The story centers on the character of Harmony who is heart broken after a recent breakup. He is kind of a pansy but you can't help but feel pity for the guy if only cause the people he's surrounded by are utter assholes. Hey, breakups are hard, and the movies about them are numerous but for some reason I love this one the most, if only cause it feels real. By real I mean almost unbearable to watch, in the good way, the emotionally empathy I feel for Harmony is so much more than any famous, gorgeous actor in Hollywood Romance movies who will surely get the girl in the end.
In reality, Harmony is all of us after a break up. Granted we aren't all going to wear a heart necklace and bring up our breakup to everybody, but we'll want to. You want to spend time with friends and family and be reassured that there's someone better and they really weren't that great, but not all of us are greeted with dysfunctional messages at all ends, like Harmony is. Perhaps the easy summation as to why this movie works is that simple: I like Harmony. He is a genuine character that represents a great majority of people. He is relatable while still being unrelatable. Also, it was interesting to see a breakup from only a male perspective, and not the everyday guy you would expect but a genuinely kind guy. That isn't to say that you don't get a glimpse of his girlfriend, Jessica. The few glimpses into Jessica you see just add to the sympathy you already feel for Harmony and make you not want the cliche Hollywood "re-hookup".
It has the feeling of a documentary with rough cuts and vague notions of time. Seriously cheap and easy to make it makes me feel like I could pick up my hand held camera and video tape the everyday shit that happens to me, I won't because it still wouldn't be as interesting as this movie. The writer and director, Bob Byington, did a fantastic job at creating a character driven and oriented movie that truly made me feel rather than think. This is not a bad thing, in fact I rather enjoyed just rewatching this movie (also Netflix kept recommending it). Byington also makes a short cameo in the film as Harmony's brother Jim, which I didn't know the first time I watched it, but has since added to the dark comedy I already found in Harmony's interactions, especially with his family.
On a cool side note, I was researching the people in this movie, many of whom aren't really known for anything else, and found that Justin Rice, Harmony, who sings a song and plays piano in this movie, is credited most with songs and song writing in movies. I just thought this was a cool little tidbit. Any yes, there is music in this movie (please someone watch so when I break into the song "Finishing Touches" people will understand and stop staring).
Harmony keeping the harmony
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