Movie Review: THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, Adam Driver, Jane Fonda, Rose Byrne, Dax Sheperd, Connie Britton, Kathryn Hahn, Abigail Spencer, Timothy Olyphant, Ben Schwartz

I must admit that I have a soft spot for these types of family ensemble stories. Two films in my top ten, American Beauty and The Ice Storm, both center on dysfunctional families. This is Where I Leave You takes a lighter approach than both of those films. It’s even lighter than last year’s August: Osage County, which has a similar premise. For Judd Altman (Bateman), when it rains it pours. Around the same time he walks in on his wife (Spencer) sleeping with his boss (Shepard), he gets a phone call from his sister Wendy (Fey) who breaks the news that their father has died.

When the entire Altman clan arrives for the funeral, their mother Hillary (Fonda) informs her four children that their father’s dying wish was for all of them to gather under one room to sit shiva, the Jewish tradition where friends and relatives gather for seven days to celebrate the deceased. Judd isn’t the only Altman going through a personal crisis. Wendy’s marriage is on the rocks as her husband is the work-obsessed always on the phone type. Judd's older brother Paul (Stoll) and his wife (Hahn) are having fertility problems. His younger brother Philip (Driver) is the immature one who can’t seem to grow up. Philip is also dating a psychiatrist (Britton) who is old enough to pass for his mom. The seven days of mourning provides them all the opportune time to deal with their issues as returning home always seems to be that place to confront your past and deal with the present.

The film is based on the popular book by Jonathan Tropper. Fans of the book should be relieved that this is a faithful adaptation as he also wrote the screenplay. It’s almost a little too faithful. The book has numerous characters as each family member has their own world and problems that they are coming from plus people from their childhood that re-enter their lives. Some of the minor characters don’t work as well for the film as they do for the book due to the pacing of the film and overall narrative. Timothy Olyphant’s Horry is a challenging character that works better in the book. The same goes for Rose Byrne’s Penny who was Judd’s childhood flame. Olyphant and Byrne make the most out of their limited screen time, but under two other actors these characters would have been completely forgettable.

The dynamic cast was another big seller for me on why this family seems charming and relatable. The balance between both the comedy and drama is vital to this story. Director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Date Night) wisely chose actors that can not only play the comedic tone Tropper sets up but can also tap into the serious sides of each family member. Bateman, Fey, Driver, Stoll, Britton, Olyphant, and Shepard are all known for their television work, so it’s fun to watch them step outside of those roles that we are so used to seeing them play on a weekly basis. This is probably the most serious we have seen Tina Fey onscreen as she typically sticks to broad comedies like 30 Rock or Saturday Night Live. I’ve mentioned the delightful Kathryn Hahn in previous reviews. As Corey Stoll’s wife, she gets to be her standard quirky self but has some touching moments when it comes to her character’s infertility. The real standout of the cast is Adam Driver (Girls, Inside Llewyn Davis). Even though he has it a bit easy as his character is the goofball that gets to have the most fun, he really comes alive and is downright hysterical in every scene. Most of the time he's up to his old tricks, but Driver also brings out that internal side of Phillip that has strong intentions of proving he isn’t just some screw up.

Tropper’s ideas of finding the humor in tragedy ring loud and clear. I guess I hone in on this idea as it is also something I live by. Many of our characters are going through serious issues, but their moments of clarity come when humor is brought in. There were multiple times throughout the movie where the audience was laughing so hard I missed some of the dialogue that followed. There may be a dysfunctional aspect about the Altmans, but they are not as over-the-top and crazy like we have seen in many of these types of movies. The humor keeps it grounded in reality without taking it to a satirical or theatrical level.

Is It Worth Your Trip to the Movies? These characters and this idea of coming home to face and resolve your problems should resonate with moviegoers.

RATING: 4 out of 5 TICKET STUBS

Movie Review: WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING
Director: Kirk Jones
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Ben Falcone, Anna Kendrick, Chace Crawford

Big stars come out yet again for another ensemble romantic comedy. What to Expect When You're Expecting follows five different couples on their way to having a child and making their lives complete. Some are planned while others are by accident. Let’s take a closer look at who they all are. Wendy (Banks) and Gary (Falcone) are finally pregnant after several years of careful planning. Wendy is the kind of woman that yearns to be a mother. She is a published author of a kid’s book and runs a store devoted to expecting mothers. Gary's dad Ramsey (Dennis Quaid) is a retired race car driver who is married and expecting with his wife (Brooklyn Decker) who is younger than Gary. Jules (Diaz) is a trainer on a "Biggest Loser" type show. After she starts dating her dance partner (Matthew Morrison) from when she appeared on a "Dancing with the Stars" type show, they find out they are pregnant. Holly (Lopez) is a struggling photographer who is adopting an Ethiopian baby with her husband (Rodrigo Santoro). Last but not least, there are two Food Truck cooks (Kendrick and Crawford) who knew each other in high school and get knocked up after a one night fling. Each couple struggles through the trials and tribulations of what it means to be an expecting couple. How does it change your life, job, and relationships?

Elizabeth Banks and Ben Falcone play the couple that has tried for years to get pregnant, but it never worked until now. Banks gives another funny heartwarming performance that easily makes her the best actress in the movie. Through the emotional and physically aspects of her character’s pregnancy, she makes the role realistic and believable. The story line between Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford really worked for me as well. It takes some interesting turns that I didn’t always see coming which I found refreshing. Their story probably has the least amount of screen time, which is unfortunate as the two actors know what to do and how to play their characters without going over the top and making it a shtick. Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz seem to be in the wrong roles. I think I would have believed Diaz as the struggling photographer over Lopez. On the other side, Lopez could have been the fitness host who is dating a dancer. Chris Rock has a minor role as the head of a group of dads that get together for stroller walks around the park. I’m not sure if he wrote his lines or if the movie was just naturally funnier when he was onscreen.

I feel like the audience probably knows what to expect going to a movie called What To Expect When You're Expecting. Like Love, Actually and Valentine's Day before it, we have another ensemble romantic comedy with a big cast of actors each playing smaller characters that weave together in the third act. Unfortunately this movie is more on par with Valentine’s Day than Love, Actually. The script is loosely inspired by the self-help books by Heidi Murkoff. Movies like this are tricky because they are hard to write and successfully tell all of the stories. The positive aspect of having many stories is that you can have various perspectives of mothers going in from different backgrounds and ways of having children. It can appeal to many soon-to-be moms that are in the target audience range. The negative aspect can be that there are too many story lines leaving the scenes short and choppy trying to fit them all in. I didn't care for every story line. I would rather have had two or three different couples written more fully then five couples loosely thrown together. The middle of the movie seems to go astray at times, but the ending really brings it all home. I found myself really caring about the characters more than I expected to throughout the movie. There are some really tender and sweet moments to cherish.

RATING: ** 1/2 (2.5 out of 5 stars)