There are a lot of movies about goofballs, weirdos, and sad-sacks that are content to simply make fun of their characters for two hours. Those movies [ahem...Napoleon Dynamite...ahem] are the product of lazy filmmakers and, after the initial look-at-these-idiots humor wears off, most of these movies die ignominious deaths.
Jeff Who Lives at Home is not one of these movies.
Don't get me wrong, this movie isn't a surefire classic-to-be. It's not likely destined for cinematic immortality. But it is a well-crafted piece of work that hasn't received its due attention and appreciation from audiences.
Jason Segel, who may currently be the funniest actor on the planet, stars as the titular Jeff. As you might have gathered, Jeff still lives at home. He's a 30-year-old slacker who believes in things like fate, destiny, and all that mystical claptrap.
But, don't worry, he's not one of those stereotypical movie hipster-mystics whose depth and understanding of the universe goes unappreciated until the end. No, the movie makes clear in very first scene that Jeff's belief in a higher power or whatever is a function of either his idiocy or his frequent drug use, likely both. The movie opens with Jeff sitting on the toilet recounting to his tape recorder his reflections on the movie Signs and how it explains the meaning of human existence. So, yeah, he's not that deep.
Jeff's brother, Pat, is played by Ed Helms, another top contender in the ranking of the planet's funniest actors. We meet Pat in an early scene wherein he surprises his wife (played by Judy Greer) both with a delicious breakfast and the news that he's just purchased a Porsche, despite the fact that they don't yet own a home. Pat's reasoning: he got a good deal. Needless to say, his wife isn't pleased and the breakfast ends up on the hood of the Porsche.
Following what he believes is a chain of cues from the universe -- the first of which is when someone mistakenly calls his house asking for a Kevin -- Jeff heads out for the day believing that he is on some sort of existential vision quest ("What if there are no wrong numbers?") However, his mother (played by Susan Sarandan) just wants him to go to buy some glue to fix a shutter. Eventually, his travels lead him directly to Pat, who is having a "business meeting" at the local Hooters.
Through a series of seemingly random events, they stumble across Pat's wife having lunch with another man and decide that they have to follow her. Thus begins the day-long quest to solve Jeff and Pat's personal problems -- though, until the end, they're not sure that's what's happening.
Because the plot is made up of pretty thin stuff, the movie relies on its two stars to make it work. Now, those who are familiar with Jason Segel's body of film and TV work will agree that this is the kind of role that he can knock out in his sleep. And, that's pretty much what he does. He's hilariously vulnerable as always and he does it without having to stretch.
However, Ed Helms actually demonstrates far more depth and complexity than we've seen in most of his one-note comedic performances. This might be the first time he's played a character that one could actually picture existing in reality -- sorry, Andy from "The Office" doesn't fall in this category. It's quite refreshing and, though he's not likely to win awards or anything, Helms gives Pat an emotional arc that carries much of the film.
The one weak -- or at least semi-weak -- part of the movie is the subplot involving Jeff and Pat's mom. She too is going through an existential crisis and needs the universe to throw her a bone. While her whole ordeal, which centers around a workplace secret admirer, isn't terrible, it does feel a little forced.
In the end, all the characters' journeys take them to the same place. And, though the climax is a little contrived and wreaks of a poorly imagined deus ex machina, it actually works. It is a satisfying, heart-warming, and unexpectedly believable resolution to all of the competing crises.
What stands out the most in Jeff Who Lives at Home is the affection the filmmakers have for each of their characters. The film was directed by Jay and Mark Duplass who also made Cyrus a couple years back. In both these movies, they've shown a remarkable ability to make bizarre and unfamiliar characters seem universal.
Like I said earlier, most movies like this just create mishaps and punchlines at the characters' expense. With these characters, that kind of setup execution would have been so easy. But, the movie never devolves into that familiar territory.
I'd have to think more about it, but this may be the best movie of 2012 so far. But, keep in mind, it's only April.
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