‘This is Where I Leave You’ Review

By Nestor Bentancor.

We have seen many family dramas, romantic comedies and self-improvement stories. A few movies have being successful at mixing two of these genres, but “This is Where I Leave You” seamlessly combines all three to create a fast paced, funny, irreverent and even inspirational film. The story follows four thirty and forty-something siblings that reluctantly agree to spend a week at their childhood home with their mother to fulfill their dead father’s last wish.

All of the characters have their time on the spotlight, but Judd (Jason Bateman) is the main protagonist. His journey is about total transformation (career and relationship-wise) at an age where you are supposed to have your life “figured out.” Beside “change vs. routine,” other topics are explored in an honest and colorful way, including parenthood, forgiveness, second chances, and of course true love.

For someone that hasn’t watched the TV show “Girls” nor any of his previous movies, this was a great opportunity to understand why Hollywood has fallen in love with Adam Driver, already chosen to have a big role in “Star Wars: Episode VII.” He is magnetic onscreen as the immature younger sibling, Phillip. The rising star steals many of his scenes, even when he shares them with heavyweights like Tina Fey.

Director Shawn Levy (“Real Steel”) does a great job portraying emotional and delicate moments in a subtle and amusing way. He and the amazing cast is able to create a feel-good movie that leaves you with the urge of calling a family member to say “Hi.”

“When their father passes away, four grown siblings, bruised and banged up by their respective adult lives, are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. Confronting their history and the frayed states of their relationships among the people who know and love them best, they ultimately reconnect in hysterical and emotionally affecting ways amid the chaos, humor, heartache and redemption that only families can provide—driving us insane even as they remind us of our truest, and often best, selves.”