“Confusions of an Unmarried Couple”
2007
*** out of ****
Director: Brett M. Butler, Jason G. Butler
Cast: Brett M. Butler, Naomi M. Johnson

“You know, I could probably sue this whole corporation right now for sexual harassment. You're only making me refill the napkin holders because of my firmly held beliefs on the subject of ass to mouth.” – Jeff Anderson, “Clerks 2”

Remember that movie that came out last year that starred Jennifer Aniston and Vince “Fuck you, I’m awake” Vaughn? Yeah, I pretty much hated that movie. It was like Christ struck me and said that movie would clarify that I would never get married. I don’t want to be stuck in a Vince Vaughn movie, and neither should you.

However, there is an independent film that is sweeping independent airwaves called “Confusions of an Unmarried Couple” that grabbed my attention since I first heard of it. These Butler brothers are helmed as the new Kevin Smiths of the millennium, and “Confusions of an Unmarried Couple” is said to be their best work. And after “Confusions” ended, I began asking myself for more Butler Brothers. This ain’t perfect, but why the hell is THIS not in the theaters instead of “Tyler Perry’s New Nightmare?” What kind of a world do we live in that we let Tyler Perry put out MORE of the SAME movies? It’s no fair.

The tagline for “Confusions of an Unmarried Couple” reads “Meet Dan. Meet Lisa.” By the time we meet these characters, we don’t want to see them go. They’re not the most believable characters, but their situation is the most believable. The Butlers capture a risky subject and turn it into a fun and hilarious dark comedy that Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater fans would have geek-gasms over. Your new obsession will be the Butler Brothers, and your new favorite movie will be this.

And like the tagline suggests, we meet Dan (Brett M. Butler). About six months ago, the poor guy walks in on his fiancée Lisa (Naomi M. Johnson) going one-on-one with a high-school girlfriend. Still distraught about that one terrible night, he goes to pick up his things at her apartment. Inside, he runs into her and then they argue. That’s as far as you’ll get where plot goes from.

But while that’s not a BAD thing, the movie tells its story through its dialogue and emotion. One of the biggest things to notice is when they tell us what they saw with the relationship. The characters are two different characters, a lot like Apatow’s “Knocked Up.” Our main-man Dan is a stoner, a sex addict, and a drinker. His ex-girlfriend was the complete opposite of what he was. This is what would happen if “Knocked Up” didn’t work out, and if one of the characters didn’t get pregnant. But hell, even I can’t complain about this movie. While it’s not one of the best movies that I’ve seen, it was certainly a joy to watch, especially when I’m just looking for a romantic comedy that doesn’t rely on hot guys and boobs instead of ones that do. It would be a long shot to say that out of ALL of the indie movies that I’ve seen that this is the best, but it’s probably one of the best romantic comedies that I’ve seen in a long time.

Look closely to “Confusions of an Unmarried Couple,” and you will see something familiar. Does it ring a bell to you yet? Think of Kevin Smith’s brainchild and then you get the cult classic “Clerks.” If you have seen “Clerks,” you will know that the movie is all… talk… NOTHING else. They ramble on about their lives so much that if you weren’t used to this type of thing, you would hate that movie. But Kevin Smith divided the scenes into chapter-like breaks that described the situations that were going on.“Confusions” uses this same tactic, but instead of just leaving us with a black screen and a big word in white, we get a picture, a word, and a clip of the main characters explaining their relationship to a video camera. This works just because the directors know that we don’t want to watch the same exact people arguing about the same exact problems in their relationship. What’s better than a video that can be posted on YouTube?

“Confusions” is hilarious, but you won’t notice it until the second watch. It starts as a drama, and it leads you to believe that it’s a drama, but once the jokes start coming in, you don’t know if you are supposed to laugh or not. I liked it better the second watch than I did when I watched it the first time. That’s the only problem with the film, but it’s a big problem with that. If it wasn’t for the change in genre so quickly, it may have gotten off with a half or whole star higher.

The two member cast, like I said before, may not be TOTALLY believable, but they show their talents. Brett M. Butler is right into his character, and it’s funny because he’s so good at it. He may be the guy that you may relate to. There’s a scene in this movie where he says that he would go gay with Jack Black, and it’s funny, because while looking at him, I imagined him as Jack Black’s best friend and heterosexual life-mate. Johnson is an amazing and very talented actress, who should look into bigger roles in bigger movies.

“Confusions of an Unmarried Couple” is a great look at unhappy relationships. The situation is believable and the dialogue is hilarious (and very, very raunchy) as well. See this movie as soon as you possibly can. It will be worth your time and you will thank me for it.