Jeff, Who Lives at Home – Film Review
Director(s): Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Starring: Jason Segel, Ed Helms and Susan Sarandon
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
The Duplass brothers last film, Cyrus, was very much an oddball of indie comedy. It had some fun characters, Jonah Hill being the main highlight, but it didn’t quite coalesce into a satisfying story. This isn’t to say it wasn’t enjoyable to watch, it’s just that it meandered quite aimlessly in a way that became irritating the more you dwelt on it.
With Jeff,Who Lives at Home, the directing duo are clearly expanding on what they got right, but without rectifying the problems their previous film had. Jason Segel portrays Jeff, a thirty something year old man who is still living in his mothers basement. The film opens with him contemplating the film Signs, and admiring how well all the seemingly random events tie up so nicely in the end. This, in turn, causes him to ponder his destiny…while getting high.
What follows is an amusing, but seemingly aimless, series of events. Jeff receives a phone call with someone on the other end looking for ‘Kevin’. While on an errand to get some wood glue, he continually drifts away, seeing what he thinks are signs that will lead him to Kevin and, more importantly, his destiny. After all, as he puts it, “What if there are no wrong numbers?”. On the way, he randomly meets his obnoxious brother Pat, perfectly cast here by Ed Holmes, who is having troubles in his marriage.
For the duration of the film, it isn’t important how aimless Jeff’s quest is. While following Pats wife to see if she is having an affair, the two brothers play off of each other well, making for an entertaining comedy duo. Pat thinks Jeff is a lazy sod with no aspirations, whereas Jeff is frustrated with how cynical his brother can be in the face of all the ‘signs’ that are occurring around them. An impressive amount of the meager 82 minutes screen time is filled with the two of them simply arguing over trivialities.
It is here that the main problem lies, in that, as enjoyable as it is to watch these two bicker, it all adds up to very little. Susan Sarandon has her own sub-plot, involving a work romance, that takes up a sizable section of the film. Because of how much focus goes on this separate narrative, it feels as though it should be more significant, whereas in actuality, it is really just filler.
It may not be thoroughly satisfying in its conclusion, but at least it is entertaining to watch. The role of Jeff is clearly written for Jason Segel. He emanates a childish charm that is difficult to dislike, and is one of the major selling points of the film. Helms is brilliant as the prickly brother, easy to anger and constantly condescending, a perfect yin to Segels yang.
There are times when a film can go on for too long in an effort to get its point across, which in turn can allow for some dull moments. Jeff, Who Lives at Home seems to run in the opposite direction. It is quite entertaining throughout, but with such a short running time, it sacrifices any significant meaning the film may have had. Not a film you would regret seeing, but not one you should lament missing out on either.
Score: 3/5
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