A.C.O.D. (2013)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

The story touches on a pseudo-science of the all too common syndrome of the American culture of having dysfunctional families. The assumption on top of this wreckage of a family culture also turns out to be non of a comedy deserving any praise. With the story offering many twists and surprises, the movie still is not a good entertainment. The story build up takes too long. The humor often is too corny. Also the drama side often lacks strength. The acting overall is also not a good job. Adam Scott seems to forget that this movie is meant to be a comedy, delving too deep at the drama side. Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara tried their best and played their parts at a standard quality for a comedy. Having Mary Elizabeth Winstead really did nothing to help the acting overall.

In A.C.O.D. Adam Scott plays Carter, a successful restaurateur who seems to have it all. As a child however his parents (Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara) were involved in a brutal divorce that drug on for years. When Carter's Brother Trey (Clark Duke) announces he is getting married, Carter tries to get his parents to a place where they can be in the same room for the sake of the wedding. Overwhelmed by the task, Carter turns to what he thinks is his childhood therapist Dr. Judith (Jane Lynch). Only he finds out she was an author who was using him as a subject of a study, Children of Divorce. Once they reconnect, Dr. Judith is inspired to write a follow up to her best seller and revisit the kids she included in the study. Along the way of preparing for his brother's wedding and participating in the new study we learn that Carter isn't as well adjusted as he seems. At which point all seems to go haywire for our viewing enjoyment. I enjoyed this film on many levels. The acting to start is what really makes this film, you could not have found a better cast. It's great to see Adam Scott and Richard Jenkins together, given how well they worked together in Stepbrothers (2008). Catherine O'Hara is always a pleasure to see in any comedy, a very underrated actress. Be it Home Alone (1990), Best in Show (2000) or Orange County (2002) she never disappoints. I hope that there are at least talks somewhere for her to do another Christopher Guest film full of adlibbed genius. Jane Lynch as the therapist/author is great as usual, not far off from the therapist role she played in Two and a Half Men. She does snarky sarcastic to a fine art form. Amy Poehler as the stepmother is funny as well, hard to miss with her in anything. Clark Duke is what I refer to as the poor man's Jonah Hill. He will work in the same capacity, just with limited acting range. I always feel like he is the exact same guy in every movie I see him in, Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) or Sex Drive (2008). What really made this film for me personally was the great indie rock soundtrack. As the film progressed I was surprised by more and more musical gems, Dirty Gold, Okkerville River, Deer Tick, Architecture in Helsinki, Audio Paint and Dr. Dog. If you are a fan of music the soundtrack alone is worth catching the movie for. Overall I would recommend A.C.O.D., its irreverent family dysfunction at its most entertaining levels. The film has a very hipster independent film feel, but not so much to where it's off putting. Currently the film is available on Netfilx and is easily a must see of comedies available on the format. If you enjoyed this review, please check out my blog at yourturntopick.com

I was flicking through the menu for movies last night and came across A.C.O.D. I'm glad that I did. I wasn't expecting much since I had never heard of it. My preference is action and some comedies so this did not appear to be my normal type of movie and I had my finger on the remote ready to change it. Before I knew it, I got caught up in the movie and when it was over, I can honestly say that I had a few laughs and enjoyed the storyline. Jane Lynch is 'echoing' herself by listening to people on couches and she is great at it. All actors were good and if you want to watch a movie that has gravity with some comedy, then go for it.

No the initials have nothing to do with cops, if that was your first thought (there is another one that is not very nice to the man from the force that might sound similar to some). No this was made up for the movie, though I guess there are quite a lot of people out there right now and I think there will be more in the future, who "lost" their parents, but more importantly their childhood.One of the ways to deal with that is to make a comedy about it. So your parents divorced, does that mean it has an affect on you? Will you be another person because of that? Don't you already have that in you because you're a product of them being together (even if it was a short together)? There are a lot of questions and the movie tries its best to not slide into the obvious/cliché too often. Overall a nice movie, that has some bits of cast and crew talking about their parents after the credits start to roll (a bonus documentary?).