WAITING FOR A SIGN: a review of "Jeff, Who Lives At Home"

 

"JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME"

Written and Directed by Jay and Mark Duplass

*** 1/2 (three and a half stars)

Now, this was truly a charmer!

Two years ago, the fraternal writing/directing team of Jay and Mark Duplass surprised me tremendously with their most affectionate and deeply perceptive family comedy "Cyrus," which starred John C. Reilly as a lonely, middle aged man trying to court single Mother Marisa Tomei much to the chagrin of her titular adult son, played by Jonah Hill. It was the type of independent film that really could have gone off of the rails into that loathsome self-indulgent, self-congratulatory well spring of quirkiness that always keeps me at arms length. ut beautifully, the Duplass brothers kept everything under control and allowed these characters, and thier unique situation, to play as realistically as possible, allowing all of them to function as the very types of real human beings you and I may encounter in our real lives. "Cyrus" was a lovely, little film filled with honest laughs, true heartbreak and a precise understanding of human nature. It was exactly the very type of movie Hollywood doesn't seem to be that interested in making anymore. 

I just think that for anyone who just enjoys good movies, the presence of the Duplass brothers is a most welcome one. I would even argue that their presence is a necessity! Happily, you may all take part in their cinematic universe with their latest film "Jeff, Who Lives At Home," another family tale that is front loaded with sharp humor and eventually builds to a conclusion that was so surprisingly moving and is as breezy as a spring day throughout. Now available on DVD and Blu-Ray, I urge you to give this film your time and effort as I think you will be as plesantly entertained as I was.  

"Jeff, Who Lives At Home," is indeed one of those films where the less I say about it will simply add to your full enjoyment of it. Jason Segel stars as Jeff, a 30-year-old man who holds a sincere, earnest belief in the symbiotic nature of all things. While we may gather that this belief is one that he has held throughout his entire life, it is a belief that has grown unshakably after repeated viewing of M. Night Shyamalan's science fiction/spiritual thriller "Signs" (2002). Unfortunately, this very same belief system that landed Jeff into a rut of arrested development as he is unemployed, perpetually stoned and currently lives in the basement of his widowed Mother, Sharon (Susan Sarandon), endlessly waiting for the stars to align, informing him of his life's purpose. 

On this fateful day, as chronicled in the film, Jeff receives two very important telephone calls. One is from Sharon, instructing him to head to Home Depot to purchase a bottle of wood glue to fix the broken shutter blind. The second is an angry call, from an unknown voice, belligerently asking for the whereabouts of "Kevin." Heeding his Mother's wishes and sensing that the call for Kevin is not just a random wrong number, Jeff ventures out of the basement and away from the house for a day long, life altering adventure that involves, in addition to discovering the hidden connective signs behind the name "Kevin," an outdoor basketball game, a vending machine truck, a secret admirer, a fire drill, an upscale yuppie restaurant, a troubled marriage, a spanking new Porsche, a clandestine hotel location, a traffic jam, and even a reunion with his petulant brother Pat (Ed Helms) among other disparate elements. Or are they disparate elements at all?     

"Jeff, Who Lives At Home" is a breezy, whimsical escapade that is always supremely empathetic, warm hearted, often hilarious and still somehow packs a very well executed and resonating emotional punch that provides an honest sense of uplift. I was very impressed with how all of the story's various threads ultimately  fit together. Yes, the film does meander from time to time, but over its scant 82 minute duration, everything feels so natural, so unforced and not the least bit contrived. And kind of like M. Night Shyamalan at his best, the Duplass brothers have created a work where you don't feel the wheels of the screenplay grinding tiredly and simply in order to ensure that all of the storylines fit together. Their work on "Jeff, Who Lives At Home" is confidently seamless.

