This Is Where I Leave You

With an A-list cast, and a familiarly familial storyline, the novel turned screenplay, This Is Where I Leave You reminds us that no matter how utterly dysfunctional, sometimes family is all we have.

Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver (Girls), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids, Neighbors) and Jane Fonda are just a few members of this cast of Hollywood veterans and Hollywood newcomers. The cast in large part will undoubtedly be the biggest draw of audiences to the theater. 

Jason Bateman leads as Judd Altman, the soon-to-be-divorced, middle brother in a clan of  four estranged siblings. Bateman is interesting to me as an actor. He is the only actor that has an A-list career for continually playing the exact same character – dry, emotionally withdrawn, sarcastic, yet somehow still compassionate and endearing. He is playing some version of Jason Bateman in every single film he makes and somehow, there is not another person I would rather see play the part. No one plays Jason Bateman quite like Jason Bateman, and in this film, I was particularly satisfied to see him reprise his recurring role.

Jane Fonda is great in the crude and excruciatingly honest role of a modern day mother to adult children. Adam Driver proves himself again to be one of the most promising actors of a generation. He showcases the same great moments of emotional poignancy that we have seen from his character in Girls on HBO. Watching him is a delight.

This Is Where I Leave You is about life and all of its hiccups and mess-ups, and awkward, uncomfortable, unsettling moments. It’s about being an adult and never quite having it all, even if everything on the surface looks picturesque. It’s about timing and how it’s almost never right. It’s about the past and the present, but more than all of that, it’s about love and family.

It is certainly not without its clichéd Hollywood family drama moments. Without question, this is a commercial film and meant for commercial audiences. If you are an indie/festival junkie and those are the only films you wish to see, this is not the movie for you.

The film is not without its flaws. Although the screenplay has its sage moments, the script is a bit all over the place, and could use focus and attention in various places. Certain characters could use fine-tuning, but all in all, it’s an enjoyable film with relatable characters that most will enjoy and even be able to identify with.

Take your friends and family out for a post Sunday brunch matinee and see This Is Where I Leave You. It’s light fare.