This Is Where I Leave You

Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Jane Fonda, Timothy Olyphant, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Kathryn Hahn, Dax Shepard, Connie Britton

Year: 2014

I honestly can't pin-point why I love this movie, but I really do. I am not Jewish. I don't know anything about sitting shiva (which btw, is a week-long mourning period with immediate family, after the passing of a loved one). But I am drawn to this movie over and over again. Maybe it's because it has an amazing cast. Strong amazing cast. Jason Bateman. Adam Driver. Tina Fey. Timothy Olyphant. Rose Byrne. Corey Stoll. Kathryn Hahn. Jane Fonda. Or maybe it's because it's about family. I seem to gravitate to movies about family. I love squishing my way into the lives of fictional families and all of their dysfunction, chaos and love.

After the death of their father, four siblings (Bateman, Fey, Driver, Stoll) are requested by their mother (Fonda) to sit shiva (dying wish of their deceased father). All grown adults coming home for a week, to live under the same roof, bringing with them their own personal baggage.

The story is narrated by Judd (Bateman). It's his story. And it begins with him struggling to cope with losing both his marriage and his job at the same time. Then on top of all that, he receives the news of his father's passing. Bad goes to worse when he is asked to come back to his childhood home, to gather with his family for a week, to mourn the passing of his father. Spending time with his sister Wendy (Fey) isn't too bad. She's a force but he loves her. Respects her. They have always been close and have always had each other to lean on. His two brothers, Phillip (Driver) and Paul (Stoll), on the other hand, bring with them a whole bunch of complicated stuff, which he really doesn't need right now.

Favourite Scenes: #1 When Judd and Wendy are sitting outside on the roof. #2 When Judd and Penny (Byrne) are laying on the ice. #3 When the brothers are in a classroom at the synagogue.

Fun Facts: #1 Even though Corey Stoll plays the oldest sibling, he is actually younger than Jason Bateman and Tina Fey in real life #2 The movie is based on a book by Jonathan Tropper - who is also the screenwriter of the movie. The book is a lot darker than the movie apparently. #3 Jason wasn't expected to cry in a scene with Jane Fonda. He's not an emotional guy normally. But Jane delivered her lines so well, so convincingly, that it brought him to tears. #4 Adam Driver is a former Lance Corporal in the United States Marine Corps.

This is Where I Leave You is about love, life, loss and family. It's about accepting truth, finding forgiveness and loving unconditionally. It's about sharing a history as a family and reconnecting after years of misunderstanding, stubbornness and distance. It's about siblings that don't like each other very much, but at the same time, hold each other up. It's not a light movie. It delves into some serious issues, with some emotional moments, and yet, it has you smiling, laughing and warming your heart as well.

Favourite Lines:

*I've spent my entire life playing it safe; just to avoid being exactly where I am right now.

*It would be a terrible mistake to go through life thinking that people are the sum total of what you see. *Being angry is just another bad habit, like smoking, and you keep poisoning yourself without thinking about it.

*Three months ago I had a great job and a nice apartment and I was in love with my wife. No you weren't. She was sleeping with somebody else for a year and you never noticed. How in love could you have been?

From one movie "buff" to another....get that popcorn popped, the lights dimmed and the movie rolling.