Jeff, Who Lives at Home

The Duplass brothers Jay and Mark proved in their last indie movies The Puffy Chair and Cyrus that they are masters at telling stories about real quirky characters that portray that awkward human condition called life. In this story which they wrote and co-directed Jeff played by mole covered Jason Segel is unemployed and living in his mother's basement. He is given an ultimatum by said mom to get off the couch, take a bus to the hardware store and fix the broken shutter in the kitchen.

Jeff has this thing for the M.Night Shyamalan movie Signs where there must be an order to the chaos. He gets a wrong number phone call where the caller berates him because Kevin is not there and he should remember Kevin. Jeff takes this as a sign which is reinforced when he meets random Kevins. The story covers a single day while he contemplates trying to find the universal message which takes him to see his brother Pat (Ed Helms) who had a very serious fight with his wife Linda (Judy Greer) when he bought a Porsche they can't afford. Pat discovers his wife is out having lunch with a strange man and the brothers decide to try and determine if she his having an affair.

Jeff doesn't have any particular ambition or motivation to move out of the basement, much less find a job. He doesn't understand his brother's statements about being proud to be independent when he's stuck at a job that he hates, saddled with bills and in a passive/aggressive relationship with his wife. Their mother Sharon (Susan Sarandon) works a 9-5 job wondering how to get her grown son out of the house and possibly get a shot at happiness since her husband's death. Sharon starts to get little secret admirer instant messages on her computer. That little bit of flirtatious folly fills her with a little bit of hope and confidence.

The film relies heavily on the spacey brother Jeff and his complicated brotherhood with Pat. Mom even admits that she doesn't even like her kids at times. They fight, bicker, and will pretty much do everything and anything for each other. The guys spend a lot of time walking around (after Pat crashes the Porsche) their small city, Pat obsessed with finding his wife and the other guy and Jeff completely forgetting he was out getting wood glue while chasing Kevin's. Some how the cosmic forces tie these discordant players into a somewhat satisfying conclusion making for a movie that doesn't really go anywhere but still offers a filling slice of life.
(Review by reesa)