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Here's a look at the new movie I saw this week.

This Is Where I Leave You
Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, Adam Driver, Jane Fonda, Timothy Olyphant, and Rose Byrne
Synopsis: Families are tricky. Your family members are often the people that know you the best, but they can also be the people that push your buttons the most. That’s what makes it hard to go home again as an adult. Those are the swirling issues undergirding “This Is Where I Leave You,” a family dramedy based on Jonathan Tropper’s novel. The film — directed by Shawn Levy (“Night At The Museum,” “Date Night”) — is a mixture of comedy and drama. It’s about adult siblings returning home, renewing old rivalries and examining their lives in the wake of their father’s death. It has an all-star cast, a quirky set of characters and plenty of story to latch onto. These type of introspective family sagas are common in our cinematic landscape. Last Christmas a similar set up was used for “August Osage County,” which garnered several award nominations. The difference here is the use of comedy — and actors with great comedic timing — to give this sometimes-difficult story a sweet, and sweetly funny tinge. Levy has a great feel for comic timing. Many of his films have been comedies, taking all sorts of forms. “This Is Where I Leave You” acts like a comedy, and it has plenty of lighter moments, but it also has a lot of heart. And thanks to a talented cast, the film is able to coalesce all those elements into something fascinating and enjoyable. Bateman does a good job as the focal character. He’s the lens through which we enter the world, and he carries a lot of the more difficult scenes. But this is a strong ensemble piece. Fey, Driver, Fonda, Stoll, Britton, Spencer and Hahn all have important parts to play in bringing out both the drama and the comedy. This feels like a real family. The characters have good rapport, and that helps to bring the story together. Tropper adapted the screenplay from his novel, and clearly has a feel for the characters and the story he wants to tell. This isn’t a big, loud story. There aren’t any huge events, and the characters don’t arrive at any giant life decisions in the course of the seven days. It’s more beautiful and subtle than that — like a slice of real life. Fall is a time when Hollywood offers meaty stories and films of substance, and “This Is Where I Leave You” fits that bill. It’s a beautifully told story of a family who is struggling with life, which is something we can all relate to.
Rating: R for language, sexual content and some drug use. Enter with caution.
Verdict: Three stars out of four.

Upcoming Releases:

Friday, September 26 — "The Equalizer," "The Boxtrolls," "Skeleton Twins"