Review: Jeff, Who Lives at Home

As the title suggests, the film concerns Jeff (Jason Segel), a dope-partaking 30 year-old unemployed man who lives in the basement of the house owned by his mother (Susan Sarandon- looking bored, and not just in-character). Jeff has watched “Signs” about a billion times and has been particularly struck by the film’s ending, as a true believer in looking for signs. He gets a wrong number phone call asking for someone called Kevin, and this somehow sets him off on a quest for meaning, especially after seeing a kid wearing a basketball jersey labelled ‘Kevin’ on a bus. This, despite his mother already assigning him the simple task of taking the bus, going to Home Depot, buying some glue and fixing the damn cabinet door. Yeah, that’s probably not going to get done anytime soon. Meanwhile, Jeff and his more responsible (ish) but dickhead brother Pat (Ed Helms, who gets most of the laughs) discover that Pat’s wife (Judy Greer) may be cheating on him, and so Jeff’s quest gets momentarily sidetracked with Pat’s marital woes. Or does this all tie into Jeff’s destiny as well? As this is all unfolding, we also get to know their widowed mother, who is lonely, but newly intrigued by a supposed secret admirer at work. Rae Dawn Chong turns up as Sarandon’s co-worker and friend.

 

Written and directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass, and running at just over 80 minutes, this 2011 film ultimately doesn’t get around to saying anything much at all. Given the main character and premise of the film are inspired by the weakest part of the otherwise excellent “Signs” (i.e. The shitty ending), it is perhaps no surprise that this film ends up seriously lacking. The whole film is far too slight to warrant such a “Magnolia”-esque ending. In fact, you’d swear that someone had hacked the script to pieces. Here’s a film that could stand to be a whole lot longer.

 

The cast isn’t an issue (though Ed Helms has distractingly chosen to channel Ben Stiller for his performance- tell me I’m wrong!), and it occasionally made me chuckle. It would certainly be a much lesser film if the always likeable Segel weren’t in it. It’s just that it’s all much ado about nothing (Even less if you took out the entirely extraneous subplot with Sarandon). And I say that as a 33 year-old who lives at home. I was expecting to really identify with this film based on the title alone. But it’s all too underwhelming, and you’re never quite sure if you’re meant to take the frankly silly premise seriously or if it’s meant as a parody of “Signs” and other films touching on multi-characters, coincidences, and fate.

 

If the film had more meat on the bones, it might’ve gotten around to being something, but as is, it’s barely anything at all. It seems like it’s lacking something. A love interest for Jeff, perhaps? Or would that be too conventional? At least it’d be something. Meanwhile, the filmmakers and cinematographer Jas Shelton should be smacked upside the head for the stupid decision to use shaky-cam and ridiculously inappropriate zooms throughout. It’s a comedy-drama for fuck’s sake, what possible reason is there for it? It doesn’t add realism, it adds awareness to the camera’s presence. STOP it!

 

Rating: C