leethomas-11621 Beautifully structured film with great performances from all. I genuinely felt sympathetic towards Laura throughout. Extra star for soundtrack which included tracks from Jakob Dylan.

binderhead126 I personally would give this movie 6.5/10 if possible; it isn't particularly good, but as other reviewers have commented, I appreciated the rawly exposed main character Laura (Jenna Fischer). I don't think the characters make believable individual families, but together the chemistry of the actors remind me of 'The Royal Tenenbaums', which I felt was as overrated as this movie is underrated. The plot of the movie is contrived, but if one looks at the writer/director (Michael J Weithorn), it makes perfect sense that the characters are very unique, but there is simply not enough time to develop them fully. The setting (Long Island, 2002) lends this movie some interesting flavor and some of the scenes where I laughed out loud were because they were ironic/sarcastic and generally dry, which I feel accurately depicts the vanilla suburbia that surrounds the concrete jungle of NYC. There is a theme of class warfare that I found interesting even if it did not develop into a great ending. For people who haven't seen it but might try it on Netflix, etc., it can best be explained like this: the first 25 minutes introduce many characters and would make an interesting TV pilot, and the rest of the movie tries to awkwardly make the people pieces fit together into a situation that would be better delivered as several half-hour episodes/seasons on basic cable. The ending is not particularly gratifying, but the reflections on life and the character development make it a sentimentally rewarding movie. Go into it with low expectations, and you will be pleasantly surprised. Watch it a second time, and you will be rewarded with its subtlety.

non-shill I have no idea how this film can be rated anything above 2/10. The film is utterly pointless in every facet. Every frame is annoying.I am a fan of the TV show "The Office", but I find Jenna Fisher's character in that show annoying. I guess playing annoying characters is her talent, because her character in this film is incredibly annoying throughout the film. It's hard to expand on that without including spoilers (not that anything could "spoil" this film more than the awful script already does); and I hate reviews with spoilers.As I said, this film is pointless. Nothing is resolved. The main character (Fishcher) is an idiot who learns nothing and grows not one iota. Her son is a liar and an idiot who changes not one iota. She has problems; her son has problems; her sister and brother-in-law have problems; her nephew has problems, and on and on... None of these things are resolved. No point is made. The main character "grows" some reviewers claim? Did we watch the same movie? Fisher's character does one aggravatingly-stupid thing after another; me and my wife kept saying "Why would she do that?" This movie is a pointless, poorly-acted crapfest.

Valerio95 My wife and I very much enjoyed this unpretentious film at the San Jose Cinequest Film Festival. It certainly blends comedy and drama very well, and the story line flows very smoothly. Well-delivered humor kept the audience laughing evenly throughout the story, which complimented the more somber and poignant moments. The actors, many of whom are recognizable from television and the big screen all added to the believability of the story. While I sat there and thought "I am glad this is not my family's story," I, nevertheless, could relate and was drawn to the characters and their trials. There was a certain sweetness about this story that made Laura's (Jenna Fischer) life ultimately redeeming, and ultimately a pleasant surprise to this reviewer.