Occasionally enjoyable, This Is Where I Leave You lacks a comedic punch
Unremarkable yet features nuggets of strong comedic moments scattered throughout. Director Shawn Levy's family comedy has potential but ultimately falls a little flat.
When their father passes away, four grown siblings, bruised and banged up by their respective adult lives, are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. Confronting their history and the frayed states of their relationships among the people who know and love them best, they ultimately reconnect in hysterical and emotionally affecting ways amid the chaos, heartache and redemption that only families can provide— driving us insane even as they remind us of our truest, and often best, selves.
Jason Bateman gives a strong performance, cutting a disconsolate figure that lends its hand to the movies emotional draw. Regrettably, This Is Where I Leave You only boasts a few comedic moments that are admirably subtle in approach. Unfortunately, these cackles begin to frazzle out heading into the third act— and in due time— your attention begins drifting away, too.
