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Jeff, Who Lives at Home Movie Review

Jeff, Who Lives at Home is a 2011 comedy film directed by the Duplass Brothers and starring Jason Segel and Ed Helms. It is a very charming, surprisingly old-fashioned flick.

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“You know what?

I have an asshole for a brother

and it breaks my heart“

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Jeff is 30, unemployed and desperately looking for a sign that will lead him to his destiny. One day, a wrong number leads Jeff on a series of misadventures that help him find what he is looking for. This is very much a ‘Magnolia’-inspired story that hinges on circumstances and destiny to connect all of its characters. The determinism as depicted here obviously isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but I found it very interesting and highly cinematic.

This is almost a dramedy, but it’s clearly more of a comedy and it has the type of charming, goofy, but innocent humor that is rare to come by in this decade. This was the last decade in Hollywood that at least had comedies produced and this was one of the more underrated ones from the first half of the 2010s. Although far from hilarious, both of the brothers are quite funny at times and I loved their dynamic.

Jason Segel is an actor who disappeared in the last five or so years, but he had a pretty solid career during this period and this is one of his best movie roles where he was typecast for sure, but that led to a believable, strong performance. Jeff is an unemployed basement dweller who is a giant in height, but that gentle giant personality was endearing to witness. His philosophy in life was the movie’s best and most important message – living life to the fullest and believing in something higher than yourself.

Ed Helms was also very well cast and his Pat is a much more grounded, but still amusing character. The two share a wonderful brotherly relationship and how they both helped each other was so heartwarming to witness. Judy Greer also impresses in probably her career-best role while Susan Sarandon was reliably fantastic in a surprisingly sweet subplot that depicts the possibility of love at an old age in a very optimistic manner.

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Jeff, Who Lives at Home as a whole has such a positive outlook on life and so much undeniably kinetic, uplifting energy that I was genuinely surprised that this type of movie would be released in this cynical age. Although totally implausible and overly convenient in its third act, that ending was still wonderful and the whole movie is engaging, tender and very well written in its dialogue.