In Ash Chastain’s new comedy drama he has somewhat overloaded the neurotic Petunia family in New York with such a whole textbook of quirks, hangups and affectations that adding all the different story strands together makes for a rather dysfunctional movie. I should quickly add that its not without its charm and has a few funny episodes when it stops trying so hard to be edgy.Mother and father Petunia are two psychiatrists who spend the time being spiteful to each other and sleeping in separate beds. They believe … well Mother does … that lives should be led exactly by her text books, the ones that say that expressing love is A weakness. That’s not sunk in with their eldest son lovelorn loser Michael as he is about to marry Vivian his cynical pregnant girlfriend who obviously doesn’t love him at all.
The youngest son Adrian is a self confessed sex-addict who spends his spare time either fornicating or painting countless pictures of vaginas. He also has ‘love tourettes’ which makes him blurt out ‘I love you’ just before climaxing. Adrian also been sleeping with Vivian and maybe the father of the child.
Middle son Charlie is a timid gay man who has resolved to be celibate until he meets George who lives in his building. After they sleep together and fall in love (!) Charlie discovers that George has a wife who vehemently expresses her support for her gay husband’s polyamorous ways, but in reality is bitterly jealous.
So we start with not one single member of the family in the least bit happy … and meddling mother (who is played rather fabulously by Christine Lahti and has all the best lines) tries to manipulate all of their situations. and fails miserably. Except she does manage to get her husband to make love to her for the first time in 6 years …. albeit reluctantly.
Most everyone changes directions by the end so that they can wrap the story up neatly and live happily ever after.
Kudos to Chastain for taking a few well aimed swings at the pretentiousness at some aspects of contemporary life in Manhattan ….. and to the actors for some very good performances, particularly Michael Urie as selfish George, and Thora Birch as the reluctant wife.
If you love annoying neurotics, you’ll like this one ……….
