Review: 'This is Where I Leave You', Starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, and Adam Driver

Romantic relationships are usually the center of attention when it comes to exploring them on the big screen. Will they or won't they get together? Should they go out? So on and so forth. These romantic relationships are such a large focus of attention that other types of relationships, important ones to really overlook, are ignored or forgotten in the scheme of things. Siblings, parents, and friends, all important parts of our lives, are the focus in the star-studded This is Where I Leave You, a film that's your typical story about the dysfunctional family and how they still help you get through the roughest parts of your life, with some very comedic moments on the side. 

Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) works for an obnoxious radio host (Dax Shepard) and is excited to get home to his wife Quinn (Abigail Spencer) on her birthday, only to find out that she's already given herself another present, in the form of another man. Judd's devastated and things only get worse for him when his sister Wendy (Tina Fey) calls to tell him their dad is dead. So, Judd goes back home to be with his mom (Jane Fonda), Wendy, and two brothers, Paul (Corey Stoll) and Phillip (Adam Driver). 

Apparently an "atheist Jew", their dad's last wish is to have his family sit shiva, the seven-day Jewish mourning period. So, they grudgingly do as his last wish commands, all under one roof for the first time in years. There are old flames involved (Rose Byrne and Timothy Olyphant), Paul and his wife (Kathryn Hahn) desperately trying to have a baby, and basically everyone running amok trying to sort through everything that's happening and miserably attempting to keep their shit together. 

There's a little bit and a lot going on in the film. There are a lot of characters, and a little bit of development for each of them. This is expected of a film with this many people, but at least the focus is on one character, that of Bateman's down-and-out, but all around nice guy. Everything else just spins, but in an orbit around him. There are snippets here and there of other characters having their own moments, either for us to get to understand them better, or for them to understand each other better, but they usually happen around Bateman. 

This film can be compared to any other film about dysfunctional families (and really, the word "dysfunctional" is thrown around too much, as though anyone's family is perfect) being brought back together after a parent's death or another event. There are a lot of these lurking around, but what is a bit more entertaining about this specific movie is that it's actually funny. Beyond all the crazy, the yelling, and the typical sibling banter is actual, shake-your-shoulders laughter. The real scene-stealer being Adam Driver and his baby-of-the-family shirking of all responsibility, laced with a quick-witted delivery of all his lines. 

The film is enjoyable at face value. And this is how it should be watched, at face value. It's a film that is what it is and doesn't try to be something it's not. There isn't too much drama, there isn't too much comedy, and their aren't too many over-the-top speeches even if some

of the drama does feel a bit contrived. Disappointingly though, Tina Fey's character is probably the most slighted in terms of back story, because she's given one, but we only get a hint of it. 

This is Where I Leave You isn't an offensive movie. It's chock-full of family issues from beginning to end, the siblings being the prime focus of the story, and that in itself is good enough to watch. It's not wholly satisfying on every level, but is moderately enjoyable. Will everyone enjoy it? Maybe not. But the star-studded cast, the humor, and occasional heartfelt moment won't make you feel like you've completely wasted your time. It's exactly the kind of movie most will want to cozy up to on the couch while eating yesterday's leftover dinner, its cast and slightly better-than-expected execution will at least keep you semi-entertained. 

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Jason Bateman and Tina Fey Sit Shiva in Trailer for 'This Is Where I Leave You'

An adaptation of Jonthan Tropper's novel This Is Where I Leave You has been one of the more heralded projects around Hollywood, drawing top flight directors and stars interested in being a part of it. At the forefront of its development was Jason Bateman, and when he and then-director Adam Shankman dropped out it looked like the film was dead. But Bateman returned, brought on Shawn Levy to replace Shankman, and rounded up a stellar cast for a film looks like just another bland family dramedy. What was all the fuss about?

The first trailer for This Is Where I Leave You features mismatched personalities, moments of family bonding and deep resentment all under one roof. The story follows a dysfunctional family reunited after the death of their patriarch, whose final wish was to have them sit Shiva for one week. Basically it means they're all stuck with one another for a few days so that any grievances are bound to be aired out.

While this looks about as formulaic as possible, having Bateman alongside Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Rose Byrne, Adam Driver, Kathryn Hahn, Corey Stoll, Connie Britton, Ben Schwartz, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Spencer and Dax Shepard goes a very long way. Still, this looks like a kinder, gentler August: Osage County. This Is Where I Leave You opens September 12th.

