mumblecore

noun

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 The whole squad is primed for a good life and yet each is miserable in such a relentlessly benign way that their acquiescence turns the crime itself into a joyless affair, The Thomas Crown Affair as mumblecore. — Tod Goldberg, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2022 Inspired by past improv and mumblecore films, improvisation and risk-taking was important on set. — Meredith Woerner, Variety, 14 Oct. 2021 The main expression and key movement in that change is mumblecore, which has exerted a wide-ranging influence through its luminaries, its aesthetic, and its ideas. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2020 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, 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, 27 Nov. 2019 From an artistic perspective, the past decade in movies is the decade of mumblecore. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 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, 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, 28 Mar. 2018 See More

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.