Me and You and Everyone We Know - 7

A quirky film that turns what looks like the mundane everyday life into interesting dialogue about real problems and funny situations. The story follows a number of people who live on the same block, while not trying to connect each of their stories. The author/director and actor in the film Miranda July says the film is about "people wanting to touch each other." The characters in this film long to be in relationship with others, but haven't really learned how best to do this, so they try and succeed only because everyone is in the same boat. What makes people human is there longing for relationship, and the foibled way that we go about tying to connect with others.
It struck me early in the film that this film is somewhat dependent on the culture shaping people. The film seems funnier because films like American Beauty, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Magnolia exist. In this sense it makes for a somewhat real film in that the characters are living in the same culture and are trying just as hard as the audience to figure it out. The film is influenced by July's interest in performance art, so there are many scenes that the meaning of the set up is not lost on the audience. The precocious six year old, played wonderfully by Brandon Ratcliff is maybe the funniest and is definitely the character that shows the childishness in all of us.