Judd’s life becomes even more complex when his wife shows up and announces that she’s pregnant with Judd’s baby. And, of course, Judd tries to conceal his wife’s affair from the family and meanwhile falls for a former schoolmate, Penny (Rose Byrne), who still carries a flame for him and represents his chance at a rebound. The youngest, Phillip (Driver), is a reckless, good-humored black sheep who shows up with a twice-his-age psychiatrist girlfriend (Connie Britton) in tow. Paul (Stoll), the eldest and most responsible brother, tries to conceive a child with his baby-crazed wife Annie (Kathryn Hahn), who used to date Judd back in the day. Judd’s sister Wendy (Tina Fey) has two children and a preoccupied businessman husband, though she remains in love with her affable high school sweetheart (Timothy Olyphant), who was brain-damaged in an accident when they were young. Her openness may embarrass her children, but in defense of her oversharing, she insists, “Secrets are cancer to a family.”Įach family member comes with their own secrets and complications, and almost all are cleanly resolved by the end credits. Sporting a new set of implants and an openness about her late husband’s sexual prowess, Fonda’s say-anything, no-nonsense role is reminiscent of Meryl Streep in August: Osage County, except without the cruel streak. Household matriarch Hilary (Fonda), an author famous for using her family as inspiration for her best-selling book Cradle & All, announces that Judd and his siblings “are all grounded” for the duration of the week. He returns to his suburban childhood home for the funeral, where he discovers that his father’s dying wish was for his family to observe the Jewish custom to sit shiva for seven days and work out their respective issues. Still, regardless of how formulaic these sitcom situations prove to be, and how everything conveniently works out for most of the characters, it’s a mildly watchable, R-rated, dysfunctional family comedy.Ĭuckolded by his boss and wife, Judd Altman (Bateman) soon learns his father has died. And without the excellent cast (including Jason Bateman, Rose Byrne, Adam Driver, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, and Corey Stoll), the clichés might overcome the frequent chuckles throughout. Everything that can go wrong does in this all-star ensemble of fake boobs, sex talk, and potty humor, with a small degree of emotional resonance behind the farce. Adapting his own book, author Jonathan Tropper brings This is Where I Leave You to the screen with an air of wackiness that feels overly familiar, like a more comical version of A Christmas Tale. Another family reunion, another opportunity for ridiculous situations.

This is where i leave you author