Review

This is Where I Leave You

Phillip Altman (Adam Driver) and Tracy Sullivan (Connie Britton) endure a week with his dysfunctional
family in the wake of his father’s death in Shawn Levy’s This Is Where I Leave You.
Phillip Altman (Adam Driver) and Tracy Sullivan (Connie Britton) endure a week with his dysfunctional family in the wake of his father’s death in Shawn Levy’s This Is Where I Leave You.

Now that the summer is over, This Is Where I Leave You is part of a wave of movies opening this fall and winter that hopes to please audiences who are long out of high school or are at least indifferent to franchises and otherworldly images.

Nonetheless, like some of its characters, the movie could stand to grow up a little.

This Is Where I Leave You

83 Cast: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Dax Shepard, Debra Monk, Abigail Spencer

Director: Shawn Levy

Rating: R, for language, sexual content and some drug use

Running time: 103 minutes

With a setup that recalls The Big Chill and dozens of other movies, This Is Where I Leave You frequently amuses because its able cast members can make some of the corniest or hackneyed exchanges seem fresh and genuine. Screenwriter Jonathan Tropper and director Shawn Levy have little trouble coaxing laughs or poignant moments from the performers they've assembled.

That said, the movie might have been even funnier with a bit of restraint and finesse.

Jason Bateman stars as Judd Altman, a radio producer who starts the film in a rut. He arrives home on his wife's birthday to discover her in bed with his boss (Dax Shepard), an alleged alpha male whose bluster disappears when he's not behind a microphone.

If losing his career and his marriage at the same moment weren't depressing enough, his sister Wendy (Tina Fey) calls to tell him that their emotionally distant father has just died.

At the insistence of their domineering mother, Hillary (Jane Fonda), Judd and Wendy join their brothers Paul (Corey Stoll) and Phillip (Adam Driver) in the week-long observance of Shiva in honor of their father's passing, even though the Altmans have never bothered to follow Jewish traditions before.

It doesn't help that the four siblings dislike each other, with occasionally good reason. Paul has been running the family sporting goods stores, while Phillip has no discernible career path (his job description varies each time he recites it) and seems to be getting by solely by the good graces of his rich, older girlfriend (Connie Britton).

About the only thing the four adult children can agree on is that they're sick of being the subjects of Hillary's oversharing memoirs. It's bad enough being a teenager, even when the entire world doesn't know your most embarrassing private habits.

Fonda seems to genuinely enjoy poking fun at her occasionally unconventional image, and Levy deserves credit for not simply casting talented performers but thespians who really do play well off each other.

Despite the formidable talents at his command, Levy and Tropper can't seem to resist an over reliance on scatological humor. Wendy has a toddler son, so a few jokes involving bodily discharges are appropriately amusing.

Repeating those jokes, however, gets tiresome.

The same can be said for Hillary's upper body enhancements. Like a 5 year old, Levy operates under the impression that breast jokes improve with repetition.

They do if you're 5.

Considering its limited time frame, This Is Where I Leave You seems determined to pack in as much dysfunction as possible into the Altmans' sadly eventful week. While the ambition is admirable, it's tempting to wonder how much more could have been accomplished with a lighter touch.

MovieStyle on 09/19/2014

Upcoming Events