Jeff, Who Lives at Home
(B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Jeff, Who Lives at Home' (written & directed by Mumblecore brother team, Jay & Mark Duplass) is about 2 brothers, Jeff & Pat (Jason Segel, Ed Helms); the former is an unemployed 30 yr. old man-child still living in his mother's basement, while the latter is struggling with his failing marriage. Living in Baton-Rouge, Louisiana, Jeff has no friends, no love life, smokes pot, & is slow to fix his mom's pantry door. On his way to buy wood glue for said door, and inspired by the movie 'Signs' {haha}, Jeff looks for his destiny in what seems to be random occurrences; such as a series of coincidences involving the name 'Kevin'.
For him, there is no such thing as chance - everything is connected. Meanwhile, the tightly-wound Pat is having a bit of a mid-life crisis, & also suspects that his wife, Linda (Judy Greer), is cheating on him. Finally, Jeff & Pat's mom, Sharon (a great Susan Sarandon), dreads going home from work, but finds solace from her disappointment with life (& her sons) in a secret admirer that is sending her instant messages of love at work. After one day of unexpected happenstance & emotional revelations, the 4 of them are drawn together in a large traffic jam that looks to change the course of their lives.
I "liked" Jeff, Who Lives at Home. I enjoy the kind of uncomfortable, realistic exchanges that occur btwn. the 4 main characters. That said, this is a very small film. From start to finish (pre-credits), it's only 76 minutes long. The budget is quite low. There's an air of self-consciousness about it (a Duplass hallmark). And many people may not jive with the easygoing, low-energy style of film. Those who enjoy the quirky charms of the Duplass brothers will likely enjoy it the most. Funny enough, I can't stand them. But this film isn't half-bad; perhaps, because Mark Duplass isn't IN the movie. There's something about him I don't quite like/get.
'Jeff ...' is not one of those movies that do anything 'wrong'. I think you can only fault it for not being ambitious enough. The movie climaxes with one of those big contrived scenes that resolve most of the plot threads with the various interlocking characters. Strangely, however, it is devoid of dramatic tension. Because the end (and the whole film, really) feels insubstantial ... any payoff feels a tad slim. I invested enough into each character that I wanted more to come out of their story.
The movie is sporadically humorous; not of the laugh-out-loud variety, but of silent recognition of something smart/funny occurring. And that's totally fine. A lot of the enjoyment of this film depends upon the warmth of Jason Segel & Susan Sarandon; as well as the malcontent of Ed Helms & Judy Greer. Segel is one big, loveable goofball; a perfect fit as the titular character & the tone of the movie. He must endure endless humiliations; and we're along for his ride all the way. And Susan Sarandon's scenes are wonderful. She really nails the ebb & flow of the Duplass brothers' material. And her office space subplot is actually quite sweet.
This poignant dramedy is chock full of matters of little consequence. But the fact is, though they are contrived, those matters wind up being huge in allowing Jeff to take the necessary steps to leave his slacker life behind him. I kinda liked that.
For him, there is no such thing as chance - everything is connected. Meanwhile, the tightly-wound Pat is having a bit of a mid-life crisis, & also suspects that his wife, Linda (Judy Greer), is cheating on him. Finally, Jeff & Pat's mom, Sharon (a great Susan Sarandon), dreads going home from work, but finds solace from her disappointment with life (& her sons) in a secret admirer that is sending her instant messages of love at work. After one day of unexpected happenstance & emotional revelations, the 4 of them are drawn together in a large traffic jam that looks to change the course of their lives.
I "liked" Jeff, Who Lives at Home. I enjoy the kind of uncomfortable, realistic exchanges that occur btwn. the 4 main characters. That said, this is a very small film. From start to finish (pre-credits), it's only 76 minutes long. The budget is quite low. There's an air of self-consciousness about it (a Duplass hallmark). And many people may not jive with the easygoing, low-energy style of film. Those who enjoy the quirky charms of the Duplass brothers will likely enjoy it the most. Funny enough, I can't stand them. But this film isn't half-bad; perhaps, because Mark Duplass isn't IN the movie. There's something about him I don't quite like/get.
'Jeff ...' is not one of those movies that do anything 'wrong'. I think you can only fault it for not being ambitious enough. The movie climaxes with one of those big contrived scenes that resolve most of the plot threads with the various interlocking characters. Strangely, however, it is devoid of dramatic tension. Because the end (and the whole film, really) feels insubstantial ... any payoff feels a tad slim. I invested enough into each character that I wanted more to come out of their story.
The movie is sporadically humorous; not of the laugh-out-loud variety, but of silent recognition of something smart/funny occurring. And that's totally fine. A lot of the enjoyment of this film depends upon the warmth of Jason Segel & Susan Sarandon; as well as the malcontent of Ed Helms & Judy Greer. Segel is one big, loveable goofball; a perfect fit as the titular character & the tone of the movie. He must endure endless humiliations; and we're along for his ride all the way. And Susan Sarandon's scenes are wonderful. She really nails the ebb & flow of the Duplass brothers' material. And her office space subplot is actually quite sweet.
This poignant dramedy is chock full of matters of little consequence. But the fact is, though they are contrived, those matters wind up being huge in allowing Jeff to take the necessary steps to leave his slacker life behind him. I kinda liked that.