Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)

Monday is here which can only mean one thing…it’s time for another Mubi Monday review! This week things get quirky with…Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005).

Title: Me and You and Everyone We Know

Director: Miranda July

Released: January 20, 2005 (Sundance Film Festival)

Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes

Available to stream on: The Criterion Channel as well as Mubi

Well, to say that Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) is “quirky” would be an understatement.

I knew I was in for a ride when I saw the IFC Films banner. Those films usually fall firmly into either the “love it” or “hate it” camps. After my viewing, I’m honestly still trying to figure out what camp I fall into.

There isn’t a main storyline to focus on, rather, we have an ensemble of neighborhood characters, and we follow their seemingly ordinary lives.

Richard (John Hawkes) is having a rough go of things. His wife has decided to leave him, and, in a very bizarre way to commemorate the moment, Richard decides to light his hand on fire. No, not just burn his hand, but douse it in lighter fluid and set it ablaze. To make matters worse, his children all but ignore his very existence.

Christine (Miranda July) is a struggling performance artist who is trying to make a name for herself. Christine encounters Richard at the department store he works at, and she instantly becomes infatuated with him. Well, there’s one big problem with that…no matter what she does, she can’t get Richard to pursue her or even want her in the same way.

Everyone else we encounter is somehow connected to either Richard or Christine, whether that be one of Richard’s children, his co-worker, or the older gentleman that Christine drives around to earn some extra money. As things unfold, we see that every interaction made is somehow tied back to me and you and everyone we know.

I am aware that this was a festival darling and has a ton of people that absolutely love it. While I won’t say that I hate it, I certainly don’t love it either. I guess you can say I’m in the camp of “I don’t get it”.

As expected, given the number of subplots, there is a lot going on. However, at the same time, nothing happens this entire movie. It’s all just a bunch of little interactions that get quirkily laughed at/about and then we move on. We’re never given enough to be able to invest in a character and their outcome.

I’m not going to sit here and yuck all over someone’s yum though. John Hawkes continues the trend of being a joy to watch no matter the role. The choices made from a visual perspective managed to keep my attention. And for what it’s worth, the movie does avoid following the usual paint-by-number tropes of a romantic comedy.

If you haven’t seen Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), I’d definitely suggest watching it at least once.

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