Review of This Is Where I Leave You (2014) by Orlando O — 19 Jan 2015

A movie with a big cast ensemble in a story about a dysfunctional family that has to spend a week with each other for a funeral seems like a bright idea, right? This is Where I Leave You is a comedy drama film that does have an outstanding casts, and every single one of them had a moment to shine through with their characters. Shawn Levy directs this family drama from a script that is predictable but manages to have fun watching these characters interact.

Judd (Jason Bateman) comes home to celebrate his wife Quinn (Abigail Spencer) birthday, but only to be surprised that she was sleeping with his boss Wade (Dax Shepard). Only to make matters worse, Judd receives a call that his father had passed away and his family is having a get together for a week in his mothers Hillary (Jane Fonda) house. Judd finally meets up with his sister Wendy (Tina Fey) who is unhappy with her distant husband Barry (Aaron Lazar). His older brother Paul (Corey Stoll) and his wife Annie (Kathryn Hahn) who are trying to conceive a baby and Annie was once Judd's boyfriend in their earlier years. Then, there is his younger brother Philip (Adam Driver) who is still irresponsible and dating his therapist Tracey (Connie Britton).

Jason Bateman actually did a good job with his role. Tina Fey gave a better performance than how she was with her previous works. Corey Stoll and Adam Driver were both great providing depth to their characters. The casts were all great, and they made the movie a lot better than it could have turned out.

The most fun is actually seeing the family get together and all have conflict against each other. They all have their own emotional connection in their characters. The script had all these domestic issues that does leave the characters needing to resolve their own problems. The movie was a lot of fun, it does have that emotional depth, and a great ensemble; the movie is worth seeing if you care about a dysfunctional family drama.