art? The subtext is about moving out of your comfort zone, and your motivation for doing so. I went into this not knowing what to expect. As a gay man, I resisted it, finding the plot line forced. But as it went on, I bought into it. I think it was the two main actors who sold it, primarily. The premise sounds comic and coarse, but the storyline is actually subtle and gentle. Not easy to sell that kind of bait and switch.

Humpday is a clever and original story about two friends who re-establish their relationship after not seeing each other for quite some time. Mark is a transportation engineer living in Seattle, married to Anna (Alycia Delmore) who is hoping to get pregnant and start a family. One night at about 1:30 in the morning while the couple is sleeping, Mark's old college buddy Andrew (Joshua Leonard) pounds on their door and wakes Mark and Anna up. You're expecting Mark to be annoyed that his old friend has barged in on them without calling beforehand, but surprisingly Mark is ecstatic that Andrew has reappeared in his life.Andrew is a perennial Bohemian type who would have fit right in at Woodstock circa 1969. Mark invites Andrew to stay over and he gladly accepts. We find out that Andrew is just back from Mexico but we're wondering how he supports himself. It turns out that Andrew apparently doesn't need a lot of money to get by as long as he has other Bohemian friends who'll support him. He gets himself situated in a house with the moniker 'Dionysus' prominently displayed over the front door (that should be a clue that farcical happenings are about to transpire). The house is rented by a Lesbian couple, one of whom is Monica played by the film's director, Lynn Shelton (Later Andrew puts the moves on Monica only to discover that she's thoroughly gay and doesn't want to have sex with him).Anna is about to prepare pork chops for dinner for Mark when Andrew calls and invites his buddy over for dinner at the 'Dionysus' House. Mark accepts, expecting to stay only a few hours and return for dinner with his wife. But Mark and Andrew end up getting stoned and having such a great time together that Mark loses track of time with Anna ending up eating dinner alone. While at Dionysus, the upcoming Humpfest is discussed—an artistic porn festival that invites entries from amateur filmmakers. Mark wants to prove to Andrew that getting married and settling down has not dampened his spirit for adventure nor made him into a prude so he suggests they make a film together for the festival with both of them having sex together—the novelty being that these are two straight guys willing to have 'gay sex'.There is of course one obstacle to going through with their plan and that is of course Anna, who Mark realizes might not exactly go crazy over the idea. He promises Andrew that he'll discuss it first with his wife but loses the nerve when he assumes she'll be hostile to his proposal. Later, while Andrew is having drinks with Anna alone, blurts out their novel plan of 'male bonding'.Although initially hostile, Anna eventually comes around to accepting the idea, allowing Mark to go ahead with the tryst, as she wants him to "get it out" of his "system". She even confesses that she made out with some guy while visiting a friend while they were married. Finally, Mark and Andrew meet at a motel with a video camera in order to film the sex act together. It turns out that deep down they feel awkward about the whole thing and over-intellectualize the experience by over-analyzing their feelings in front of the camera. The decision is made not to go through with the project and both Mark and Andrew agree after much deliberation, that they're "okay" with their decision.Writer/Director Lynn Shelton encouraged the actors to improvise most of the scenes from her script which was designed to be only a general blueprint. Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard end up being highly entertaining as the two buddies who try to outdo one another in an amusing game of one-oneupmanship. It's funny because you don't expect the more conservative character Mark to end up outdoing his free-spirited chum in the game of 'who can be more tolerant'.In a sense, Shelton's story is a plea for tolerance as she takes the taboo subject of gay sex and has two heterosexual characters demystify it into something that is wholly non-threatening. I think most tolerant gay people will pick this up but there will always be a very small minority of 'militant' gays who will be offended since in their 'all-or-nothing' universe, the decision of the straight characters not to have sex is interpreted as a complete rejection of the gay lifestyle. Of course that is not the intent of the filmmaker, who is quite obviously a person who supports gay people.With the breezy banter between the two principals as well as the filmmaker's commendable plea for tolerance, Humpday stands out as a refreshing change of pace in the indie world chocked full of predictable melodramas and comedies peopled with implausible caricatures. Ultimately, Humpday wins no awards as a film of 'great ideas'--but fulfills the cardinal rule of farce: one is permitted the outrage without the consequences.

This film is about two guy friends who have to deal with their drunken pledge to make a porn movie with each other.I think "Humpday" is wrongly marketed as a comedy, which makes viewers expect things which are not in the film. The first half is far too slow to be a comedy, and the second half is far too heavy on words. The pacing and the tone are just not right to be a comedy. It might be entertaining to see two guys trying to work their way out of the awkward situation without having to sacrifice their reputation, but there is simply not enough material to fill 90 minutes. The film stretches for far too long, and it gets quite boring. I think it would have been better marketed as an indie drama.