This Is Where I Leave You (2014)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Yes Jason Bateman plays the same kind of guy in most of his work, and it may even be close to his real personality. But either way, there is something likable about that guy. I don't if it's acting or what, but he's great. Without him, I would not have watched this.Regarding the Jewish aspect. They say up front that the mom is not Jewish (meaning I assume that she didn't even convert), and the dad is an atheist.So these people are secular, born to a non-Jewish woman, but with apparently some loose "Reform" Jewish identity. Let's not say that they are typical Jews. Even most of the actors were non-Jewish. Having said that, it presents a horrible family and makes them seem Jewish. So be prepared for that if it's bothersome.But there's more to that. Clearly these people are living Godless lives and never fully understand the relationship between that fact, and their disappointments. (That is probably true for the film makers, or people in Hollywood in general) Yet, I don't know if it was intentional or not, but the writer used the vehicle of religious ritual (sitting together for a week to mourn a loved one)as a means toward some spiritual or moral reckoning, and that seems to be a pro-religion statement.The Bateman character lacks "alpha" qualities. That's probably why his wife went with an alpha male, and why he never really lived his life to the fullest. They don't identify this by name, but it's really one of the core themes affecting millions of men around the globe. Beta males live in the shadow of alphas.The house and town looked lovely. Why does everyone talk about who "got out?" I guess elitist types view their hometowns as provincial and silly.Tina Fey was good. She was down-to-earth and didn't ham it up. Forget the device of having a kid sitting on a portable toilet. That's such a cheap way to get a laugh. Wouldn't the kid need toilet paper anyways? That whole story line cheapened the experience.I realize that we are living in a "progressive" age, but I don't know if audiences want to see same-sex kissing, etc. I guess it will become more and more accepted. If you want to imply that same sex people are together, you could just show them gazing into each other's eyes. I guess the whole movement is about making it identical to the straight life. So showing actual gay bed scenes will be next, if it's not already happening.With this many characters and only so much time, it's hard to establish back stories. I think they did a reasonably decent job of that. Also, as others have said, they walked that fine line between slapstick and drama well.

This Is Where I Leave You is a great movie with a well developed plot and an outstanding cast. It deals with a lot of serious, somewhat distressing family issues, each character and individual story is very layered, with many surprises throughout. However, it is also a very funny film, there is s lot of comedic dialogue that lightens the mood and takes us away from the depressing situation these characters are in. I did feel that a lot of the plot lines did not go as far as they could have. For a movie that sets up a tone at the very beginning that it is going to deal with some complicated issues and is not going to be a typical comedy you would see the likes of Jason Bateman and Tina Fey in, it did feel like the writers were playing it safe on certain occasions. They had so many opportunities to really surprise its audience, but instead made mundane decisions. The cast is phenomenal, there is amazing chemistry between each individual member and I was truly convinced this was a family. Bateman is stellar in the lead role, playing a very flawed character whom we do support, and his relationship with his brothers, played by Adam Driver and Corey Stoll, is my favourite part of the movie. They had a great back and forth with one another that was very real. Tina Fey also shines in one of her most dramatic roles today, and Rosa Byrne had great presence as Penny Moore, having some beautiful dialogue with Bateman. It is a heavy movie that also had me in stitches at times. Very funny and well acted, I would certainly recommend This Is Where I Leave You to anyone looking for a good comedy drama. A week long mourning period begins to take its toll on four siblings when they return to their family home. Best Performance: Jason Bateman

Sometimes you just can't quite begin to fathom why a movie was made, it's not to say the movie is utterly horrible or irremediably bad, but it's existence is one that can't be nailed down, This is Where I Leave You is one of these such films. Why did such a generic and unoriginal film attract such a varied and talented cast? Why did the films writer Jonathan Tropper try so hard to fit in all the awkward family tropes of reunion movies past into one script? These are but a few of the countless such questions you could ask of this film and are questions in which I for one can't answer.The Internship director Shawn Levy has instilled his family dramedy with so many plot strands, so many awkward moments and so many underused actors that it's clear Leave was struggling from the get-go with an identity crisis. In a crowded marketplace of estranged families banding together in adversity or death it does little to distinguish itself from the pack, at any moment you're just expecting a Sigor Ros or Bon Iver song to play in the background amongst a varied amount of other such elements prone to pop up in such films. What makes Leave even more frustrating in this concern is that there are moments that work in the film, short bursts of genuine heart and humour that are quickly smothered out by another outlandish development that encircles our Altman family members.Our central figure here is Jason Bateman's Judd, a man who is facing the prospect of divorce and fatherhood and perhaps a reacquainted love with childhood sweetheart Penny, played by Australia's new favourite Rose Byrne. Judd's arc is so utterly predictable and by the numbers that any hope Leave had of breaking the mould is shattered and it doesn't help also that Bateman continues to be one of the most frustrating and unoriginal actors of the current generation. Trying to enliven and invigorate proceedings here is a raft of supports that on paper should've been an automatic win but again don't at all gel due to an awkward tone and plot. From Jane Fonda's plastic surgery loving matriarch Hillary, Tina Fey's troubled sister Wendy, Adam Driver in yet another film where he plays Adam Driver and even Justified's Timothy Olyphant as brain damaged Horry, this is one family you'll be glad to see disappear into the credits.This is Where I Leave You has some moments, there are laughs and a few nice ponderings upon life, love and all in between yet it's so unappealingly unoriginal that it's very hard to recommend. When you can't pinpoint a reason for a film coming to fruition, whether it be a comedy, drama or anything else in the long line of genres you know that the film missed the mark, This is Where I Leave You misses the mark and misses it badly, in its fruitless struggle to make us care.2 baby monitors out of 5

When their father passes away, four grown siblings, return home to sit Shiva with their mother in "This is Where I Leave You," from 2014.The film stars Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, and Timothy Olyphant. Back where they started, the siblings confront their old lives and loves and reflect on where they are at present.What happens is funny, uncomfortable, sad, and unexpected as they put up with each other and their mother, who pays little attention to discretion as she brags about the sex life she had with her husband and the size of his ... sexuality. Jane Fonda is excellent, outspoken and surprisingly motherly, considering the personality of the character.I love Jason Bateman and watch him in anything in which he appears. He doesn't disappoint here as Judd, with his serious, straight-on delivery and his Everyman frustration. But that isn't to put down the rest of the cast, all of whom give good performances. Rose Byrne as Penny, Judd's old girlfriend, is a standout and again shows her versatility as an actress. Anyone who saw her intense performance on "Damages" can't fail to be impressed by this chipper, cheerful character. Family dynamics make for good movies if they're realistic. Though some of the reviewers here didn't feel they rang true, for me they did - bad marriages, old loves left behind, taking stock of what one has accomplished, and future goals -- the death of a parent and being around family is a time of contemplation."This is Where I Leave You" is good but it is an uneasy combination of comedy and drama, sort of not knowing which it wanted to be. On the one hand, Bateman and Fey are often associated with comedy, and then on the other, there were some serious issues covered.Worth checking out.