Jeff (Jason Segel) is your quintessential slacker, he loves smoking weed nearly as much as he loves M. Night Shyamalan’ s film “Signs”. He rarely ventures out of his mother’s basements and tries to figure out the meaning of his life and destiny by looking for hidden messages and signs in everything. One morning Jeff is forced to leave his comfort zone when his mother Sharon (Susan Saradon) sends him on a quest to buy wood glue and fix her kitchen cabinet and a mysterious caller tells him to find Kevin.
Jeff’s brother Pat (Ed Helms) wants a bigger life than he can afford and tries to be a mover and shaker which only ends up annoying everyone, including his wife (Judy Greer).
Sharon spends her day in a small cubical worrying about Jeff, gossiping with her colleagues and thinking that her life is over. But when a secret admirer starts sending her messages she discovers that her dreams are still very much alive.
As the story unfolds Jeff plays basketball, gets beaten up, bumps into his brother, starts stalking his sister in law, jumps on an ice-cream truck and always is on the lookout for signs and “Kevin”. The intertwining plot is filled with twist and turns and at times it is hard to see where the story is going., but with the surprising climax and strong characters Jeff who lives at home is a clever and sweet film.
The brothers Jay and Mark Duplass wrote and directed Jeff who lives at home and like their offbeat film Cyrus family is the very much at the centre of the plot. Sticking to their independent roots this new film lacks Hollywood glamour and shows a real insight into the grittier aspects of siblings, families and shattered dreams, while somehow still staying positive and at times very funny.
Jason Segel is endearing as the anti-hero Jeff and manages to be witty, insightful and very childlike in equal measures, although at times Jeff does seem a little bit pervy and you just know he smells a little bit unwashed.
Overall Jeff who lives at home is a good film, funny at times and relies on strong actors, good dialogues and an interesting plot. So leave your 3D goggles at home and enjoy a film that just wants to tell a story and does so well.
Short version in Cheers Magazine
jensinewall 