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SALT LAKE CITY — This sure isn't the movie I was expecting. Looking at Jason Segel's track record, ranging from "I Love You Man" to "The Muppets," I assumed "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" would serve up much lighter fare.
Now don't get me wrong. This isn't "Death of a Salesman." The film certainly has light-hearted, even slapstick moments, but the storyline runs deeper, even a little … circumspect.
Segel's character is Jeff, a lost soul who is living in his mom's basement, dealing with disappointments and challenges by staying high and looking for signs that will provide direction and meaning to his life.
While on his way to finally fulfill a chore for his long-suffering widowed mother, Jeff starts running into his family members in the most unlikely places and decides these are indeed signs that will lead him to something meaningful.
His odyssey includes an awkward partnering with his estranged brother, Pat, who suspects his wife is being unfaithful. Ed Helms stars as Pat with Judy Greer portraying his wife, Linda. Pat is a self-absorbed, shallow individual who ignores the needs of those around him. But the shock that his wife might be turning to another drives him crazy. He starts to stalk her and it's Jeff, his slacker brother, who unwittingly brings a little balance and bizarre productivity to the temporary insanity.
I was caught off guard by (the movie's) texture, its delivery and the story itself.
And then there's the boys' mom, who is dealing with a little adventure of her own. Susan Sarandon steps into the role of the widowed Sharon, who plugs away at her less-than-stimulating office job and, of course, obsesses over the successes and failings of her two sons. Her life is jarred when an inter-office email announces that she has a "secret admirer." Who is it? What follows is, well let's just say it's unexpected.
Ultimately the individual storylines lead to a critical mass that has each involved in a moment of crisis that causes them, and us, to wonder if Jeff indeed was following signs leading to destined moments.
I'm still digesting this film. I was caught off guard by its texture, its delivery and the story itself. At times I felt force fed. Moments later I would just let go and roll with it.
Sarandon is always fabulous and she certainly doesn't disappoint here. Helms is a bit melodramatic and even frenetic, but strangely it works. My two favorite characters are Judy Greer and Jason Segel. Greer is so sadly fragile, vulnerable and so neglected you can't help but want to give her a hug. And Segel could be mistaken for Jeff Lebowski's (The Dude's) little, non-bowling brother. There's a gentleness to his slacker persona that is irresistible.
"Jeff, Who Lives at Home," is rated R and I'm giving it 2 ½ stars.
