Movie Review: Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Jeff is 30 and lives in his mother’s basement. He’s unemployed, smokes too much weed, and hasn’t had a girlfriend since high school (surprised?). He’s a slacker in every sense of the word, but according to Jeff he simply hasn’t found his destiny yet. I’m guessing many slackers use the same excuse to justify their laziness, but I doubt any slacker alive is as obsessed with the M. Night Shyamalan movie Signs as Jeff is. Jeff sees that 2002 film as representing the true essence of the universe. For Jeff, everything that happens in life is a potential sign to unlocking your destiny. All coincidences hold hidden meaning, so you need to be alert to everything. If you don’t pay attention, you’ll miss your calling. Yes, it all sounds like a nonsensical theory authored by a going-nowhere stoner, but it happens to be a driving force behind the plot of Jeff, Who Lives at Home, a solid new film written and directed by brothers Jay and Mark Duplass.

The story revolves around one eventful day in Jeff’s life. After receiving what seems to be a simple wrong number phone call from somebody named Kevin, Jeff (Jason Segel) becomes convinced that the name “Kevin” is a potential life-changing sign and embarks on an outdoor quest to pursue its true meaning. This day also happens to be his mother Sharon’s birthday. All Sharon (Susan Sarandon) wants as a present is for Jeff to successfully take the bus to Home Depot and buy some wood glue to repair a broken kitchen shutter. Sounds easy, right? Alas, not so in Jeff’s world. After a nasty encounter with some local thugs, Jeff runs into his older brother Pat (Ed Helms) outside the local Hooters. For Jeff, it’s another sign, proof that his pursuit of “Kevin” is still worthwhile. For Pat, a salesman suffering from a failing marriage and a mid-life crisis, it’s nothing more than an unfortunate run-in with his loser younger brother. Not surprisingly, the two siblings engage in a heated verbal exchange.

This is where Jeff, Who Lives at Home starts to shine. Right when you think Jeff is going to walk away from Pat and continue the “Kevin” quest, he spots Pat’s wife Linda (Judy Greer) across the street with a strange man in her car. Pat sees it, too, and before we know it two brothers at opposite ends of the social spectrum are suddenly working together to determine if Linda is having an affair. There’s a lot of brotherly bonding along the way, but in the end it’s Jeff who ends up the unlikely life coach to his troubled older brother.

The Duplass brothers do an effective job of balancing comedy and drama throughout the film. Although the first half delivers most of the comedy, the second half has a healthy share of laughable moments that counter the more serious and tender scenes that emerge as Jeff and Pat complete their individual and joint quests. The inclusion of Sharon’s subplot as an aging widow hoping to rediscover romance, and Linda’s reasons for seeing Pat as a failed husband make Jeff, Who Lives at Home more than just another dude movie. In fact, if you’re looking for a good date-night film that offers plenty of laughs and believable drama, this one’s for you.

Jason Segel in “Jeff, Who Lives at Home.”

If you’re not active in the date-night crowd but enjoy good acting, then go see Jeff, Who Lives at Home. Jason Segel plays Jeff with great charm, tenderness, and sensitivity. Ed Helms is fantastic as the cocky older brother who eventually sees the errors of his ways. And it’s a pure joy to watch Susan Sarandon. She recently said in an interview that much of the film’s dialogue was unscripted, which makes all of the performances that much more impressive. Kudos to the Duplass brothers for allowing the high-caliber cast plenty of room to improvise.

Although the ending of Jeff, Who Lives at Home is a bit improbable, it allows all of the characters to come together and resolve their various conflicts, including Jeff’s strange obsession with the elusive “Kevin.”