A dry, dark comedy, with Margot Baumbach eschews the colour and flamboyance he picked up from his days with Wes Anderson. The sense of lightness that even the dour story of Squid and the Whale still hinted is pretty much absent in this underlit, raw film. Despite this imposed seriousness, the film remains quite enjoyable.
Nicole Kidman drops her glamour look, playing a mother of a young teen who travels to visit her sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who is marrying a schlub of a man (Jack Black). Her visit proves to bring up lots of bitter memories, and her essentially schizophrenic demeanor leads to much angst, conflict and general stress.
This is not all negativity and darkness – the performances keep the tone shifting throughout, and even Jack Black (God love him, but he can certainly overreach occasionally) hits the tone of his performance perfectly. This is a sarcastic and somber comedy, certainly not to everyone’s taste, but a unique and compelling flick.