THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU

I saw THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU. I know some of you are saying, "fool that came out weeks ago!" I say, "SUE ME!" Besides, I saw it weeks ago and just didn't write it up so who's the fool now? Is it me still? I thought so. Anyway lets get to the good stuff. This is Where I leave You is a film about a middle aged man's struggle to find peace of mind as he and his grown siblings gather in their old family home to mourn the death of their father.

 On the surface, this movie looks like one of those ensemble cast movies that puts grown-ups in a house with their parents and they all eventually end up acting like children and there's a lot of "eh, I love you bro/sis" as brothers drink a beer in the tree house they grew up in while they wear the suits they went to the funeral in and tearful, heartfelt, melodramatic confessions going on willy-nilly and if handled improperly it's just a boring piece of popular tripe but fortunately, this movie is done really well. Rest assured, all that is in there but there is so much other stuff that this movie has going for it that push this movie over the hump and make it fun and interesting. The cast is fantastic which includes Jason Bateman, Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll and Timothy Olyphant amongst many and they all come to play and add in their own flavor to the stew of characters here which is quite enjoyable. The drama is well balanced with equal amounts of comedy which keeps you from checking your watch and the situations each of the characters are in are interesting and complex in a real life kind of way. In fact this movie probably could have easily been called, "It's Complicated" had the name not already been taken and had it not already been based on a book.

Overall, enjoyed this movie and while the ending may be a little crowded with all the subplots going on, I think that audiences will enjoy it, especially if you have other grown siblings. This is where I leave you gets a 3.5...out of 5.