This Is Where I Leave You (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
A dysfunctional family gathers together after the death of a patriarch in 'August: Osage Cou-- ... oh, wait, no, no, I mean 'This Is Where I Leave You' (directed by Shawn Levy). Not unlike August: Osage County, The Family Stone, & Home for the Holidays, this is one of those family reunion movies where said family is forced to spend time together. The Altman clan gathers at the upstate NY house where they lived as a family before going their separate ways. Arriving to join the grieving widow, Hillary (spitfire, Jane Fonda), are the eldest son, Paul (Corey Stoll); the middle boy, Judd (Jason Bateman); the only girl, Wendy (Tina Fey); & the youngest child, directionless Phillip (Adam Driver, of Girls and eventual Star Wars fame). They bring with them their spouses, children, & significant others.
Eldest son Paul is seemingly happily married to Alice (Kathryn Hahn), but the fact that they can't get pregnant is causing major tension; and it doesn't help that she used to date one of his brothers. Wendy is unhappily married with children, and longs for her youth when she dated a man (Timothy Olyphant) who has since been disabled. Phillip is a carefree spirit who is currently dating an older woman, his therapist (beautiful Connie Britton). And Judd is going through a messy divorce after having found his wife (Abigail Spencer) sleeping with his boss (Dax Shepard). To fulfill their father's last wish, they all must sit shiva - or, as matriarch Hillary puts it, they're 'all grounded for 7 days'. During the lonnnng week, secrets are revealed, disagreements are unearthed, resentments resurface and, in the end (as is the case with these types of family dramedies), problems are all solved before the final credits roll.
Okay. So, I enjoyed this dysfunctional family romp for what it is. It's harmless. It's engaging. I laughed (as did the audience I was with). The cast is SO charismatic. Having said all of that, this movie is fairly empty of real conflict, the characters lack some depth, and the family dynamics are as authentic as an episode of The Brady Bunch. Bateman's Judd is a self-loather after his wife has cheated on him and, that's ... all there is to him. Tina Fey's Wendy is the level-headed sister & mother of two who, though married, is unhappy, & still in love with the boy across the street ... that's about it for her.
Corey Stoll's Paul is a cranky business owner who wants to have a baby ... that's it. Jane Fonda's Hillary is the free-spirited, breast-enhanced mom who enjoys spouting inappropriate revelations from time to time ... that's it. Adam Driver's rudderless Phillip is basically around for fun comic relief (my entire audience perked up whenever he entered a scene). Everyone else barely has a plotline; or lines of dialogue, no less. Most shortchanged would be Rose Byrne's Penny Miller, the cute, perky, girl-next-door who never left home and pined away for Jason Bateman's character all these years (pathetic much?). She takes anti-depressants, she figure skates, & she loves Judd. That's literally ALL there is to her. That's a shame, because Rose Byrne is so much better an actress than the role she was given.
I sound harsh, don't I? I don't mean to, because despite the lack of meaningful characterizations & despite the artifice that enters the story, the film kinda sorta worked for me, anyway. Throw these talented, fun actors under the same roof for one week in this 105 minute film and, well, it WILL be easy to be entertained. As written, based on a best seller, and as directed by Shawn Levy, it's difficult to pinpoint why I enjoyed this as much as I did despite the plethora of issues I have with it. The movie follows a certain path and, we know how most, if not all, of the plot strands will end. Only one particular plot twist made me mini-gasp. And so, while 'This is Where I Leave You' certainly could have been 'better', the amiable cast helps to make the shallower, too-routine material go down very, very easy.
Eldest son Paul is seemingly happily married to Alice (Kathryn Hahn), but the fact that they can't get pregnant is causing major tension; and it doesn't help that she used to date one of his brothers. Wendy is unhappily married with children, and longs for her youth when she dated a man (Timothy Olyphant) who has since been disabled. Phillip is a carefree spirit who is currently dating an older woman, his therapist (beautiful Connie Britton). And Judd is going through a messy divorce after having found his wife (Abigail Spencer) sleeping with his boss (Dax Shepard). To fulfill their father's last wish, they all must sit shiva - or, as matriarch Hillary puts it, they're 'all grounded for 7 days'. During the lonnnng week, secrets are revealed, disagreements are unearthed, resentments resurface and, in the end (as is the case with these types of family dramedies), problems are all solved before the final credits roll.
Okay. So, I enjoyed this dysfunctional family romp for what it is. It's harmless. It's engaging. I laughed (as did the audience I was with). The cast is SO charismatic. Having said all of that, this movie is fairly empty of real conflict, the characters lack some depth, and the family dynamics are as authentic as an episode of The Brady Bunch. Bateman's Judd is a self-loather after his wife has cheated on him and, that's ... all there is to him. Tina Fey's Wendy is the level-headed sister & mother of two who, though married, is unhappy, & still in love with the boy across the street ... that's about it for her.
Corey Stoll's Paul is a cranky business owner who wants to have a baby ... that's it. Jane Fonda's Hillary is the free-spirited, breast-enhanced mom who enjoys spouting inappropriate revelations from time to time ... that's it. Adam Driver's rudderless Phillip is basically around for fun comic relief (my entire audience perked up whenever he entered a scene). Everyone else barely has a plotline; or lines of dialogue, no less. Most shortchanged would be Rose Byrne's Penny Miller, the cute, perky, girl-next-door who never left home and pined away for Jason Bateman's character all these years (pathetic much?). She takes anti-depressants, she figure skates, & she loves Judd. That's literally ALL there is to her. That's a shame, because Rose Byrne is so much better an actress than the role she was given.
I sound harsh, don't I? I don't mean to, because despite the lack of meaningful characterizations & despite the artifice that enters the story, the film kinda sorta worked for me, anyway. Throw these talented, fun actors under the same roof for one week in this 105 minute film and, well, it WILL be easy to be entertained. As written, based on a best seller, and as directed by Shawn Levy, it's difficult to pinpoint why I enjoyed this as much as I did despite the plethora of issues I have with it. The movie follows a certain path and, we know how most, if not all, of the plot strands will end. Only one particular plot twist made me mini-gasp. And so, while 'This is Where I Leave You' certainly could have been 'better', the amiable cast helps to make the shallower, too-routine material go down very, very easy.