Small Plot With Big Theme

Jeff Who Lives At Home is very funny, that is if you like that sort of self-deprecating humour. The movie appears at the beginning to be one about a family of losers - a single boomer mother who hasn't found love in a long time; the oldest son who has a failing marriage and a boring job; and the younger son who keeps daydreaming and still lives at home with no job.

But the film is really about destiny - Jeff's (played by Jason Segel) theory is that everything and everybody in this universe is somehow interconnected. So if you're guided by your destiny, you'll be doing fine. Somehow this kind of topic is hot nowadays - the movie reminds me of Kiefer Sutherland's new TV drama Touch which is also aboout destiny.

I don't particularly like Jason Segel, but he seems to be omnipresent in movies lately. Plus he's dating Hollywood 'it' girl Michelle Williams. He plays the role well in this flick and is the soul of the entire movie. Ed Helms from The Office plays his older brother who seems to be confined within a pigeon-holed character all the time. Susan Sarandon, who plays the mother, is great in every performance and even though she needs to improvise for the first time in her entire career in this movie, she does a fabulous job. And she's well preserved at 65! Judith Greer is also one of those actors who needs to branch out into a broader role instead of constantly playing an insecure adulteress or wife (The Descendants).

I've never seen a Duplass brothers movie before but I quite like this one. They are big on improvisations and always go with small independent productions. Jeff Who Lives At Home is a small, simple plot with a big macro theme. But for those of you who do not go to cinemas that often, this one can probably wait till it appears on DVD.