“This is Where I Leave You” should have brought audiences to comedy heaven, but instead, this family comedy, centered upon a funeral, leaves viewers about as lively as the late Altman patriarch.
Sadly, the film could have worked.
All the ingredients are there – a screenplay adapted from a best-selling novel of the same name, an ensemble cast and a director with a history of family and domestic comedies – but the ingredients alone aren’t enough. There has to be a guiding hand to bring the product to fruition.
The blame for the film’s failure could be on director Shawn Levy. The man who brought you films like “The Internship,” “The Pink Panther,” “Night at the Museum” and “Date Night” doesn’t exactly have a solid track record. (Can you guess which of these movies were terrible?)
Even so, he’s no stranger to family comedies as shown in 2003’s critically-panned but audience darling “Cheaper by the Dozen.” Yet, somehow, his proven ability at showcasing complicated family relationships doesn’t come into play here.
I wanted to love “This is Where I Leave You” and the Altman family, whose family members include matriarch Hillary (Jane Fonda), eldest son Paul (Corey Stoll), sister Wendy (Tina Fey), middle son Judd (Jason Bateman) and youngest son Phillip (Adam Driver). Toss in significant others and love interests and the cast grows to include Connie Britton, Rose Byrne, Dax Shephard and Timothy Olyphant. These are seasoned actors in comedy and drama, film and television, but their abilities are enormously underused and squandered on silliness and poorly written characters.
Jane Fonda is demoted to boob jokes and hot grandma status, and Connie Britton and Corey Stoll are given little screen time and even less characterization.
But most surprising was a lacking performance by Tina Fey, who delivered her lines like her mouth was wired shut despite being given some of the best material in the film.
Not all the characters were a loss, though.
Always charming but morose, Jason Bateman and his portrayal of Judd Altman, the main character of the story, manages to prevent the film from bursting at the seams.
His reactions and responses to those around him adds a much-needed realistic quality and helps thread the sporadic plot elements together. Also, Rose Byrne and up-and-comer Adam Driver, playing Penny and Phillip respectively, shine in quirky roles and inspire some of the few laughs.
The main issue with the film is not the acting, though. The issue lies in the Altman family itself and those around them. The story attempts to highlight the dysfunction of a Jewish family grieving the loss of their patriarch, but it only succeeds in creating a family so flawed and melodramatic that at a certain point I cease relating and begin thanking my lucky stars that I’m not an Altman.
In its reach, the film conjures up story lines that fail to propel the plot and includes too many ancillary characters. The number of characters should not matter, though, had the direction been equipped to handle them. Even at a speedy running time of 103 minutes, there was plenty of time to properly tell the story of the Altmans and those around them.
Instead, the film needlessly concentrated on shock value and toilet humor, making the Altmans caricatures of themselves and, by extension, caricatures of modern families everywhere. Had the film attempted to showcase the talent more, “This is Where I Leave You” could have been the comedy hit of the fall.
While “This is Where I Leave You” does have funny and endearing moments, the film ultimately weaves a tale that turns familial complexity into lampoonery and lacks any real heart or laughs.
Levy’s “This is Where I Leave You” only succeeds in leaving you $9 poorer.
