This Is Where I Leave You is a film that seems to be very 'busy' all the time but at the same time is also a film that never really goes anywhere and does very little that's actually interesting.
Essentially, we have a bunch of estranged siblings who had little contact with each other prior to their father's death and it is their father's death that brings them together. At the behest of their father the family are forced to spend a week together taking part in a form of Jewish mourning known as Shiva whereby the family are forbidden from leaving the area or taking public transport (amongst other things). This sets out the framework for the film, but that's all it really does - the siblings are at each other's throats at the start and are still the same at the end with very little in the way of reflection or insight offered in between. The characterisations are sketchy and flat here making many of the characters seem more like caricatures rather than human beings.
Another problem here is that very little of what is on offer here feels realistic or believable. The Altman family are dysfunctional, but this concept is taken to a ridiculous extreme here and makes it look as if we're watching some sort of parody of a bad soap opera or a bad sitcom. Even if you're prepared to overlook the over-the-top antics of the Altman family then it's almost impossible to get around how unlikeable and annoying many members of the family are - it's safe to say that they are a hard bunch to tolerate over a 100 minute period.
Other major problems relate to the unfocused nature of the story; it seemed to just keep flitting around all the over the place without really settling on one main story. It never seems to settle into any kind of rhythm and ironically it actually achieves very little by trying to do too much. Screenwriter Jonathan Tropper gives many of the characters nothing interesting to say or do making the film feel both dull and boring. I also felt that too much time was spent on irritating characters and not enough time was spent on more interesting characters (such as Timothy Olyphant's character). Director Shawn Levy shoots the film in the style of a soap opera and gives the film a very tedious episodic feel.
Whilst many of the characters got on my nerves here there were a few exceptions; Jane Fonda was a lot of fun and her dirty talk about their father was both gag-inducing and pretty damn funny. Bateman is the most likable member of the Altman family and probably the most believable (and one of the few characters who didn't annoy me).
Sadly, there are only a couple of moments in this film that are either amusing or tolerable and for the most part this is a loud, irritating, and generally unbearable affair from start to finish.
Essentially, we have a bunch of estranged siblings who had little contact with each other prior to their father's death and it is their father's death that brings them together. At the behest of their father the family are forced to spend a week together taking part in a form of Jewish mourning known as Shiva whereby the family are forbidden from leaving the area or taking public transport (amongst other things). This sets out the framework for the film, but that's all it really does - the siblings are at each other's throats at the start and are still the same at the end with very little in the way of reflection or insight offered in between. The characterisations are sketchy and flat here making many of the characters seem more like caricatures rather than human beings.
Another problem here is that very little of what is on offer here feels realistic or believable. The Altman family are dysfunctional, but this concept is taken to a ridiculous extreme here and makes it look as if we're watching some sort of parody of a bad soap opera or a bad sitcom. Even if you're prepared to overlook the over-the-top antics of the Altman family then it's almost impossible to get around how unlikeable and annoying many members of the family are - it's safe to say that they are a hard bunch to tolerate over a 100 minute period.
Other major problems relate to the unfocused nature of the story; it seemed to just keep flitting around all the over the place without really settling on one main story. It never seems to settle into any kind of rhythm and ironically it actually achieves very little by trying to do too much. Screenwriter Jonathan Tropper gives many of the characters nothing interesting to say or do making the film feel both dull and boring. I also felt that too much time was spent on irritating characters and not enough time was spent on more interesting characters (such as Timothy Olyphant's character). Director Shawn Levy shoots the film in the style of a soap opera and gives the film a very tedious episodic feel.
Whilst many of the characters got on my nerves here there were a few exceptions; Jane Fonda was a lot of fun and her dirty talk about their father was both gag-inducing and pretty damn funny. Bateman is the most likable member of the Altman family and probably the most believable (and one of the few characters who didn't annoy me).
Sadly, there are only a couple of moments in this film that are either amusing or tolerable and for the most part this is a loud, irritating, and generally unbearable affair from start to finish.