As I think about the film now, it dawned on me just how similar of a film it is to Director Jesse Peretz's "Our Idiot Brother" from last year, at least in terms of its main conceit. Essentially both films deal with the family's black sheep who proves himself to be not such a loser after all. But, "Our Idiot Brother" never even tried to extend itself beyond its own title, there fore wasting the talents and efforts of its extremely gifted and likable cast and ultimately, my time and patience. Where the Duplass brothers have succeeded wonderfully is that they have realized that creating fully developed characters is the crucial key in order for "Jeff, Who Lives At Home" to work at all. All of the characters' motivations are clear, understandable and so refreshingly real and humane that no matter how outrageous the circumstances become, the film always remains grounded within a tangible reality. There is no self-conscious, self-congratulatory quirkiness on display at all as the Duplass brothers strongly illustrate their perceptiveness with how family relationships work, grow, change and stagnate. Additionally, we are able see how sad all of the characters are as they are confronted with the ruts that their respective lives have unfortunately fallen into. This amount of detail and empathy elevated this film into being so much more than it could have been and I greatly appreciated the effort to reach a bit further and not simply be content with just being funny. With "Jeff, Who Lives At Home," while we laugh, we can feel very confident that everything feels emotionally true to life. 

The quality of all of the film's performances is particularly high and adds greatly to the experience as a whole. Jason Segel's tall and doughy frame combined with his gentle yet melancholic self-awareness and deeply felt cosmic perceptions serve him tremendously well with the character of Jeff, whom you are rooting for from the beginning. He often made me think that Jeff could be an updated, adult version of his Nick Andopolis character, the sensitive, perpetually stoned drummer from Paul Feig and Judd Apatow's beautiful cult classic series "Freaks and Geeks." On one hand, Segel never allows this character to fall into caricature or parody, always mining every scene for heart and humanity. On the other, he also never allows Jeff to become unrealistically saintly either. Jeff is just an average, everyday, not-quite-so-young-anymore man who simply wants to find a sense of meaning and purpose in his life, has grown despondent that he has not found it yet and somehow keeps pushing ahead with a sense of hopefulness. Segel's tenderness, cleverness and intelligence ensures that Jeff never, ever becomes the butt of the joke or is ever placed upon a pedestal. It's a fine line and Jason Segel walks that line with true comedic skill.  

As Jeff's brother Pat, Ed Helms delivers his most realized performance to date and further pushes himself forwards from the purgatory of "The Hangover" movies. He strikes all of the right comedic and dramatic notes as a frustrated man who is absolutely confused and confounded by the nature of women, most specifically, his long suffering wife Linda, portrayed by the always terrific Judy Greer, who has long deserved a starring role of her own. And then, there was the joy I felt seeing the long missing-in-action Rae Dawn Chong as Susan Sarandon's office chum, who injected the film with her unique brand of sassiness combined with an infectious charm and sense of longing that added to our hopes that a collective happiness will be bestowed upon all of the film's characters.

And yes...I have to admit that while I am not complaining in the least, I do have to chuckle a bit with the Duplass brothers' penchant for casting vibrant, sexy actresses who are either slightly over 40 (Marisa Tomei) or considerably over 40 (Sarandon) as examples of the lonely and lovelorn possibly discovering love once again. Whether this is fulfilling a certain fantasy the Duplass brothers may be harboring, I'll never know but I'm telling you, if they cast...say...Sela Ward in their next film as some sort of wallflower, then we'll all know the truth! All kidding aside, Susan Sarandon's performance is indeed one of the film's greatest charms. From our public perceptions of her, I would gather that we would perceive Sarandon to be the type of woman who has truly seen it all. Yet, in her role as Sharon, it was just beguiling to regard her in states of sheer bashfulness, romantic insecurity as well as a sense of newfound wonderment. She is absolute proof that regardless of the size of the role, the magic is how much an actor/actress brings to said role. In "Jeff, Who Lives At Home," Susan Sarandon shows us once again that she is one of our finest treasures.

In many ways, "Jeff, Who Lives At Home," this seemingly unassuming film is exactly the kind of treasure that makes movie going an endless joy for you never fully know where and when such treasures will be found. As your friendly neighborhood film enthusiast, it gives me immense pleasure to recommend something off of the beaten path to you. So, please, in between all of the blockbusters and summer film extravaganzas, give "Jeff, Who Lives At Home" your time as I truly believe that all of the cinematic signs point to you being happily surprised.