Jeff Who Lives At Home review

           Writer/directors Jay and Mark Duplass have a keen sense of finding the drama and entertainment value in the most ordinary moments of our life. These brothers have since been growing in popularity and clout since their humble ‘mumblecore’ beginnings. Mark Duplass now has a regular acting gig on FX’s popular fantasy football sit-com “The League” and last year their third film “Cyrus”, starring Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly, earned them the best reviews of their career, expanding their following outside of their Sundance circles. This year they have returned with another meditation of the mundane called “Jeff who Lives at Home”, a dysfunctional family drama disguised as a slacker comedy.

                Jeff, played by Apatow regular Jason Segel, never seems bothered by anything. Some of that is due to the cannabis in which he is constantly sedated, and the rest is due to his strict philosophy that all things are connected and happen for a reason.  The film begins with Jeff talking into a voice recorde, sharing his thoughts on the M. Night Shyamalan film “Signs” and how its themes of destiny and fate had a profound impact on his world view. After receiving what seems to be a wrong number call for someone named Kevin, Jeff embarks on a personal journey to find this mysterious Kevin and discover what he needs to learn from him. Eventually he runs into his brother Pat, played by Hangover/Office star Ed Helms, who is spying on his wife during her lunch date with a coworker, with whom he suspects she is cheating with. Their mother, played by Susan Sarandon, is also trying to solve her own mystery, as she has been receiving love letters and flirtatious Instant Messages from her cubical at work. As the film progresses these plot threads interweave and connect in a somewhat mechanical but occasionally charming way.

What keeps “Jeff who Lives at Home” from being a total eye-roller is the charismatic performances from the very talented cast. Unlike many of the Duplass bros earlier films, this movie seems much more plot driven and the dialogue seems a bit more scripted, though there are certain scenes that have a kind of naturalism and fluidity that suggests long stretches of improvisation between the actors.  Jason Segal is warm and inviting and works very hard get the audience to consider his gonzo faith in synchronicity.  Scenes shared by Ed Helms  and Judy Greer, who plays his wife, show both actors going to very sincere and uncomfortable places, hinting at the type of realism and vulnerability that reminded me a bit of The Duplass’s first film “The Puffy Chair”.  Susan Sarandon’s turn as the lonely working mother is a delightfully uncharacteristic kind of performance that shows that women her age can and should be in more movies.

What lacks is the sense of weight that a movie this small needs. Since the plot is stretched out between these three different characters and their separate concerns, none of them seem to get quite enough attention they deserve to fully engage the audience. Weirdly enough, Jeff and his mission to find the meaning of Kevin almost becomes a distraction from the other, more interesting plots.  In the end when the movie begins to tie these stories together it takes several conveniences and contrivances to make everything work, not unlike a bad M. Night Shyamalan twist. You get a sense these directors let the story get a bit too big before they realized they had to deliver on their promise to get everything come together.  

                Though the movie doesn’t have the same kind of substance or the heart of something like “Cyrus”, it has its moments of brilliance and enough comic charm to keep you patient. The cast shines in every scene, even as the plot seems to meander around. Also, to see such a sensitive and meaningful roll written for an aging actress like Susan Sarandon is very welcomed and refreshing.  Unfortunately for the citizens of Pocatello the film is only seen in a limited release right now, currently playing in Salt Lake City. While I might not recommend that that you spend the gas money to see it, in a few months down the line you will more than likely be happy to rent “Jeff Who lives At Home” on a Friday night and giggle on the couch with your date.

Grade: B-

Originally published in The Basic Alternative/April-2012

21 Jump Street review

Things have changed since I graduated from high school in 2004. Having now worked a number of years in retail and always having my finger tightly pressed against the cultural pulse, I have noticed the subtle differences in today’s youth verses my teenage experience. Back in those days I was active in the art club,I worked as the entertainment editor of the school newspaper, and I rubbed elbows with drama department. Basically, I was nerd before it was cool.  Divisions between class, race, religion and lifestyles were always clear, and if they were not enforced by the students than they were at least implied. However today, with the rise of the internet, with tolerance and diversity made marketable and the hipster culture coopting nerdiness as a fashion choice, it has become a whole new world out there. This seems to be the driving interest for “21 Jump Street”, a raunchy bromantic action-comedy, based on late 80s television series that launched Johnny Depp into stardom.

The film stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, who play Shmidt and Jenko, two kids who didn’t get to go to their prom. Jenko (Tatum) was refused because of his bad grades and Shmidt (Hill) because he could find anyone who wanted to go with him. Later, though being enemies in high school, the two find themselves training together in the police academy and quickly become friends. After they botch a simple drug detainment they are both sent on a secret mission where they are put back to high school to gather evidence on a dangerous new drug that’s been making its rounds among the local teens. While working undercover as students they form new friends and allegiances. Soon they both realize that the newer generation’s politics have turned the tables on the jocks, leaving Jonah Hill’s character with the social advantage over the jock-ish Tatum.

There are a few reasons why “21 Jump Street” works. First of all it doesn’t bother to connect too much with the original source material of the old TV series. The plot follows the same conceit and shares the title obviously, but pretty quickly the movie becomes something of its own with an entirely different kind of appeal. It knows how poke fun at itself and breaks the fourth wall without becoming annoyingly self-aware or trying too hard to be hipper than the audience. The writer Michael Becall and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller should be commended for rescuing this project that was probably conceived as a lazy marketing strategy (a funny bit of dialogue from the film even suggests this). What could have so easily just been studio-product was turned into a funny self-mocking satire with some interesting things to say.

Secondly, the performances by both Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are great. They have genuine comedic chemistry and their characters both have a clear motivation and arc within the plot. Having not always been a supporter, Tatum in particular has been surprising me more and more as he has grows as an actor. After almost rescuing the confused Ron Howard film “The Dilemma” and keeping me laughing in this, it would seem that he has a unique comedic talent, especially when he lampoons the thickheaded/bighearted characters he began his acting career with. The side performances by Rob Riggle as the over excited coach, Ice Cube as the “angry black cop”, and Ellie Kemper as the horny chemistry teacher, are all chuckle-worthy as well.

My only beef with “21 Jump Street” is that once the third act begins and the plot has to be resolved, the movie begins to shift gears from socially conscious humor to broader slapstick humor based in elaborate action set-pieces. Some twists in the plot don’t pay off as much as the writers think they do and as I watched shoot-outs and explosions dominate the latter half of the film a good 12-15 minutes went by without a laugh. This unfortunately has been a common misstep in over-budgeted comedies.

So considering this franchise was neither required nor demanded to be made into a comedic reboot, the movie should make you laugh enough to feel like you spent your money wisely. If you’re like me and you feel a growing cultural disconnect with the kids who have been raised on iphones and vegan diets in their cafeteria, then you might even find a little insight and honesty behind the laughs. “21 Jump Street” delivers whether you went to school as a nerd or a jock. 

Grade: B

Originally published in The Basic Alternative/ April-2012