Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Starring;

Jason Segel

Ed Helms

Susan Sarandon

Judy Geer

Rae Dawn Chong

Directors;

Jay Duplass

Mark Duplass

In three words; Sweet – Beautiful - Disappointing

Plot;

Jeff (Segel) has a chore to complete for his mother however his day take strange turns as he follows so called signs. He bumps into his older brother and becomes involved in assisting him in attempting to save his marriage.

Review;

With a short running time of 82 minutes I was a little apprehensive about this film and if it wasn’t for the fact that Segel, Helms and Sarandon were in it I most likely wouldn’t have bothered. Jeff (Segel) is portrayed as a loser; he is in his thirties and still lives with his mother Sharon (Sarandon). He hasn’t had a girlfriend since high school and seems to spend most of his time getting stoned.

Jeff receives a call for someone called Kevin, no one of this name lives at his address. This to everyone else would be dismissed as a wrong number, but not to Jeff. A strong believer in destiny this is a sign to him, a driving force and an obsession. Set over the course of a day we see the difficulties in Jeff’s family without being privy to much of their back story.

Jeff is sent on an errand by his mother, much to his annoyance. However, as he is on the bus to the store he sees another sign which takes him to a basketball court on the rougher side of town. This part was perhaps an error of judgement by the Directors as this plays to stereotype and could perhaps be considered racist if I’m being really hard on them.

However, this is a blip in an otherwise sweet story. Jeff bumps into his brother Pat who has been called by Sharon to sort out the task she asked Jeff to complete. Clearly Sharon is far too use to Jeff disappointing her. Pat has his own problems which boil down to his collapsing marriage to Linda (Greer) and his midlife crisis in the form of a Porsche. Jeff and Pat come across Linda who appears to be having dinner with another man. They then both set out to find out what is going on.

Meanwhile Sharon is having an unusual day as a secret admirer at work keeps her guessing about their identity. Jeff continues looking for more signs which appear to be taking him on a rather unorthodox journey.

This is a well shot film however why the Duplass brothers use this ridiculous short zoom technique is beyond be and does not compliment the visual feel or the subject matter. I stated off being concerned about the running time, surely a feature should be running for at least 90 minutes. However, at the end of the flick I didn’t feel that the film was in anyway rush. By biggest problem was the lack of dialogue. This could have been a silent movie as at time then were prolonged moments with music and metaphors.

Segel is well on form as the loveable Jeff and brings a beautiful quality to the character which is performed effortlessly. He has great chemistry with Helms who would seem to be an unusual choice in this role as he is playing against type. However, he executes his part very well and shows a different side of his acting ability. Of course Sarandon is strong in her supporting role as is Greer who concludes a well assembled cast.

The film would have benefitted from a stronger script and fleshed out characters. The screenplay appears more of an early draft rather than a final and this ultimately let’s the film down. However, I certainly enjoyed the film and will happily revisit it.

Verdict;

3 out of 5.