Jeff, Who Lives at Home

source: Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Some people have a theory that there is no such thing as coincidence; that everything that happens in life happens for one reason or another. Maintaining that state of mind, I would imagine, requires constant frustrating vigilance. You're always on the lookout for what connects one thing to another. Jeff (Jason Segal), the protagonist of Jeff Who Lives at Home thinks that way. He has plenty of time. He is just past 30, unemployed, lives in his mother's basement, smokes pot and hasn't had a girlfriend since high school. He watches the 2002 thriller Signs over and over again to reiterate his theory that nothing just happens, not even when he gets a phone call from a guy asking for someone named Kevin. Out on an errand for his mother, Jeff spots a guy with the name Kevin on the back of his jersey and follows him. It doesn't go well.Jeff has a brother Pat who is even more clueless. He is floating through a marriage to Linda (Judy Greer) that is going nowhere in particular. She wants to save money for a house, but he spends it on expensive things, like the Porsche he just bought because it was such a great deal. He makes her breakfast to break the news of his purchase and her response is to dump her breakfast on the hood. After Jeff's unfortunate run-in with Kevin, he runs into Pat (though not by coincidence) and the two spot Linda getting into a car with another man. Thus sets off a day of free-wheeling misadventures as they try to uncover the mystery of whether or not she is cheating on him. Pat is angry and wants to know who the mystery man is, while Jeff's eye is constantly following the signs to find out the meaning of "Kevin". No points for guessing that this will eventually lead to something. Meanwhile, Pat and Jeff's widowed mother Sharon (Susan Sarandon) works in an office cubicle and begins receiving instant messages from a secret admirer. The messages are sweet and clever and she becomes intrigued. Discovering the identity of the mystery person isn't that difficult. All you have to do is to follow the economy of characters in that office and you'll figure it out long before it is revealed. These three elements: Jeff's search for Kevin, Pat and Linda's marriage and Sharon's secret admirer lead up to a scene that brings them all together at the same place at the same time. Cosmically, there is a reason to this, so that all the characters can have closure to their individual problems. Although the revelation doesn't have as much meaning as we might hope. It is interesting how the movie gets the characters to that spot, but that's about it. There are two scenes in the movie that work perfectly, first is the scene when Pat finally confronts Linda about the other man. They have an argument that is full of truth and really seems to come out of reality. The other is the discovery of Sharon's secret admirer. What comes of it is briefly touching, but the movie moves past it so quickly that it feels like a loose end. Jeff Who Lives at Home is a nice, sweet movie of no real significance. It is appropriately funny when it needs to be; dramatic when it needs to be; and moving when the need arises. The disappointment is that it doesn't really go over the top with any of those things. I like it when a movie really reaches for something, but this movie climbs to the peak and reveals nothing surprising on the other side. I enjoyed the movie while I was watching it, but it isn't one that I am going to carry with me.

It was a cheap, mean-less art movie. It was so bad that I registered on IMDb.com and made my first vote and my first review. I didn't like that kind a movie, it was about free love with anybody but also kept the meaning of the family. It starts with a negative life feeling with a boring kid who has a boring family. Anybody in this movie has a pointless life. Plus is has a really slow procession to show the life could be good. There isn't humor in this movie, it tries to, but can't touch your lung to laugh but he classification said it's a comedy. There isn't any action really, it's all predictable easily. I don't know who directed the movie 'cause I din't saw any other movies of his repertoire, but I confirm it was waste of time and money to spent to watch and make.

Save your 83 minutes of life on this one. Terrible filmaking. Story could have been OK with good camera work and cinematography and better dialouge. Don't know what the producers/directors were out to accomplish on this one. Student film making? Too, too many implausibilites to make this even a tiny bit realistic. The two leads, JASON and ED were unbearable!!! The language was not called for in a film like this. The sub-plot with SUSAN SARANDON was uncalled for, although she did a wonderful job as she always does. The fact that she could make her character work is indeed Oscar awarding itself. Nice to see RAE DAWN CHONG again. Again, don't waste your time on this piece of NOTHING.

It is "the best day in the history of the whole world" – a quote pulled from brothers and main characters Jeff (Jason Segel) and Pat's (Ed Helms) deceased father in a dream. And it just so happens to be the one day in the life of Jeff in Paramount Pictures "Jeff Who Lives at Home" who reconnects with his family on a human level on the same day. Jeff is a character whom his family consisting of his mother Sharon, (Susan Sarandon) and brother Pat passes off as an underachiever to the extreme. Jeff lives in his mother's basement where the majority of his days are spent eating, smoking weed, and watching infomercials like the "incredible vitamin" and consistently searching for a sign to something greater to his seemingly detached existence. Jeff becomes obsessed for his signs of something greater after watching the alien invasion film "Signs" starring Mel Gibson, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin. When Jeff gets an arbitrary sign through a phone call, it puts his world into an unexplainable focus to reaching his destiny while fighting-off the negative reactions from his brother and mother. The end result is a new view of Jeff as someone who is fearless, and open to seeing the world as it really is and not just as a spectator passing through it. The signs may hold coincidence in Jeff's life, but for many they are always there. Just few are able to see them. "Jeff Who Lives at Home" is a meaningful story about what happens when you open yourself up to the unexpected and what you might gain by putting yourself in a vulnerable position. All too much is needlessly lost due to fear of consequences and what others might think. This life is your own and it IS what you make of it is the underlying message of the film. "Jeff Who Lives at Home" is written and directed by brothers Jay and Mark Duplass. Their past films include shorts and a documentary (called "Kevin"). During a press conference, the duo talked about their unique way of making this film. They said that they fully lit each scene before the actors stepped onto the set. After that, the actors were free to improvise and play-out the scenes with each other. Mark stated that there were "no rehearsals on the film. We don't believe in the rehearsal process in this instance because you might lose something that you don't get (on film)." Mark also said that once the camera is rolling, they don't like to stop because "you lose the moment". The movie was filmed in New Orleans, but the story takes place in Baton Rouge. Jeff's bravery rubs off on Sharon and Pat. Directors said that Jeff is a character that really sacrificed a lot by not getting a regular 9 to 5 job and getting married. "He is holding out for that grander that he knows he is meant for" said Duplass. This is something that is admirable and most people secretly wish that they could do according to film makers. "Jeff Who Lives at Home" opens in limited theaters on Friday, March 16, 2012. www.HollywoodJunket.com

