Movie Review: People Like Us
It turns out that men have daddy issues too. The premise of the new film People Like Us is pretty simple. Like many movies about family, it starts with a death. Jerry Harper, music producer/ramblin’ man/eternal hippie, dies and leaves instructions for his estranged son, Sam (Chris Pine), to go to an apartment complex and take care of the strangers who live there. Turns out these people are Sam’s sister, Frankie, and nephew, Josh, and Sam must decide whether to stay and build with a family he never knew existed, or continue to run from his dysfunctional past.
While Sam grapples with his decision, his career is in shambles, debt is mounting and his relationship with girlfriend Hannah (Olivia Wilde) is disintegrating. Sam’s “sister,” played by Elizabeth Banks, doesn’t have it so easy either. A recovering alcoholic, Frankie is a single mom with a crappy job and smart-mouthed son who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. As things develop, Sam can’t help but realize that although he and Frankie didn’t grow up together, the uncanny parallels between their lives can only be attributed to having a father – or perceived lack thereof – such as theirs. Like it or not, family makes us who we are. You can fight it or come to terms with it.
The acting is understated and commendable, and the tenuous dynamic between Sam and his mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) is engaging as well. As Josh, newcomer Michael Hall D’Addario injects levity into a film that attempts to get pretty heavy at times.
People Like Us reunites Pine with Alex Kurtzman, the writer of Pine’s breakout vehicle Star Trek. A departure from Kurtzman’s usual fare – he also co-wrote or produced Cowboys & Aliens, Transformers, Mission Impossible: III, and more – his directorial debut is also a departure from the usual genres summer movies are made of. No explosions, no animation, no action scenes. Love, minus romance. People Like Us is simply a sweet, refreshing and often humorous take on the concept of family, as messed up as it can sometimes be.
