Jeff, Who Lives At Home

I have my favorite actors. Who doesn’t? Lately, there are two—Tom Hardy, who impressed in the previously reviewed film, and Jason Segel, whom I consider not only a great actor but primarily a fantastic screenwriter. I’m talking about the comedy genre. In the case of Jeff, Who Lives at Home, we only get to know his acting qualities, which are definitely on point. There is one minor problem with the film. It’s certainly not a laugh-out-loud comedy, and Jeff, although in the title, isn’t entirely the main character but rather a catalyst who significantly influences the events occurring with his mother and older brother. Susan Sarandon is a guarantee of reliability, and that holds true in this case, while Ed Helms is sometimes as annoying as in The Hangover series. What can be criticized about the film is its emptiness. At times, it feels like absolutely nothing is happening, as if the writers' ship ran aground, and they didn’t know how to move it. The slow pace may align with Jeff’s life. Jeff is a slacker who doesn’t have a proper job, is constantly stoned, and tries to live according to Signs. Yes, I’m talking about that film by M. Night Shyamalan, which influenced Jeff. Throughout his life, he tries to see signs that will lead him somewhere. So, we get to the classic idea that the protagonist improves by the end and becomes better. The journey isn’t uninteresting, but as I said, it’s a bit dull. The finale feels somewhat out of place, and the very end brings a bit of disappointment. Without good actors, the film wouldn’t go anywhere. A thumbs up for Susan and Jason, but otherwise, it's nothing that will make you cry or laugh. (25.02.2013)

A laid-back and effortlessly charming story about a guy who's been searching for meaning in everything, only to eventually find it—if only all our journeys wrapped up this neatly (says the skeptic in me!). Segel and Sarandon are as great as ever, but beyond that, there’s not much more to rave about. 65%. (24.06.2012)

I’ve seen the movie Cyrus by the Duplass brothers and I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t like the way it was filmed and I especially minded the characters themselves. This movie is the complete opposite; Jason Segel is a very charismatic guy, just like Ed Helms. The style of shooting stayed the same, but in any case, I realized that Cyrus’ main issue were the actors and so I stayed with this movie till the end. But I still thought that it would be a classic American summer, a classic American independent movie. But since I liked the individual characters so much, I did like this movie a bit more. That’s why I’m giving it four stars. (22.10.2012)