I was looking for a relatively short comedy film to watch and found this one, the rating looked OK and the cast looked familiar so I thought it would be OK. I was very wrong. First of all it is listed as a 'comedy' - I don't think I laughed once. The plot is weak and never fully explained who the hell Kevin is, its just stupid with really longed out scenes of absolutely nothing happening. It could be looked at as a drama but as I said the plot is just so weak you feel no attachment to the characters what so ever. I would definitely recommend to avoid this one at all costs. 2/10.

This film is about a mother and her two adult sons, who experience varying degrees of interpersonal problems. The first half of the film portrays a socially awkward Jeff, with his newfound infatuation with anything to do with Kevin. It looks like a pothead comedy, which I do not usually enjoy. The mood of the second half changes dramatically, as the characters get emotionally complex. Their emotional wounds get explored, and the film becomes touching and engaging. The ending is well built and climactic, and I find myself very touched by the heroic events. How each family member found emotional attachment is beautiful to say the least. Though "Jeff, Who Lives At Home" may be a little boring at first, it is worth watching as the last twenty minutes are excellent.

The problem with the Duplass brothers' 2012 movie can be summed up in one word: boring. It is just so unapologetically boring. Combine that with the fact that I just didn't care about any of the characters, and this movie doesn't come close to being as enjoyable as their movie CYRUS. That film was quirky and fun; this one tries to be, but falls way short. I can't blame it on the cast because I can see they tried. I just couldn't force myself to care about the story; it just wanders on and expects us to believe in coincidence so much that we don't care that the whole movie is just these two characters bumbling their way from set piece to set piece. The Jeff from the movie's title is played by Jason Segal, a thirty-year-old stoner who continues to live in his mother's basement watching the movie SIGNS over and over again. He is a firm believer that M. Night Shyamalan was on to something and that everything happens for a reason. In fact, he believes it so strongly that he can't even make basic decisions without some random event influencing his decision. His brother Pat (Ed Helms) is in a deteriorating marriage and his mother Sharon (Susan Sarandon) suffers a menial office job while pressing her stoned-out son to find the motivation to move on with his life. A wrong number phone call spurs Jeff into action, sending him on a journey to find the supposed meaning. I guess the characters in the movie were somewhat relatable. They just weren't very likable. Jeff is an idiot. I know we're supposed to be charmed by his naivety and never-ending faith in the universe's ability to lead him in the right direction, but he came off to me as just a grown man-child who's smoked a little too much and can't take responsibility for his own life. Pat is a selfish wannabe hotshot, awkward with his employees and neglectful of his own wife. And then there's Sharon, Jeff's disillusion mother and her soul-crushing job. I understand how she can be so disappointed in her son and I expect that we'll see him change her mind in one way or another over the course of the movie, but I don't understand why she needed her own entire subplot about how disappointed she is with her life and how an anonymous office admirer is spicing it up. I was having a hard enough time caring about anything going on in the Jeff/Pat plot without constantly cutting away to see Sharon flirting via instant message in an unrelated love story. Honestly though, the lamest aspect of the whole film is the concept as a whole: a stoner obsessed with a flawed Shyamalan movie wanders from place to place, miraculously finding himself at the right place at the right time. It's all about Kevin. Got to find Kevin. Wait, now it's time to help Pat save his crumbling marriage. I'll give the cast credit. They're all very talented people and they're all trying to do something here. I guess they saw how well CYRUS came out and they wanted to be a part of a quirky indie film too. Jason Segal is great, and Ed Helms appears genuinely clueless about how he's damaging his marriage. Susan Sarandon does an excellent job, even if her character was more prevalent that she needed to be. Each of them are great actors in their own right, but the material is just lame. The whole thing is just too "quirky". It felt as if they were shooting to make the most stereotypical indie film they could, loaded with kitsch and snap zooms. It was a bizarre combination of forced and meaningless. For whatever reason, the hand-held shaky-cam technique and constant zooms weren't so blatant in CYRUS but JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME shoves your face into the non-action. I'm not ready to give up on the Duplass brothers yet. I haven't seen their earlier films but right now they seem hit or miss, and I'm sure they'll have some more quality work in the future. This movie isn't beyond salvage, but it's boring. And for a medium meant to entertain, it can be just as bad.

The acting wobbled as much as the camera-work from boring and flat to jittery and overly stylized. None of the characters were particularly interesting nor were their lives. This movie doesn't really make it as a slice-of-life movie because the character's reactions to each other and the situations in which they found themselves were simply not believable. They were however all too often predictable and traditional TV/movie bits. The ending was too pat and gave a dutiful nod to the Hollywood/new age concept that we are all connected in a mystical spiritual world full of signs and portents. The movie was trying so hard to look meaningful it forgot to actually have any meaning. Only worth watching for the snob appeal of being able to say you watched it. Possibly a good date movie for a guy who is trying to impress an artsy girl who takes herself too seriously.