MOVIE OF THE WEEK 9/19/14: THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU
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| "This is the fact we make after we do a full month of press about a movie that's been completed for months." Phillip Altman (Adam Driver, left in plaid), Paul Altman (Corey Stoll), Wendy Altman (Tina Fey) and Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) share a less-than-spirited moment together in a scene from director Shawn Levy's adaptation of Jonathan Tropper's best-selling novel THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU. CREDIT: Jessica Miglio © 2014 Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. |
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Dax Shephard, Abigail Spencer, Aaron Lazar, Ben Schwartz and Debra Monk
WRITER(S): Jonathan Tropper (original novel and screenplay on which it is based)
DIRECTOR(S): Shawn Levy
WEB SITE: http://thisiswhereileaveyou.com/60 SECOND PLOT SYNOPSIS (OR AS CLOSE TO IT AS ONE CAN TRY TO MAKE): Judd Altman has it all: A great job working as the producer for a top satellite radio shock jock Wade Beaufort (Dax Shephard) and a beautiful wife in Quinn (Abigail Spencer). That is, until he comes home on Quinn's birthday to surprise her with a cake only to get a surprise of his own: She's naked in bed with Wade as she's been carrying on an affair for the past year. What could possibly make matters worse?
Well, getting a phone call from his sister Wendy (Tina Fey) that their father is now dead is a good place to start.
Returning home, Judd discovers a few things about his family: His best-selling author mother Hillary (Jane Fonda) has gotten a significant 'artificial enhancement' that would make most Playboy models jealous, his brother Paul (Corey Stoll) is having a very hard time getting his wife (Kathryn Hahn) – who used to be Judd's girlfriend for 6 months – pregnant and then there's his younger brother Phillip (Adam Driver), the family screw-up who has returned home engaged-to-be-engaged to his older, former therapist (Connie Britton). While Wendy might be longing for the love she once shared with Horry (Timothy Olyphant), Judd has to deal with some old feelings of his own once he runs into Penny Moore (Rose Byrne) at the Altman family's athletic goods store.
At least the family still has "Boner," now trying to be known as Rabbi Charles Grodner (Ben Schwartz), to mess with to relieve their pain over the next 7 days as they sit shiva to honor their atheist father's last request ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST?: Jason Bateman fans, Adam Driver fans, Jane Fonda fans, Tina Fey fans, people who enjoyed the novel screenwriter Jonathan Tropper wrote, people who are tired of dysfunctional families that don't feel real at all when portrayed on screen, people who like films with a good mix of humor and drama
WHO WON'T – OR SHOULDN'T – LIKE THIS FILM?: People who don't like confronting or get nervous watching people reveal and then have to confront family secrets; people who have lost a close family member recently; people who have regrets about not pursuing relationships with those they really wanted to in the past or are dating someone as a stopgap between serious relationships
FINAL VERDICT – IS IT GOOD, GREAT, BAD OR DOWNRIGHT AWFUL? This is Where I Leave You works for two very simple reasons: It has a strong cast that embraces every single one of its characters' various idiosyncrasies and their dysfunctions feel authentic in a genre where they are often haphazardly thrown in for the sake of comedy. Instead, author Jonathan Tropper seamlessly transitions his novel to the screen to make sure the comedy comes out as a byproduct of each character having to interact with each other and not the other way around. Sure, these characters seem to live to throw snarky, embarrassing comments at one another, but Bateman, Fey, Stoll, Driver and Fonda do an excellent job at undercutting it all with a sweetness and sincerity that conveys the same general vibe: We may fight, we may do ridiculous things, but deep down we all care about each other and will eventually figure out a way to make things work.
With that basic tenet in place, each moment of humor (ranging from silly and ribald to unexpected and insightful) keeps you entertained before you realize that there are serious issues being mixed in for good measure. That in turn helps take a look at the disappointments of relationships (both romantic and familial) and how one can respond to them, the proverbial ties that bind people together ... And why in death we often find new life. In short, it's a family-movie-that-doesn't-feel-like-a-family-movie-until-you-realize-the-days-of-the-traditional-family-movie-died-with-the-outdated-notion-the-traditional-nuclear-family-is-pretty-much-extinct. As opposed to trying to mask one's family/relationship problems, This is Where I Leave You embraces them and encourages you to do the same.
And since it does so in a pretty good fashion, you shouldn't let This is Where I Leave You leave theaters before you sit it.
WHO WON'T – OR SHOULDN'T – LIKE THIS FILM?: People who don't like confronting or get nervous watching people reveal and then have to confront family secrets; people who have lost a close family member recently; people who have regrets about not pursuing relationships with those they really wanted to in the past or are dating someone as a stopgap between serious relationships
FINAL VERDICT – IS IT GOOD, GREAT, BAD OR DOWNRIGHT AWFUL? This is Where I Leave You works for two very simple reasons: It has a strong cast that embraces every single one of its characters' various idiosyncrasies and their dysfunctions feel authentic in a genre where they are often haphazardly thrown in for the sake of comedy. Instead, author Jonathan Tropper seamlessly transitions his novel to the screen to make sure the comedy comes out as a byproduct of each character having to interact with each other and not the other way around. Sure, these characters seem to live to throw snarky, embarrassing comments at one another, but Bateman, Fey, Stoll, Driver and Fonda do an excellent job at undercutting it all with a sweetness and sincerity that conveys the same general vibe: We may fight, we may do ridiculous things, but deep down we all care about each other and will eventually figure out a way to make things work.
With that basic tenet in place, each moment of humor (ranging from silly and ribald to unexpected and insightful) keeps you entertained before you realize that there are serious issues being mixed in for good measure. That in turn helps take a look at the disappointments of relationships (both romantic and familial) and how one can respond to them, the proverbial ties that bind people together ... And why in death we often find new life. In short, it's a family-movie-that-doesn't-feel-like-a-family-movie-until-you-realize-the-days-of-the-traditional-family-movie-died-with-the-outdated-notion-the-traditional-nuclear-family-is-pretty-much-extinct. As opposed to trying to mask one's family/relationship problems, This is Where I Leave You embraces them and encourages you to do the same.
And since it does so in a pretty good fashion, you shouldn't let This is Where I Leave You leave theaters before you sit it.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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