Fraternal filmmaking duo Jay and Mark Duplass inhabit an enviable niche. They transitioned from micro-budget indies like The Puffy Chair to the studio-backed Cyrus with their resourcefulness and integrity intact. With Jeff, Who Lives at Home, the brothers deliver another fresh spin on family, inertia and relatable weirdness. Jeff (Jason Segel) and Pat (Ed Helms) are brothers. Jeff still lives with his mother (Susan Sarandon), and spends his days wearing track pants, smoking weed and waiting for his destiny. Pat, meanwhile, has forged a proper adult life for himself, complete with a job and a wife named Linda (Judy Greer). However, he habitually ignores Linda, turning his attention to finer things, like the new Porsche they can’t afford.
One day Jeff sees both a television commercial and a wrong number that feature the name Kevin: a sure sign from the universe. Following this cryptic message, he is led to a crisis-stricken Pat, who suspects Linda is having an affair. Pat convinces Jeff to help him spy on Linda, and their pursuit results in all manner of unintended consequences and revelations. Segel and Helms alternate between enthusiastic support and sibling antagonism, ably matched by Greer, who gives an earnest performance as a neglected woman pushed to the brink. And Sarandon proves that her sense of adventure and play hasn’t abated one bit — she is a feisty addition to a film that relays its universality through endearing idiosyncrasies. - Jane Schoettle, Toronto International Film Festival
