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9

ShiiraApr 20, 2012

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Outside the Hooters, Jeff refers to his old religion, defends it even, when Pat, the elder brother, makes fun of its chief prophet, Yoda, by arguing that the Jedi "would be killer in a business meeting." Now, he's a prophet himself, offering up his own commandment, adapted from a precursive faith(just like how Indian religions influenced Christianity), at the outset of Jeff Who Lives at Home, where his words to live by are superimposed over the black screen. According to the couch potato oracle: "Everyone and everything is interconnected in the universe. Stay pure of heart and you will see the signs." For Jeff, it's the M. Night Shyamalan film, and not Star Wars(see Patton Oswalt in Failure to Launch) that he **** beyond all reason, thereby transforming the filmic text into a quasi-religious object, more powerful than the Holy Bible. Stoned and disaffected, Jeff elaborates on the spirituality which flows through Signs, and its argument for predestination, making the audience cognizant of the fact that for all intents and purposes, our hero lives "in a galaxy far, far away," a galaxy where Graham Hess, a Pennsylvania farmer, becomes his own personal Luke Skywalker. Jeff doesn't "use the Force" anymore, instead, he tries to "see". His proclamations, however, are hard to take seriously, unless you believe that all the great philosophers do their best thinking just before they flush. Ironically, because Jeff starts his morning off mired in a marijuana haze, he misses the first sign, when Sharon calls her adult son to remind him about purchasing some wood glue for a minor home repair. In essence, Jeff Who Lives at Home is a stoner retelling of Signs. It's not God, but Shyamalan, who is in the details, starting with that open space where the closet door slat should be. The slats resemble the wooden boards in miniature, which the Hess family uses to seal themselves off from the doorknob-challenged aliens. Like the closet, the window that Graham reconfigures into a component of his impromptu fortress, is also missing a piece of wood, initially anyway, before the ex-Episcopalian minister nails the final board into place, without realizing how his remedial carpentry is part of a master plan. The pot induces in Jeff a selective cognizance. He catches the second sign, a wrong number, a man on the other end of the line who asks for Kevin, which Jeff translates from the sacred composition and dialogue of the Shyamalanian diegesis into a real world miracle. Whereas Graham broached the idea of there being no coincidences, Jeff appropriates this posited precondition of a world affected by metaphysics with the suggestion that there "are no wrong phone numbers." This epiphany directs the true believer to pen and paper, an endeavor that leads to another sign, when he discovers in the name Kevin, a notable, albeit imperfect, anagram: "knive". An "s"(for signs?) completes the emerging plural, and makes a sort of intertextual sense, since both the titular character from Cyrus(another mama's boy rendered by the same filmmakers) and Graham handle knives in an ambiguous manner. The supposed weapon is employed as a utensil for slicing bread in Cyrus' hands, while Graham uses his knife as a mirror, when he tries to glimpse the creature on the other side of the pantry door. The anagram's significance probably becomes self-evident to Jeff as he explains to Pat the logistical problems of knocking down a door(in this case, a motel room door) from such a short distance. On the other hand, Graham had the benefit of a running start, the whole expanse of his wife's killer's kitchen, but chooses instead to ply the knife as a benevolent instrument, before using it with malicious intent only as a last resort. Arguably, had the brothers not reunited, had invisible forces not been in the works, Pat, the cuckolded husband, could have inflicted bodily harm on the alien presence who desires Linda, but a "Kevin's Kandies" truck inevitably delivers Jeff to the rendezvous point, deftly avoiding an adjustment to the timeline. Still, the cinephilic zealot is filled with doubt. Did Jeff get beaten up by black youths in vain? But then, finally, on a bridge, the reason behind his father's death manifests itself, when Jeff steps out of the taxi to survey the traffic jam, and intuits the situation at hand. He puts his celluloidal faith in Bo's hands; Bo, the little girl who had the dream. "See," the dying words of a preacher's wife, gets reinterpreted as "sea", as does "swing away," which for Jeff means that he has to "swim away," therefore giving him the impetus to jump into the ocean below, saving the definitive Kevin and his two young daughters. In the process, Jeff becomes a Christ figure, because the Coast Guard paramedics resuscitate the prophet, or in other words, brings him back from the dead. Jeff Who Lives at Home proves that film is a religion, and not just in the metaphorical sense.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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9

