Jeff, Who Lives At Home Is a Must See for Any Lover of Comedy and Drama

Anyone comedy-lover who sees Jason Segel and Ed Helms starring in a movie together would most likely be very excited. I know I (a comedy-lover) was at least ready to laugh a lot before viewing Jeff, Who Lives at Home with zero prior impressions or knowledge on the premise or tone of the film. Needless to say, I was very pleasantly surprised with this film, as it took to a very endearing and stirring tone straight off the bat.

This film follows Jeff (Jason Segel) and Pat (Ed Helms) two adult brothers who seem to be polar opposites. Jeff is a single textbook “stoner” who lives at home (as per the title states) with his (understandably) not so supportive mother (Susan Sarandon). He has a strong belief in the power of the universe and he takes many mundane events as if they are “signs” and often finds himself getting distracted and off-task by following these so-called “signs.”

His simple, sensitive and lovable personality is opposed by his brother Pat, who is a successful, very cocky and materialistic person with a failing marriage. It is clear these two never really got along, and do not find much joy in spending time with each other. However, they find themselves stuck together after Jeff’s mom sends him on an errand. His habit of following the “signs” he believes universe is sending him ends up leading the two brothers to run into one another. After crossing paths, the two brothers find themselves mixed up in a wild day consisting of secretly following Pat’s supposedly unfaithful wife, Jeff chasing his “destiny”, and other unexpected events that ultimately bring the two closer.

This film is listed as a comedy-drama, which is agreeable to a point. There are definitely funny moments in this movie- however these moments are interwoven into a situation of loneliness and despair. These two opposing tones do a very good job of balancing each other out throughout the film. It is easy to immediately dislike a character in a movie, and I personally think it would be very easy to dislike all the main characters in this movie if the given tone was changed even slightly. The drama and turmoil portrayed around each character provides the audience with a non-verbal explanation as to why each character is exactly the way they are. In fact, I found myself rooting for every single one of them despite their toxicity to themselves and others around them.

The sense of disorder and struggle in each character’s life feels so real, like any mistake these characters made could have been made by any one of us- it plants a seed of empathy within us and keeps us hoping for the best. For example, Jeff is painted as someone with his head in clouds who has an unrealistic idea on how the universe works, but after seeing who he is and how he acts, I found myself wanting to have his open-mindedness about life and the universe in general. Also, the mother’s first impression on the audience is a somewhat bitter, irritated, disapproving mother who is fed-up with her son and life in general. The audience learns however, that the father is not in the picture and she is simply lonely and has a need for affection- which is ultimately the root of her frustration.

This movie ties together beautifully and shows the everyday trials and struggles of an average group of people one could find out in public any day. Perhaps the reason this movie is so touching and genuine is the extremely relatable middle-class- slightly-dysfunctional family dynamic accompanied by very real-feeling events that seem to get blown out of proportion. It paints a wonderful picture of a not very close-knit family that was able to come together and realize how important they all really are to each other through the trial of an extremely unexpected, bizarre, and eventful day- ultimately drawing the three of them to one another through their own different experiences.

Not only does this film show us the heartwarming tale of a family reconciling, we also witness personal victories among the characters, as each one of them finds some form of satisfaction in their search for contentment. Jeff, Who Lives at Home is completely worth watching for anyone who enjoys heartwarming, goofy films that are woven into narratives built around a sense of emotional turmoil and a search for meaning.