Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Starring: Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon, Judy Greer, Rae Dawn Chong
Directed by: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A slacker (Jason Segel) steps out to search for his destiny, which causes him to clash with his mother (Susan Sarandon) and connect with his brother (Ed Helms), who is having family problems of his own.

Review:

Tim: I found myself enjoying Jeff, Who Lives at Home. It's a sweet little independent film that works hard to be different and memorable. It definitely feels low budget (although the budget is much higher than I expected) and it's the type of film you would expect to find made outside of the Hollywood studio system. While it wasn't overly powerful, it's still a good movie.

The film really benefits from the cast. I love Jason Segel, and it was fun seeing him in this role. He had a few terrific moments, but is mostly reserved and quiet throughout the majority of the film. He's such an unconventional actor, so it always makes me happy to see him getting meaningful work. As the titular Jeff, he was a strong acting choice, and he delivers a very good performance here. I also like Ed Helms, and I was excited to see him paired with Segel. Helms does a good job, but his character is so incredibly unlikable for most of the movie. The performance was similar to those he's played before, but the character had just a bit more edge than we've seen from him. While the role was definitely in his wheelhouse, Helms also turns in a strong performance. Many of my favorite scenes of the film involve Segel and Helms interacting.

The movie was also lucky enough to get Susan Sarandon as the mother. Now, in most films, this would be a throwaway part. However, I was struck and surprised by how meaningful and powerful this role turned out to be. While she's connected to the other characters, Sarandon's story is touching and emotional enough to stand on its own. I really suspected early on that I would come to dread the scenes with Sarandon, because they seemed so different to the main storyline. The exact opposite was true- I looked forward to them, because the story was so compelling. It was fun seeing Judy Greer as well. While she doesn't have a great character, it's always enjoyable to see her on screen.

The story is pretty interesting. I liked Segel's opening monologue about the movie Signs. It's such a weird, unexpected opener, but it perfectly sets the tone for the entire film. It keys you in to what to expect to follow. This is obviously a movie about fate, and it's fun to see Segel running after the "signs" the universe is giving him. These lead him to unexpected places and unforseen meetings, which is generally fun to watch. What's interesting is that the film really does culminate in a pretty exciting, surprising conclusion. I really liked how everything tied together. Now, that's not to say I found all the events particularly believable, but it was a fun, cool payoff for sticking through the film.

I do have a few criticisms. I never really loved any of the characters in the film. I liked the actors, but I never felt any real emotional connection to anyone. I enjoyed the film, but it really missed out on making a true emotional impact on me. With these small, independent movies, you expect great characters. I thought the characters here were good, but nothing special. The end was impressive, but a bit hard to believe. The movie wasn't really boring, but it lacked something that made it really compelling.

While not great, Jeff, Who Lives at Home was certainly a good movie, and one that is worth seeing. I like seeing these smaller movies that most viewers look past, especially one with a cast this good. I wish I liked the movie more, but this was a solid, entertaining film. It's a good one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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