Review of Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2012) by Nick O — 31 Aug 2012
What separates "Jeff Who Lives at Home" from standard 80-minute indie is the way the Duplass brothers Jay and Mark understand that sometimes destiny's arc can be as small as a road trip to pick up a father's birthday recliner ("The Puffy Chair") or getting along with the overripe man-child of who's maybe the love of your life ("Cyrus").
For the Jeff in "Jeff" (Jason Segel), it's fixing a broken closet shutter, except it's more the feeling of accomplishment of what came before that comes with it now. Which sounds simple, but it's really not.
It's also the Duplasses' handling of character, to not make Jeff and his love of "Signs" a loser or his confident workaday brother Pat (a fantastic Ed Helms) an out-and-out asshole. To watch the two of their personalities intertwine, it's kind of quiet, kind of graceful, kind of spacey.
The Duplasses don't limit their beats to goofy or straight-faced, because life is a little of both. And for some, that's realized at home, long after it should.
This review of Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2012) was written by Nick O on 31 Aug 2012.
Jeff, Who Lives at Home has generally received positive reviews.
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