Review of Term Life (2016) by Marron G — 27 May 2016

TERM LIFE is a strange case... from the standpoint that I'm not really sure what the hell kind of movie it really is. It's caught between some warring tonalities and never fully reconciles them.

Is it a heist/caper story? Is it a crime thriller? Is it a father/daughter relationship comedy? It's all of these things, but to middling degrees of success. That is not to say it's bad, because it's a perfectly enjoyable watch, but it just feels weird as your watching it, because you might have a scene of legitimately hard-edged violence - played totally straight - immediately followed by Favreau doing an improv comedy bit about age of consent, or Vaughn and Steinfeld arguing about considerate bathroom etiquette.

Each discreet part on its own is fine, but taken in close proximity with the other tonal flavors there's a clash, and because of that it's a difficult movie to get a handle on. Billingsley's direction is workmanlike, and the movie only ever truly comes to life with any verve during the midsection, which is mostly devoted to the Vaughn/Steinfeld relationship; each performer maneuvers the (let's face it, fairly cliched) dynamics very effectively, and their interplay is the strongest and most enjoyable stuff in the movie.

They're supported by a collection of fun character actors; while they show up for what are basically bit parts, it's neat to have so many known and quirky faces appear to lend some extra juice to the proceedings.

The movie's biggest issue is the muddled screenplay and its attempt to juggle too many opposing components without a crystal clear throughline to connect them all in a fully satisfying way. Still, the Vaughn and Steinfeld stuff is really good, and makes the movie worth a watch just for that.