The Altman family, and several of its extensions, has reunited after the death of its patriarch. They are not religious people, but the deceased has made it his dying wish that his Jewish wife and children sit Shiva (sitting low to the ground for seven days, apparently while hordes of well-wishers flow through during mourning). This is not what the rather dysfunctional Altman family would like to be doing right now. Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) would rather be brooding over catching his wife sleeping with his boss. His only sister, Wendy (Tina Fey), would rather be stewing in her bad marriage cliché while potty-training her son. His older brother, Paul (Corey Stoll), would rather be home continuing to fail at impregnating his baby-crazy wife, and their youngest sibling, Phillip (Adam Driver), would rather be having sex with lots and lots of women.
You guessed it. By the end, fate should have it that sitting Shiva was the best thing that ever happened to them!
Before I get carried away, I should say the movie is not all bad. It boasts one hell of a cast. These unappealing characters are mostly made sympathetic by the talented players personifying them. This is a particularly impressive turn for Bateman. Though he is still largely playing himself, he manages to fully tap into the truly crazy sadness of his predicament. Tina Fey, with whom he shares most of his screen time, is a delightful foil. Watching them interact feels like a genuine brother/sister report, and now I want to see more movies starring the two opposite each other. Those two aside, the rest of the ensemble nobly takes us through the many other comedic and dramatic beats. Many of the comedic beats are nailed and easily inspire a laugh, but those pesky dramatic beats make the film problematic.
It’s the kind of movie where you not only see conflicts coming a mile away, you are praying they don’t catch up to you before you reach the end of movie. From every awkward suggestion, to every cheesy foreshadowing, it’s hard to watch a movie heading a direction you just don’t want it to, especially when it doesn’t pay off. As more character development comes seeping in, and more back-stories are revealed, you start to feel like you’ve been watching an entire season of a soap opera condensed into one feature film. Repressed memories (I can’t remember my father!), brain injuries (I never blamed you for leaving after the accident!), and constant infidelity are almost too much to bear. Most of it sounds like the kind of baloney Fey and Bateman would be goofing on in superior comedic works.
I can’t hate on it too hard. When I wasn’t rolling my eyes, I was having a decent time. It isn’t much for charm (even with Bateman’s character weirdly in his own separate coming-of-age movie), but it does succeed at tossing you a modest smile/laugh grab bag. That’s just not quite the kind of thing you rush to the theater on Friday night to see.
