mumblecore

mum·ble·core | \ ˈməm-bəl-ˌkȯr

Definition of mumblecore

: a genre of narrative film focusing primarily on the intimate lives of young characters and featuring scenes of ample dialogue and minimal action The actors (almost always nonprofessionals) rarely say what they mean; a lot of time, they don't know what they mean. … The first mumblecore film, by general agreement, was Andrew Bujalski's 2002 "Funny Ha Ha," a sweet-natured account of a young woman's post-college blues.— David Denby Greenberg's Florence lives in somewhat less of a bubble than a lot of mumblecore characters in that she is more or less gainfully employed and interacts with people older than herself.— Jesse Hassenger

Examples of mumblecore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There’s a laid-back, mumblecore vibe to the film that might have worked had there been more irony or humor in the script, or more personality in the lead performances. — Devika Girish, New York Times, "‘Arkansas’ Review: A Mumblecore Mob Drama," 7 May 2020 Many of the substantial changes in the industry have come from the new generation of filmmakers—yes, mumblecore. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, "The Twenty-Seven Best Movies of the Decade," 27 Nov. 2019 From an artistic perspective, the past decade in movies is the decade of mumblecore. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, "The Twenty-Seven Best Movies of the Decade," 27 Nov. 2019 The pathbreaking Amazon original series has been battered by scandal and missteps, and its movie-length finale ditches its onetime star and morphs from mumblecore dramedy to an entirely more bombastic genre. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Transparent Ends With an Act of Musical Trolling," 26 Sep. 2019 Such is the challenge now facing Jenna Fischer (who broke through as mousy receptionist Pam on The Office) and Zach Braff (who made a name for himself as the goofy J.D. on Scrubs before taking a hard left turn into introspective mumblecore). — Caroline Framke, Vox, "Zach Braff and Jenna Fischer return to TV in 2 new ABC comedies. Only 1 works.," 28 Mar. 2018 Some of the writers, directors and performers in the mumblecore movies that populated the festival a decade ago have gone on to become Oscar nominees and land Netflix production deals. — Mekado Murphy, New York Times, "SXSW Film: The Movies and Performers That Stood Out," 15 Mar. 2018 Uptown Block Party with Biz Markie: Celebrity DJ, toddler TV favorite, original mumblecore rapper and all-around personality Biz Markie returns. — Courtney Devores, charlotteobserver, "Our big list of events happening at (and around) the CIAA Tournament this weekend | Charlotte Observer," 1 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mumblecore.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.