People Like Us

Starring: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Hall D'Addario, Philip Baker Hall, Jon Favreau
Directed by: Alex Kurtzman
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After his father's death, a salesman (Chris Pine) discovers he has a sister (Elizabeth Banks) from a different mother, and his father wanted him to give her $150,000.

Review:

Tim: I did not expect to like People Like Us as much as I did. It came across as your typical weepy dramatic movie. However, this is a film that has some real heart and established interesting, complex characters that the audience can identify with and root for. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and consider it one of the better films of 2012. While not necessarily Oscar-caliber, this is a solid, entertaining, thought-provoking movie, and I liked it quite a bit.

The story is pretty interesting. The death of a music producer creates a good deal of drama- his wife and son clash over his memory and whether or not he was a very good father. The son and his girlfriend clash over his selfishness and his unwillingness to deal with what happened. We also have the son discover his father had a daughter with another woman, and she now has a son of her own, both of whom are struggling. There's all these interesting dramatic relationships, all these connections. However, this movie felt intimate- like this family was our family. Writer/Director Alex Kurtzman makes certain we understand and know these characters and identify with them. Their story is dramatic, but it came across as believable. I was definitely engaged with the storyline.

While the script sets this movie up for success, the cast really brings it home. I've always liked Chris Pine, but he can be a bit hit-or-miss with his performances. He hits a home run here. It's one of the best performances I've seen out of him. Pine is a bit rough in the beginning of the film, but he's always someone we like. We immediately root for him and hope for his redemption. He gives a warm, funny performance. I really enjoyed him here. Elizabeth Banks is fantastic. I still think she's an underrated actress. She was so sharp and so funny- delivering lines with perfect comedic timing (the "I'm going to sweep the leg" comment had me laughing out loud- partially for the writing, partially for her perfect delivery of it). Banks was funny and intelligent, but wears her failures on her sleeve. She gives an emotionally jagged performance, and she easily makes her character the most fascinating and memorable of the film. She was fantastic, and worked very well with the rest of the cast, especially Pine.

I really liked Michelle Pfeiffer here. Pfeiffer has always been a tremendous actress, but she never really got the breaks she deserved. I've been excited to see a bit of a career resurgence the last few years for her. She's quite good here, but wisely shows restraint in her performance. She never overshadows the other cast members, but gives a frank, realistic performance. Her emotions come bubbling to the surface a few times, and it always leaves an impression. Olivia Wilde was fine. I liked that she was playing an unglamorous role here. She doesn't have as much to do as other cast members, but she did a good job. Finally, I have to mention Michael Hall D'Addario. When I first saw him, I did not expect to like him. However, his performance completely won me over. He was smart, rebellious, and believable as an intelligent yet struggling eleven-year-old. He worked exceptionally well with Banks and Pine, and his casting really helped the film. It's rare for an actor to completely change the first perspective about him, but D'Addario pulls it off easily here. The cast as a whole is quite remarkable.

People Like Us is a very solid movie. I'm very, very impressed with what Alex Kurtzman did with his directorial debut. I am very excited to see what he does with the rest of his directing career- if he can put out films with this much warmth and emotion, he'll be a tremendous asset to Hollywood (as a note, his writing is sometimes terrific, sometimes terrible- I hope this experience helps him in that area, too). While I really liked this movie, I do see that it comes from a first-time director. The film is a bit long at 114 minutes and it drags a bit in the middle. While there's definitely a good deal of emotion, more could have been pulled out of this story and this cast. The ending of the film is touching and memorable, but it could have been devastatingly beautiful. Kurtzman does a very good job- he turned a regular drama into a fascinating, intimate character study while also entertaining. This is a very good movie, but Kurtzman is still early as a director. This movie could have been great, but I'll always take a solid, enjoyable film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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