The problem at the center of Shawn Levy's adaptation of Jonathan Tropper's novel This is Where I Leave You is a problem that seems to constantly happen with these types of dysfunctional family dramedies. You get a large ensemble where nearly every role down to the smallest parts are given to big name, incredibly talented actors and then you give most of them little or nothing to do. In the case of This is Where I Leave You, this is only worsened by the film's attempt to bandy itself between broad, almost farcical comedy and restrained, meditative drama. It goes back and forth so frequently that it's almost a shock that the actors involved can even hold on. But again, though they're given little to do, even the smallest roles are played by the formidable likes of Connie Britton, Katherine Hahn, Timothy Olyphant and Debra Monk. So, even through all the fighting and yelling, a few tiny morsels of emotional resonance manage their way out.
Riffing on a classic setup, This is Where I Leave You tells the story of the Altman family who would typically prefer ignoring each other from long distances, but who are forced together after their father passes away. After the funeral, the lot of them are informed by their mother Hilary (played by a surgically enhanced Jane Fonda) that although their father was an atheist, he was a Jewish atheist. As such, his dying wish was to have his family sit 'shiva' in his memory - or in other words, they're all confined to their childhood home for seven days. Judd (played by Jason Bateman) couldn't be more fine with this seeing as he just recently discovered that his wife (Abigail Spencer) has been cheating on him for over a year with his boss, a shock-jock named Wade (Dax Shepard). However, avoiding his soon-to-be ex-wife and former boss also means he has to deal with the various eccentricities and (often) loud crises of his sister Wendy (Tina Fey), younger brother Phillip (Adam Driver), older brother Paul (Corey Stoll), and their assorted spouses, lovers and missed opportunities (including Britton, Hahn, Olyphant and Rose Byrne).
I think most of the issues I mentioned above are the products of another thing that I also mentioned above: this movie is directed by Shawn Levy. While This is Where I Leave You might have been better suited for some middle of the road director who could have simply stood back and watched the film's amazing cast (maybe the best cast of the year) do what they do best, it was given to a man who is known not for quiet, contemplative dramas, but for loudly obnoxious, joyless meh-fests (including, but not limited to Big Fat Liar, Just Married, both Night at the Museums, The Internship and Date Night). And whether it's cracks about Hilary's new boob-job, Paul and Annie's (Stoll and Hahn) pragmatically vulgar sex talk being broadcast via baby monitor to a group of mourners visiting the home or Wendy's son dropping a deuce in his potty trainer and throwing it on his workaholic father, Shawn Levy once again proves that everything comedy he touches turns to shit. What is surprising, however, is Levy's ability to handle the film's smaller, more resonant moments. It's interesting just how much the film's quality depends on how many people are on screen at the time. Face-to-face, one-on-one scenes between siblings or between parent and child or between lover and lover feel honest and heartfelt while scenes involving large groups of people too often devolve into something that is teeth-grittingly, cringe-inducingly bad.
Ultimately, there's a lot of interesting things that could have been done in This is Where I Leave You but simply weren't. There's no real reflection here. It's beyond clear that these siblings revert to a childlike state the moment they're back in the home they grew up in - constantly rubbing each other the wrong way and referring to Hilary as "mommy" - but no one ever really stops and genuinely tries to figure out what's wrong with all of them even though there are two psychologists in the house. Seemingly the most fascinating story - the relationship between Wendy and Olyphant's Horry - is limited to a few quick, disconnected scenes that leads to a mildly emotional scene at the end, but that could have led to something that was nuanced and emotionally enthralling. Perhaps the most compelling character is also nearly swept under the rug. In a household where no one has a lick of self-awareness, the most admirable person ends up being Britton's Tracy. Yes, she is dating a far younger, emotionally unstable former patient in Phillip, but she holds no illusions that she's doing anything but that. She realizes what type of person Phillip is and has no false hope that this might be a long-term thing the two are sharing. Sure, she is rich and that makes things a little easier, but her refusal to become consumed by the black morass that is the Altman family's copious problems is not only commendable, it puts a spotlight on just how ridiculous and annoying these people can be.
This is Where I Leave You ends up sadly being nothing more than a waste. Is the cast great? They're wonderful. But I neither need nor want to see Tina Fey playing someone who is guilt-ridden, constantly on the verge of tears and won't ever shut up. Those aren't her strengths. I also don't need or want to see Jane Fonda playing a character who the writer (which is Jonathan Tropp adapting his own work so there's no excuse) seems to think giving a big personality and a big brain will make her even bigger boobs that much more funny when Judd looks at them in disgust. Maybe it isn't extra seriousness that the film needs like I first suspected. Maybe it just needs to make some more damn sense. Maybe there just needs to be some more stuff that feels believable. Why does no one seem to really care that Judd is getting a divorce? On that note, why does no one really press Phillip on the fact that he brings home an older, psychologist lover to his older, psychologist mother? The things that happen don't hold any real tension or drama past the initial shock of the reveal. And why on Earth when a family is as rich as the Altmans do they not find Judd another place to sleep? Can he not sleep over at Hilary's friend and Horry's mother's house? Why can't he just, you know, sleep on one of the many couches in their gigantic house? These people are genuinely messed up and no one, including the movie itself, seems to really care.
One of my favorite things in bad movies is when someone says the title. While no one actually says the line, "This is where I leave you," the closest we get is Britton's Tracy who realizes near the end of the movie that she's better off without Phillip and better off without his crazy family. When she does, it's hard to blame her. It's also hard not to follow right behind her.
5 out of 10
