Review of This Is Where I Leave You (2014) by Grant T — 23 Jan 2015

I haven't read the book that This is Where I Leave You is based on, so this review won't have the benefit of the compare and contrast factor that others probably will. But you don't really need to know the source material to be able to know whether the movie is any good. That being said, I'm still not completely certain where I stand on This is Where I Leave You, the movie. On the one hand, it's funny and sad and occasionally sweet, but on the other hand it feels more like the talent of the cast rather than the decision of any of the filmmakers involved that make it that way.

After the patriarch of the Altman family dies, the rest of the family assemble to sit Shiva and mourn his passing.

It's a fairly familiar premise that's been around long before The Big Chill, but it's an easy segue into what the film really wants to be, which is a family dramedy of a kind. Jonathan Tropper writes both the book and the screenplay, so it's good to know that the story is under the supervision of someone as attached to the project as Tropper would obviously be. The script quickly and efficiently sets up the various archetypes on display throughout the Altman family and then sets to work on letting us see what happens when they're all forced to be in a room together. Like I said, it's nothing we haven't seen before. What's good is that Tropper clearly has no problem with setting aside some of the heavier aspects to include some lighter material; for a movie about a funeral, it's thick with jokes. It's a relief as well, especially considering the fact that the likes of Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Jane Fonda and Corey Stoll are the core group in question. That's a heck of an ensemble and there is no doubt that each and every one of them can land a joke or carry the emotional weight throughout a scene. What's disappointing, however, is how rarely Tropper seems to engage with the subtext that he could mine. The archetypes he sets up never really progress too much further than just that, and the plot isn't interesting enough to warrant that level of character development. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the cast are wasted in their roles, but they're definitely underused, and after seeing the levels that this group can go to in both their comedic and dramatic ranges in their various TV and movie projects, it's sad to see that the same ability isn't taken advantage of when they band together on the big screen.

The same kind of criticism can be levelled at Shawn Levy, who does very little to elevate the mediocre script. It's not like a director can turn a bad script into a good movie, but if a film is shot the right way, it can step up the game immeasurably. Levy's work here is mostly conventional, despite displaying an effective hand at comedic timing throughout. Scenes where the whole family is together or when Wendy and Judd are engaged in some kind of verbal sparring, those are the parts where the film shines, those are the moments that make you see how much the film could be. Those are the moments which come along too infrequently, and unfortunately the ratio is not in their favour.

Thankfully, the film has that cast that I mentioned before. Adam Driver has been doing sterling work on HBO's girls and has almost singlehandedly reinvented the kind of character that shows of similar ilk would employ in the same role. Corey Stoll has made a name for himself on Netflix's House of Cards where he grandstands and fumes and cracks the occasional joke alongside Kevin Spacey and holds his ground with ease. Tina Fey has proven for years exactly how adept she is with both comedy and drama, through films like Baby Mama and Mean Girls as well as, of course, 30 Rock, one of the shining examples of sitcom in the recent past. Jason Bateman has been steadily proving himself to be a master of his own specific brand of comedy through a number of movies like Juno and Up in the Air, as well as having provided the lead in one of the greatest sitcoms of all time with Arrested Development. And of course, Jane Fonda is Jane Fonda. That's some nuclear level talent right there, and it's obvious quickly they're not doing this project by halves. One of the early scenes with Jason Bateman's character blew me away in terms of just how good he was in that moment, and there are plenty of scenes where the group get to spar with each other with various witty insults. Even with a mediocre script, this group carry a huge amount of subtext through with mere expressions at times, and they are never doing less than giving 100%.

It's unfortunate that this kind of effort is in service of what is a mostly conventional script which doesn't ask too many questions, doesn't offend and rarely surprises. The endings come thick and fast and each subplot is neatly tied off with a conversation, almost to the point where you could make a list of scenes where two characters get together, discuss for a while and then resolve their issues. I'd be excited to see this cast given something as meaty and impressive as the various shows they've each inhabited, but just seeing them here together, and those occasional moments where we get to see them shine, that'll have to do for now.

Defining Scene:

There were a lot of great moments in the film but few gave me quite as much joy as seeing sister of the bunch Tina Fey punch sleazeball Dax Shepard straight in the face with a princess cut.