A story of a family that gets together at the time of their fathers' death.
The movie is set during Shiva (Jewish tradition of a week long mourning period for immediate relatives of the deceased) where four children, with their respective spouses, girlfriends and exes meet and spend a week together, each with a story as (seemingly) complex as the other.
A whole week together, and a lot of what's beneath the surface is thrown up.......... the secrets, the deeper feelings, the fights, the bitterness, the shared moments.....
The movie starts with Judd Altman ( Jason Bateman) finding out his wife's been having an affair with his boss. He's heart broken, or so he thinks. Only later, when telling his sister about it, realization dawns that he was still holding on to the idea of a happy space but that it had long passed that. Then he hooks up with a childhood crush.
The sister Wendy (Tina Fey) is unhappy in her marriage, there seems no connection between her and her husband, and she hooks up with her childhood love.
There's the oldest brother Paul, a boring kind of person, and his wife, who seems singularly focused on trying to have a child.
The third brother is with a girlfriend who is much older and they seem to be in a good relationship, but then, she leaves him when she discovers he cheated on her.
I warned you...it's just too many stories.
The movie starts with Judd Altman ( Jason Bateman) finding out his wife's been having an affair with his boss. He's heart broken, or so he thinks. Only later, when telling his sister about it, realization dawns that he was still holding on to the idea of a happy space but that it had long passed that. Then he hooks up with a childhood crush.
The sister Wendy (Tina Fey) is unhappy in her marriage, there seems no connection between her and her husband, and she hooks up with her childhood love.
There's the oldest brother Paul, a boring kind of person, and his wife, who seems singularly focused on trying to have a child.
The third brother is with a girlfriend who is much older and they seem to be in a good relationship, but then, she leaves him when she discovers he cheated on her.
I warned you...it's just too many stories.
While the movie had its moments, and the acting was decent, (with Jane Fonda still the strongest presence, even at 76), in and through all that drama, I found it pretty plastic. Also too full of profanities and in your face sexual innuendo, actually wait, it can't be in your face and innuendo...it's all just in your face.
The silver lining was the equation between two brothers, played by Jason Batemen and Adam Driver, where there's this chemistry and a natural understanding at a deeper level. I also like Tina Fey's character but there was too little of it on screen.
There's an interesting punch from the mother, which seems to be also why she engineers the whole Shiva under guise of it being the fathers last wish.
Verdict.....way too messy and loud
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