txrangersfan72Mar 24, 2012

An absolutely precious film about how each of us, individually, make our way through our lives, especially after realizing, as adults, just how finite our time is. Dealing with fears, loss, expectations, love, etc is at the root of everyAn absolutely precious film about how each of us, individually, make our way through our lives, especially after realizing, as adults, just how finite our time is. Dealing with fears, loss, expectations, love, etc is at the root of every character in this film, each going through their own perspective. This film is perfectly cast with the best performances I've seen out of these actors in a long time. It is, perhaps, Jason Segel's best acting ever. Though short, easily predictable and full of strange camera shots, nothing takes away the pure sweetness of the story.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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10

INTPMar 31, 2012

Jeff is a sweet, thoughtful movie about people grappling with the mean of life -- of their lives specifically. The topic is heavy but the movie is light, and it's quite easy to enjoy watching really good actors (like Susan Sarandon) workJeff is a sweet, thoughtful movie about people grappling with the mean of life -- of their lives specifically. The topic is heavy but the movie is light, and it's quite easy to enjoy watching really good actors (like Susan Sarandon) work their craft of being ordinary people. It's sweet, but it won't make you gag. And I have a strong gag reflex. Enjoy!… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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6

RadasJun 15, 2012

Enjoyable movie.
A surprise.
From the trailer i saw looked like a generic comedy but it turn out to be a good drama.
A journey of a man that after losing his dad and inspired by a movie tries to find his destiny

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

MarcDoyleMar 16, 2012

Jeff satisfies my personal definition of an average movie almost perfectly. It's genial enough, but painfully slow out of the gates. Segel has some funny moments, Sarandon is excellent in her touching role, but there's just not much too thisJeff satisfies my personal definition of an average movie almost perfectly. It's genial enough, but painfully slow out of the gates. Segel has some funny moments, Sarandon is excellent in her touching role, but there's just not much too this sucker. You can see right through it. The ending is dramatic, but it feels completely tacked on. Ed Helms and Jason Segel have done vastly superior movies.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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6

FDT44Mar 16, 2012

The ultra-talented, Indie darlings, the Duplass brothers ("Badhead," "The Puffy Chair," and "Cyrus") have here what might finally catapult them unto the mainstream scene. In their largest scale film yet, casting big names as Siegel, Helms,The ultra-talented, Indie darlings, the Duplass brothers ("Badhead," "The Puffy Chair," and "Cyrus") have here what might finally catapult them unto the mainstream scene. In their largest scale film yet, casting big names as Siegel, Helms, Sarandon, and Greer, the brothers create an easy-going, low-key, mumblecore that maintains a naturalistic tone and genuine palatability that doesn't set the viewer's expectations too high or too low; it beats a drum that is methodically modulated and internally contemplative, while possessing a poignant resonance that is more subtle than one might expect. What holds it back, is a beginning that meanders a bit too long, at times irksome, low-fi sound quality, and a message that promotes helplessness in adulthood; the film could benefit from more ardor and drive, both literally and figuratively. However, with the omni-present sense of delight that hangs over this little joy, combined with Seigel's lost, yet optimistic eyes contrasted with his blunderous, man-child mannerisms, Greer's adroit tears, and Sarandon's maternal elegance, "Jeff Who Lives at Home" captures the dysfunctionalities of everyday life and family, and presents it in a way that is neither brazen nor tawdry; its clean, purely funny, unadultered cinema.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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8

knorbiNov 28, 2012

A nice movie that generally describes many people who have no clue what to do with their life. But still I think that the story was a little bit too random.

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8

filmtrashreviewApr 14, 2012

It's not the greatest film by the brother directing camera zooming duo but what is set up as a classic stoner comedy turns into a fantasy fable that touches on the meanings of life and love.