Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Beginning in the early 2000s, a group of young 20-something filmmakers got together and made gritty little movies about other young 20-somethings. Almost always funny, quirky, and insightful, their movies have come to define my generation and the generation to follow! Somewhere along the way, the term "Mumblecore" was attached. While admittedly I haven't seen anywhere near the amount of Mumblecores, I've seen a good number. My personal favorites are: THE PUFFY CHAIR, FUNNY HA HA! and this one. Ironically, both of the last 2 were made by the same director Andrew Bujalski. When I first found out about him, I was still in college, one day dreaming of becoming a mumblecore filmmaker too. And I was all too thrilled to discover that he was releasing a new movie... and would be appearing in person at the Maryland Film Festival, right near my college! Talk about a match made in Heaven! So there I was, when I actually got to talk with the director BEFORE he screened MUTUAL APPRECIATION. Fun times! What's so great about MUTUAL APPRECIATION (or MA for short?) Where to start? 1) It's filmed in glorious black & white. 2) It's got a gritty John Cassavetes feel. 3) It's about real-life people in real-life situations. 4) It's not afraid to show the in-between times in the lives of young adults in their 20s and 30s. 5) It's funny as hell! Not funny haha (yes, pun intended) but funny thoughtful!The shifting dynamics of the main characters is incredible. In just one five-minute scene, the tone could go from comedic to tragic to pathos and back, with everything in between. As stated above, the director wisely shows us the quiet moments and gray areas that make up a large portion of our lives. In the middle of MA is Alan, an aimless young fellow who has come to the Big Apple to start a music career. Along the way, he falls in and out of love, seems listless in finding a steady job, and wanders into situations that he later wishes he hadn't gotten into. The great thing about Bujalski's 2 movies is that they begin and end in the middle of scenes, a lot like Cassavetes. That works because as Ray Carney once said "We live and die in the middle of muddles." If you're new to the new indie movement, see either of Bujalski's movies or THE PUFFY CHAIR! However, this is my favorite Bujalski film.

I saw Mutual Appreciation on the bottom row of a 'new release' section of a movie shop and it caught my eye. I usually am a sucker for movies that are deeper than the average celluloid we are bombarded with. I didn't have a great expectation for the movie, which turned out to be great. The dialog isn't deep. And it isn't meant to be. It's very real to life. The colours and positioning really captured the essence of the movie: bleak and monotonous. I did like it for the fact I felt that I could relate to more than one character, and the characters were realistic and likable. I've read previous remarks, and I suppose the only advice I can give is to watch the movie without expectations and with a open mind. On reflection, try and see if you can relate some of the central themes to your life and you will be pleasantly surprised. As a 16 year old that is trying to find movies that break the conventional mould, I found this refreshing and it made me hopeful for some reason. I will definitely be checking out Funny Ha Ha.

I haven't really seen a film like this before. Really raw, somewhat rambling, confusing and wonderful. I have never been so pulled in. God, I hope this is the future of film. Enough already of Pirates and Snakes on a Plane.... This held such power. All in it being understated and real. I don't often come here to write on films I've seen, but when a movie sticks with me for a good five days, that's my signal to get onto the IMDb. I also just watch the movie DIG! about the Brian Joenstown Masacre -- I went out and bought a double best of album....M.A. has great music too So, If you like rough-around-the-edge,s realistic film-making, go. Now. This is the real deal. Bobbi Stig

Bujalski's second feature is as unassuming as advertised, but leaves with the viewer an unique and moving feeling worth noting both for its penetrating depth and surface effects. Never in Mutual Appreciation's 110 minutes do we feel manipulated into a particular point of view or emotion, and Grunsky's camera never seems to try to lend meaning that isn't there. Instead Bujalski uses the medium in a wholly natural manner, one which is true to the time and experiences the film's characters move through, building the narrative to an emotional head brought about entirely by the passions and needs of his principal actors. It's a technique that can be difficult at first to appreciate specifically because it eschews virtuosity and the kind of razzle-dazzle that leaves structure, acting, and personal connection in the lurch, but as Mutual Appreciation plays out, it becomes clear that we are in the hands of a young master, one who can find profundity and practical importance in everyday interaction. Bujalski can see what people need at the most basic level and, with that, points toward bigger messages rather than telegraphing a sound-bite-ready understanding. Few American filmmakers working today (of any age) better understand the power of art to communicate a state of mind rather than a single, finite exclamation.