2012 Review #17: Jeff, Who Lives At Home

Jeff, Who Lives At Home

Rated R

1 Hour 23 Minutes

Starring

Jason Segel
Ed Helms
Judy Greer

Susan Surandon

Story

Dispatched from his basement room on an errand for his mother, slacker Jeff might discover his destiny (finally) when he spends the day with his brother as he tracks his possibly adulterous wife.

Rotten Tomatoes Score

73%
"Sweet, funny, and flawed, Jeff, Who Lives at Home finds the Duplass brothers moving into the mainstream with their signature quirky charm intact."

My Grade

B-

Jeff, Who Lives at Home reminds me of a comedy show on HBO. Wherein it's labled a comedy but is really heavy on drama, emotion, and provokes deep thought. They aren't funny in the sense that say, "21 Jump Stree" was funny or that shows like "Modern Family". Movies like this are funny because they are uncomfortable and at times awkardly real to life. Situations occur that we have had happen to us or can forsee happening to us. The humor is more dark and slightly depressing. There isn't much gut busting laughter produced from films of this nature. Jeff, Who Lives at Home is a comedy that's more about the story and the characters and the messages it tries to deliver to it's audience.

This is a film about disconnection from family and disconnection from our place in the world. What are we as individuals meant for? Why am I here? Do I have a destiny? Or are we all just people living with no deep meaning, and just living to work, watch movies, spend time with friends, smoke pot, eat food, and die?Are we all really that insignificant? Well this a movie that tackles those issues, in quite a heartfelt way. You have Jeff, played by the typecast Jason Segel (The Muppets, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) in one his most dramatic roles, playing the stoner 30 year old who lives in his mom's basement. He believes in signs (as he loves the movie Signs) and wants to believe he has a destiny and that he is meant for something bigger. Could this be the pot talking or is this Jeff cognatively thinking this on his own? He kind of plays that inner child in all of us. Then you have his douche bag brother played by funny man Ed Helms (TV's The Office, The Hangover) who is having some marital issues and has never really got along with Jeff. He struggles to find his place in his own marraige and goes off on a whim and buys a Proshe, much to the dismay of his wife played by Judy Greer (TV's Archer, The Descendants). Finally we have their mother played by acting vet, Oscar winner Susan Surandon (Dead Man Walking, Thelma & Louise). She works at a call center of sorts where apparently all she does is day dream and IM mysterious people on her AOL Instant Messenger (does anyone actually use those anymore?). She is trying to discover where to go from here in her older age and if she can ever love anyone again or vice versa. She is also having to deal with her two deranged sons. The whole family has grown apart.

Movies like this have a tendancy of being overly preachy or shoving the message down your throat. The story definitley takes us there a few times, but holds back enough to actually be quite a sweet and charming tale of family, betrayl, love and fate. The whole movies takes place in one very long day. Jeff travels around town with his brother as they stalk the wife who is waltzing around town with another man. Jeff believes all of this is happening for a reason, but his brother just laughs it off and thinks he's delusional. Meanwhile, the mother sits at at work and is being stalked herself by a secret admirer who works there. She tries to figure out who it is, and when we do...it get's a little weird. Honestly, her story wasn't doing it for me. I thought Surandon did a wonderful job playing the stressed out mom who was trying to find love, but her story came off kind of pointless. At least the secret admirer aspect. There wasn't any character development for her for me to care about any of it, and when it turned out it was a female co-worker I didn't understand what they were trying to do with that. None of them were gay, yet there was a moment where they kissed in the sprinkler soaked office. It was confusing and this was not developed enough to have any power in the overall story. It just didn't seem to fit in. However, these events of hers led her to the climatic scene...so it tied in that way.

Other than that aspect of the story, I thought the screenplay was really well done. It didn't have any phoned in or silly dialog. There was humor when humor was necessary. Nothing was slapstick, in fact the majority of the comedy was subtle and relatively down to earth and relateable. As silly as Jeffs interpretation of fate and signs were to watch, his faith was actually rewarded in the end. They way it all tied together was really cool and wonderful. This whole day was mean to happen for all of them. They were all destined to meet on that bridge, Jeff was meant to save that family and nearly die in the process. It is this that brought the family back together. The story was a fantastic glimpse into redemption and family bonds that should never be broken no matter what. It was not perfect, it definitely dragged at times, but at only an hour and twenty minutes it never got that bad.

I was pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of both Segel and Helms in dramatic turns. It's always fun to see actors who are normall outrageous comedic actors dabble in drama and do it well. Actors like Jim Carrey (The Truman Show, The Majestic) and Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting) have done this quite successfully, and now I prefer both of them in dramatic roles. Point being, I love when actors go outside their comfort zone or out of the realm we know them as and do it successfully. Both did a great job in the film. While I was not the biggest fan of her storyline, Surandon showed again why she is one of the most reliable seasoned actresses in the business. This film was not perfect, it did get a bit boring at times. It also got slightly overly preachy in spots, but really in the end it's a sweet, charming story with great performances from the whole cast. It's not a movie most people have heard of, and probably wouldn't really be a movie that everyone would like all that much. This is the type of movie that most regular movie goers would never give a chance. But you might be surprised when you watch one or two of this indy flicks...there are a few gems out there. Jeff, Who Lives at Home is not a "gem" persay, but it's a worth while watch at least once.