September 21, 2014

 

This Is Where I Leave You is a dark comedy based off the novel by Jonathan Tropper of the same name. The four Altman siblings must face their issues as they are forced to sit Shiva with their mother for seven days after their father’s death. Jason Bateman, Adam Driver, Tina Fey and Corey Stoll get along well as the dysfunctional Altmans, while Jane Fonda is great as the oversexed matriarch, who just wants to see her children happy.

 

Bateman plays Judd. He has a great job as a producer of a radio program starring the obnoxious Wade (Dax Shepard). As he comes home to surprise his wife Quinn (Abigail Spencer), he finds Wade and Quinn having sex in their bed. A few days later, Judd hears from his sister Wendy (Fey) that their father has passed away. He heads home to be with his family, but only tells Wendy about his impending divorce. When he runs into Penny (Rose Byrne), an old high school crush, he’s faced with a dilemma of what he should do with his life. Take a risk and do something out of the box? Or play it safe and work it out with Quinn?

 

Wendy is the mother of two kids, married to Barry (Aaron Lazer). It’s clear she’s not exactly in the happiest of marriages. And she still has feelings for her ex-boyfriend Horry (Timothy Olyphant), who still lives across the street from her mother’s home. Horry and Wendy were in a car accident years ago that left him with a brain injury and unable to be on his own. Wendy still feels guilty about leaving him and giving up.

 

Phillip (Driver) is the baby of the family. He’s the son least like his father, which is why the other siblings believe he was the ‘favorite.’ Phillip’s latest conquest, an older psychologist Tracy (Connie Britton) comes to the home to sit Shiva with the family. However, when a former flame comes to pay her respects, it causes tension between the May-December romance and Tracy questions her relationship with Phillip. Meanwhile, Phillip, determined to prove he’s not a screw-up tries to convince Paul (Stoll) to let him work at the family business, which causes tension between the brothers.

 

Paul seems to be the most sensible of the Altman children. He’s married to Annie (Kathryn Hahn), who is also Judd’s former girlfriend, which Phillip keeps reminding everyone. Annie and Paul have been trying unsuccessfully to have a baby for years, which is putting a strain on their marriage. And Paul is trying to keep up the family business, since his father left him to run it.

 

And then there’s Hillary (Fonda). She is the widower who is thrilled to have her children all under the same roof, even under the sad circumstances. And while she is quirky and seems to like to embarrass her kids, specifically with her best-selling books on raising children and her recent breast enhancement, you can tell she just wants what’s best for her children.

 

The all-star cast in this film really plays well off each other. Bateman and Fey work well as brother and sister, while Driver steals the film, as expected, as the playboy, reckless youngest sibling. And Fonda does a great job as playing the eccentric, caring mother, trying subtly to fix her children. Look out for Ben Schwartz as Boner, a young rabbi trying to bring a modern edge in the mourning of their father. And enjoy my favorite scene when Judd finds two joints in his father’s jacket, and gets high with Phillip and eventually Paul. It brings a light-hearted moment to an otherwise serious film.