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Jane Fonda Finds 'Youth'; Christopher Walken Joins 'The Family Fang'; Britt Robertson Takes 'The Longest Ride'

* Jane Fonda will join Rachel Weisz, Michael Caine, Paul Dano, and Harvey Keitel in Youth, the next film from The Great Beauty director, Paolo Sorrentino. Penned by Sorrentino, the film centers on two 80-year-old friends, one a composer the other a film director, vacationing in the Alps and contemplating their careers, the lives of their children, and more. [Deadline]

* After the relative success of his directorial debut, Bad Words, Jason Bateman began putting together his follow-up, The Family Fang. Snagging Nicole Kidman for one of the lead roles in David Lindsay-Abaire's adaptation of Kevin Wilson's novel, now Bateman has landed Christopher Walken as the Fang family patriarch. The quirky story centers on grown-up siblings who were raised by parents who are performance artists. Their lives ruined by the experience, they are nonetheless roped into returning home for one final mysterious performance. [ScreenDaily]

* Britt Robertson (Delivery Man) will star alongside Scott Eastwood in the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Longest Ride. She'll play Sofia Danko, a college student who falls in love with Eastwood's bull-riding cowboy character. An intersecting storyline involves a 90-year-old man trapped in a crashed car and reflecting on the love of his life. Your girlfriend will force you to take The Longest Ride on April 3rd 2015.

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Trailer Time: 'Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding', starring Jane Fonda and Elizabeth Olsen

By far the biggest draw for the indie comedy, Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding are the women at the front of it. Jane Fonda, who has made only a handful of movies(mostly forgettable ones) over the last twenty years; the ever reliable indie stalwart, Catherine Keener; and rising star Elizabeth Olsen. In a way, it almost feels like a passing the torch sort of film, with the two veteran ladies stepping aside for the red hot Olsen. Then again, some people said much the same thing about Fonda passing the torch to Lindsay Lohan in Georgia Rule, and that didn't quite work out.

I'll be checking out Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding later tonight ahead of its release this weekend. In preparation for the roll out, a brand new trailer has been released, and judging by the look of it, this is totally Fonda's show. The story revolves around a stick in the mud lawyer(Keener), in the midst of a divorce, who takes her two kids(Elizabeth Olsen & Nat Wolff),to visit their charismatic, hippie grandmother(Fonda) still living in Woodstock on a farmhouse where the animals are as much a resident as the people.

Fonda is the real stand out here as the feisty old activist, howling at the moon and doing things the way she's done them all her life. Mainly this is a story about personal relationships and familial bonds, as she tries to impart some tie-dyed life lessons on her family about love. There will be budding romances, with Chace Crawford popping up as a meat eating love interest for Olsen's vegen character. There will also be old grudges renewed and secrets revealed in what turns out to be one adventurous summer. Bruce Beresford(Driving Miss Daisy) is behind the camera for what is his first crowd pleaser in years. Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding opens on June 8th. Check out the trailer below...

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Republicans, commence freak out! Jane Fonda to play Nancy Reagan in 'The Butler'

Oh, this is just too rich. On the scale of Hollywood liberals that Republicans hate the crap out of the most, Jane Fonda has been sitting near the top longer than almost anybody. She's been on their shit list so long, I'm betting most don't even know why she's so despised. They just hate her because it was hammered into their head at a young age. Basically, she was one of the staunchest protesters of the Vietnam War, and saw her career derailed because of the decisions she made.

So this is going to drive the stick up the right wing's butts even further, as Fonda has been chosen to play the "Conservative" queen herself, Nancy Reagan, in Lee Daniels' civil rights film, The Butler. Oh, I can hear Sean Hannity's little tic-tac brain rattling around that massive Frankenstein head already. The story is a great one, telling the true tale of Eugene Allen, a black man who worked as a servant in the White House for more than 30 years and under eight Presidents, watching the civil rights movement from a unique point of view. Forest Whitaker will play Allen, with David Oyelowo(Red Tails) as his young son. Fonda's role is said to be a small one, little more than an expanded cameo.

Daniels has run into road blocks getting other similarly themed movies off the ground, such as his Martin Luther King biopic, Selma. If the cast for this one fully rounds into shape, with Oprah Winfrey, Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, Hugh Jackman, and John Cusack circling roles as great historical figures, then there's not a studio in the country that won't finance it. Game Change scribe, Danny Strong, wrote the first draft of the script.

Now if only they could get Sean Penn to play Ronald Reagan. [Variety]

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