Despite being an only child I have a penchant for movies about fighting siblings. Any film that features a strong ensemble cast, a confined social situation and well written dialogue will usually work but they are rare beats these days and so it was a delight to watch 'This Is Where I Leave You' as it is a proper movie for grown ups; strong on comedy and strong on drama without the need to pretend its a rom-com or high art.
It is what it is - a film about a dysfunctional family trying to get through testing times. It has enough wit and insight and warmth to make it worth your while and whilst it won't be on anyone's end of year best of list it's definitely worth catching it if you can.
When the patriarch of this dysfunctional family dies the four siblings are forced to spend a whole week together under one roof with their mother and various spouses, exes and ghosts from the past. It's reminiscent of 'The Big Chill' and 'Peter's Friends' and is as good as either of them. It's got a great script and a cast that know how to make it work. What's not to like? Plus you get a great turn from Jane Fonda, a showcase for Jason Bateman at his best and the always reliable Tina Fey. Quite how the director of 'Real Steel' (the boxing robots movie) managed to pull this off is a mystery but he has and this is a fun movie to stumble across.
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