Director: Jay Duplass & Mark Duplass
Talent: Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon
Release Date: May 11th 2012
The Duplass brothers who brought us the heartwarming Cyrus are back, once again reigniting their passion for dysfunctional family stories, only this time with a strong leniency towards fate.
Jeff Who Lives At Home is a story about (yes you guessed right) Jeff (Segel), a mature man who still lives with his mother (Sarandon). Segel believes whole-heartedly in the cosmic power of the universe and investigates every mundane daily occurrence for its potential candidacy as a sign from above. His brother Pat (Helms) represents the more traditional blue collar man, (a struggling husband and Paint Shop clerk) who is caught up in his own personal quest for self-fulfillment, or as Pat perceives it, a Porsche.
Jason Segel is magnificent as lost soul Jeff, bringing all his considerable expertise to bear, in particular his comic timing, but perhaps most impressively his commanding yet deft touch during the more serious dramatic moments of the film. Ed Helms is equally as impressive, straying from his usual comfort zone of innocent tag along, to play a far more flawed and selfish character than we are used to seeing.
Susan Sarandon, living out her later life as a supporting actress it would appear, is her usual outstanding self despite her limited screen time. She is an actress with a gift for commanding presence and without her the secondary thread to this film simply would have floundered.
Jeff represents the directors’ most enjoyable heartwarming film yet, an impressive feat when you consider their résumé already includes The Puffy Chair & Cyrus. The future looks bright for the Duplass brothers.
Words: Joseph Orr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34kCWAsddtA
