This had the pedigree to be a real good old emotional family drama. Written and directed by Richard Levine one of the moving forces behind T.V’s ‘Nip/Tuck’ and starring Liev Schreiber, Oscar winner Helen Hunt, Eddie Izard, Brian Dennehy, and young Ezra Miller (T.V’s Royal Pains) ….so much talent that resulted in such a disapointing mish mash.
Ned is a writer for a raunchy TV medical series and is ridiculed on a daily basis from the excessive and ludicrous demands of his boss (played by Eddie Izard who pushes the ‘camp’ card too far this time). Unlike the rest of his single and fancy free colleagues, Ned has been married for 19 years, and thus (rightly ) perceived as ‘boring’. His elderly ailing irascible mean-spirited father-in-law is moving in with the family and places impossible demands on them all. Ned’s teenage son Jonah is gay. The kid is well-rounded and remarkably together about his life, unlike his stereotype of a father who’s reactions to his son are embarrassingly cliched that one would think this script was 20/30 years old. By now you know that with all this ‘pressure’ on Ned he’s going to crash, or run straight into the arms of a young woman.
The redeeming factor to this rather annoying and very predictable movie is Helen Hunt. She makes the best job of an inadequate script and still manages to shine … as does young Ezra Miller.
The house that they all live in together is quite claustrophobic …. and I think that is also an apt description for this movie too.
Totally missable.
★★★
Labels: 2010, coming of age, drama, family, gay character, romance
