In the immortal words of Jason Bateman's Arrested Development co-star Will Arnett "Come on!" Take a look at the cast above; check out the class on offer - so how does This Is Where I Leave You end up a disappointment?
Well, for a start it doesn't truly know whether it wants to be a drama or a comedy (better as the former), and then it doesn't give its stars enough to work with either way. There are a couple of small gems in the dust, but for a film all about life's biggest moments - bereavement, parenthood, divorce - This Is Where I Leave you feels strangely flat and uninvolving - family dysfunction that is unable to offer enough for ribs or heartstrings.
Marriage busted and high-paying job gone, Judd Altman (Bateman) is roused from his couch-sleeping, junk food-eating existence by the news that his ailing father has passed away. As the family gather, author mom Hillary (Fonda) reveals that her husband's last wish was that his wife and children should spend a whole week together after the funeral.
Judd and the other 'kids' - wastrel brother Phillip (Driver), sensible older one Paul (Stoll) and snarky sister Wendy (Fey) - are more upset by this prospect than the bereavement and have brought plenty of baggage, along with their other halves. Over seven days they reflect on choices made and opportunities missed, always coming across as sadder about their own lives than the loss of one of the biggest influences in them. Granted, in real life we all know people who are defined by their stoicism - but this?!
Bateman's turn here as the average bloke who's always played it safe and who married someone who looked a bit like his ex (Byrne) is the best thing about This Is Where I Leave You, and you can see that with the right dramatic script he could really excel. Here he's hampered by underdeveloped sibling characters, an insert-awkward-moment-here approach and a screen mother who descends into sexually outspoken, personal history-mining, breast enhancement-championing cliché - you get Jane Fonda in your film and yet give her so little to do?
The make-ups, break-ups and revelations are watchable in an airplane movie kind of way, but the big surprise at the end shows how much the rest of the story is lacking. As for comedy, a child uses a potty (often), someone slips in an ice rink and a woman punches a man. It's that kind of trip for the most part. Seek solace in a marathon of Arrested Development, Rain Man, and Beautiful Girls instead.
Harry Guerin
