“Oh my God, this cast. Who wouldn’t want Tina Fey as a sister? Or Jason Bateman as a brother (as long as you aren’t Bluths)? So what if this movie looked like an overly sappy film? I wanted to see Adam Driver as the spoiled child of a youngest sibling.
And yes, it was overly sappy. Emotionally manipulative even. You couldn’t go more than ten minutes without a pair of characters bonding and crying. I didn’t really care though. Some of those moments may even have tugged at these stone cold heartstrings of mine. The cast really did sell it.
Loved everything Tina Fey did. Okay, maybe her crying needs some work, but her sarcastic tough love was wonderful. No really, I want her to be my sister. Jason Bateman was very Jason Bateman, but that’s why we love him. Adam Driver was also very Adam Driver, but he too knows what he’s good at and sticks with it. Different turn for the stoic Corey Stoll, even if he was the straightest character in this wildly comedic bunch. Wonderful supporting turns from the ladies in their lives: Connie Britton, Katheryn Hahn, Rose Byrne, and the anchor and matriarch Jane Fonda. And I still haven’t even dropped all the names of the awesome and beloved people in this movie.
It did eventually get a little hard for me to watch. It wasn’t even the father’s death, which is usually a trigger for me. It was the sibling relationships. I’m an only child, and while I’m grateful for everything I’ve had, it always hurt that I never had siblings. I know it was circumstances more than choice, but that never made it any easier. This movie felt like a big showcase of everything I missed out on. Sure, being a sister has its own challenges that I never had to deal with (that were displayed on screen), but there are some bonds that I’ll just never know. Even if we refer to my mom’s dog as my sister, it’s not quite the same thing.
This is Where I Leave You – \m/ \m/ \m/ \n