Taking aim at family dysfunction

JUST when he least expects it, life rears its ugly head and bites Judd Altman (Jason Bateman), the producer of a popular radio show in New York. He goes home early one day and walks in on his wife in bed with his star talk show host. Then his sister calls to tell him that their father has just died - and things go rapidly downhill from there.

This is Where I Leave You, directed by Shawn Levy, written by Jonathan Tropper and based on his book of the same name, is the latest in a long line of movies about family dysfunction. Appropriately enough, the film can't quite make up its mind whether to be funny or serious, so it takes a stab at being both - but not succeeding at either.

Emotionally battered, Judd returns to the family home upstate, where his siblings have gathered for their father's funeral. Their mother Hillary (Jane Fonda) informs them that his dying wish was for the family to spend the next week "sitting Shiva" - staying together and mourning his passing. Put another way, it's an extended group therapy session.

Not surprisingly, former relationships, family secrets and long-held grudges come home to roost. "It's hard to see people from the past when the present is so categorically screwed up," says Judd, a steady sort who has never taken a risk in his life. The irony, he sighs, is that he has played it safe in order to avoid getting to exactly where he is now.

Mom, on the other hand, prefers to take a refreshingly unfiltered look at life - and that goes for every word that comes out of her mouth as well. She's a retired psychotherapist and successful author with no qualms about getting a boob job or gushing on about her healthy sex life. Judd's siblings - oldest brother Paul (Corey Stoll), housewife Wendy (Tina Fey, playing it very understated) and black sheep Phillip (Adam Driver) take a back seat to her, but they all have issues that pop up during the course of the movie.

Judd's character is the most well-developed in the film and his story includes a reconnection with his family - especially the family wild card Phillip - and the childhood sweetheart (Rose Byrne) he left behind. Complications - including an unexpected pregnancy - ensue.

As a genre exercise, This is Where I Leave You fails to take any risks and so the reward potential is similarly restricted. The Altmans are neither as weird as say, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) or as wonderful as The Addams Family (1991). And they definitely aren't in the same league as the Corleones.

While sweetly humorous at times, the film also has a seriousness that is ultimately undermined by a final twist in the plot that simply doesn't ring true. "Is it the whole world or is it just this family?" asks Judd. Sure, life is complicated sometimes - but it doesn't have to be totally absurd as well.

Rating: C+