Get This is Where I Leave You

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Shawn Levy's ("The Internship", "Real Steel") latest dramedy focuses on a family who have just lost the patriarch. Hillary (Jane Fonda) asks that her, now grown, children return to their childhood home and remain under the same roof for a week in the Jewish tradition. They reluctantly agree, but of course bring baggage with them. Both literally and figuratively.



Corey Stoll is Paul, the oldest who has helped his father manage their small business. Next is Wendy (Tina Fey) whose husband (Barry Weissman) is one of those "too busy" business executives who constantly has a Bluetooth plugged into his ear. Younger brother Judd (Jason Bateman) brings news of an impending divorce as he caught his wife (Abigail Spencer) in bed with his boss (Dax Shepard). Interestingly, these actor's real ages are the exact opposite of those in the film. Stoll is the youngest, then Fey. Bateman is actually the oldest. Then there is the baby brother and wild child, Phillip (Adam Driver) who brings his older girlfriend (Connie Britton), and her Porsche, to the affair.



The family bring what seems to be an unusual array of dysfunctions into the home that it would seem unlikely. All the marriages are in some level of dissolution. And to no regular moviegoer's surprise, there are the small town romances left behind (Rose Byrne and Timothy Olyphant) that get rekindled. And mom has a big surprise of her own.



This is mostly a drama but there are enough chuckles provided by Fonda, Fey and Bateman to keep it relatively light. This is no "August: Osage County" in terms of bitterness and dialog but there is some bite. For those of us with enough years of experience, you're likely to find some malady to identify with. That keeps it real.