It took me ages to watch this. Having seen 'August: Osage County' fairly recently, I can confirm that 'This is Where I Leave You' is what that one was trying to do.
I would say that this was meant to be a serious drama that didn't take itself too seriously. In that respect, it's probably a good compromise for two people if one wants to watch an Oscar-bait type film and the other hates them with a passion. It's a drama that won't bore you to tears.
Having said that, there are a lot of things wrong with it. For every funny joke, there are some fairly tame or childish ones. As others have pointed out, nothing really gets resolved. One storyline in particular (Tina Fey's) was an utter waste of time. I was expecting certain people to have an affair and certain people to split up and so on and yet nothing! Literally!
I don't particularly like Rose Byrne especially since she seems to have succumbed to anorexia, but I imagine a lot of people would agree that there was zero chemistry between her and Jason Bateman. Not only that but her character had almost no back-story. There was no reason for her and Bateman's character to be attracted to each other and they spent almost no time together so the way things unfolded between them made no sense.
Yet it was entertaining and funny enough for me to keep watching, not feel bored and generally be happy that I'd watched it.
7/10
I would say that this was meant to be a serious drama that didn't take itself too seriously. In that respect, it's probably a good compromise for two people if one wants to watch an Oscar-bait type film and the other hates them with a passion. It's a drama that won't bore you to tears.
Having said that, there are a lot of things wrong with it. For every funny joke, there are some fairly tame or childish ones. As others have pointed out, nothing really gets resolved. One storyline in particular (Tina Fey's) was an utter waste of time. I was expecting certain people to have an affair and certain people to split up and so on and yet nothing! Literally!
I don't particularly like Rose Byrne especially since she seems to have succumbed to anorexia, but I imagine a lot of people would agree that there was zero chemistry between her and Jason Bateman. Not only that but her character had almost no back-story. There was no reason for her and Bateman's character to be attracted to each other and they spent almost no time together so the way things unfolded between them made no sense.
Yet it was entertaining and funny enough for me to keep watching, not feel bored and generally be happy that I'd watched it.
7/10