The audience certainly enjoyed this movie. Billed as a comedy, there was plenty of laughter throughout from those in attendance. Unfortunately, much of the humor was based on profanity and/or sexual innuendos, which limited the enjoyment for your frequently cynical movie critic.
I learned several things watching this story. First, a great cast of talented actors does not always guarantee a first rate film, and I now know what a “Shiva” is, which I will expand on shortly. There are fine performances from Jason Bateman and Tina Fey, among others, tempered to some degree by Jane Fonda’s acting skills, which have eroded significantly over the years.
The patriarch of the Altman family has passed away, and everyone returns home to gather together for the first time in years. There is the widow, played by Fonda, three sons and a daughter with their spouses and/or significant others. The father’s dying wish was for a “Shiva,” a Jewish tradition of seven days of mourning for a “first degree relative.” Dad’s wish becomes Mom’s command, so everyone cancels their lives for a week to stay and honor their parent’s request, resigning themselves to the circumstances.
This is Where I Leave You
Entertainment Rating: ★★1/2
Rating: R, Profanity throughout, sexual situations and innuendos from beginning to end.
Possible Oscar Nominations: None.
Residing under the same roof for a week, leads to all sorts of issues among the siblings, some funny, some poignant, and others just plain stupid. It seems that the family’s interrelationships detract from, rather than promote their emotional well-being. Everybody’s sex life is eventually aired out, and while the audience laughed heartily at much of it, I found most of it pathetic but that’s just me. Jason Bateman, as Judd Altman, carries the show as he goes through a range of personal issues that would leave most of us behind.
In addition to family issues, the brothers and sister, stuck in their old hometown, begin to renew old acquaintances, which adds to the dilemma for some of them. One of those friends became a Rabbi, whose nickname growing up was “boner,” which I will leave to your imagination. He is a bright spot in the film as no profanity or sexual innuendos pass his lips, thank goodness for small favors.
In the meantime, as the film slowly heads toward reconciliation for some and a “candle is lit” for others, we are treated to one last twist in the plot, which no one could see coming and, at best, is pitiful.
A lot of people in the theater obviously enjoyed this movie; it had some meaningful moments and some lessons to be learned but, at times, was too outrageous for me.
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