Adult Beginners (2015)

Some things work but most don't in this indie dramedy. For maybe the first half of the film things seemed to move along fairly well, but especially in the final third of the movie it pretty much falls apart with stilted, non-believable, and even mean-spirited dialogue and scenes that were far from entertaining for me. Nick Kroll stars as Jake, a business entrepreneur ready to launch a new product (technological eyewear), for which he's raised millions of dollars from family, friends, and investors. However at the last minute, a crucial part for the product cannot be delivered by a Chinese company, and the whole deal collapses. Thus, Jake, to avoid angry investors, packs his bags and heads to New Rochelle, New York to stay with his sister Justine, who's 3 months pregnant and living with her husband Danny (Bobby Cannavale) and their 3-year-old son Teddy. Despite Jake being an absentee family member for years, Justine takes him in, especially when he agrees to take care of Teddy while she and Danny are at work.The highly talented and vivacious actress Rose Byrne portrays Justine, but there's just so much she can do with this rather weak script, in my opinion. Cannavale also gives his usual solid performance as Danny, and Paula Garces adds well to the mix as a possible love interest for Jake. The remainder of the movie will center on how the family interacts with each other and how Jake will try to adjust to his new role in suburbia.In summary, this film directed by Ross Katz with a screenplay from Jeff Cox and Liz Flahive, can't seem to sustain it's humor and edge over the course of the entire movie, and, as other reviewers have noted, falls rather flat as a result.

Jake is not awesome. Jake is also broke and now stuck living on his sister's air mattress in New Jersey in the independent comedy Adult Beginners.Adult Beginners appears to be judged a bit more harshly, and rather unjustly, due to individual viewers' biases against Nick Kroll. The plot may not be the most original, but the characters are real and identifiable, and as far as indie films go, a well done effort.Jake, played by Nick Kroll, is an entrepreneur behind the next big tech item. Unfortunately, its production is doomed and he is out his entire investment, his and several others' large venture capital. What does one do when they've failed in Manhattan? Why, go back to your family with your tail between your legs to the suburbs of New Jersey! His sister Justine, played by Rose Byrne, isn't completely pleased but agrees to let him stay for three months and watch her and her husband's (Bobby Cannavale) son.The plot has been done to death, and that is the only thing working against Adult Beginners as a film. The character types are also far from original, from the narcissistic protagonist to the less than perfect family he is forced to stay with. So, you may ask yourself, why bother watching the movie? Because, Adult Beginners is enjoyable. The drama of the story is not too serious so the film still has an 'escapist' effect. The writing is natural and fluid and the acting realistic and entertaining. The fun is in the medley of recognizable faces that make cameos throughout the film. It seems unfathomable that someone could hate Adult Beginners because it is a perfectly likable film, and is in fact, quite a nice watch and I would do it again.Please check out our website for full reviews of all the recent releases.

Maybe it's because I have a younger brother, or that I'm an 80's kid. Whatever it was, I loved this movie. The soundtrack, the nuanced family relationships, nursery fables on cassette, Toad the Wet Sprocket are all highlights.Rose Byrne is radiant as the dependable mother/sister who is stretched slightly too thin for comfort. Nick Kroll is just the right amount of cynical and self-centred to be amusing. Seeing their slow journey towards growing as a family is heart-warming (and not in a Hallmark, "here is a treacle explosion to satiate your need for plastic family fantasies" kind of way). This is a performance-driven piece, and worth a watch.

I had high hopes for Nick Kroll, Rose Byrne & the other actors in this movie, since I enjoy The League, SNL, The Soup & Neighbors etc. I watched the entire film unfortunately it had an extremely stale story line, to the point I did not care at all to see the ending. Seemed dull enough to fast forward until the end. Character development was non-existent, Nick Kroll should never be the lead in a movie, I'm unsure if its his acting or poor script writing. The script was so predictable & over done. The acting does seem forced & unnatural, not sure why this movie was made, maybe the Duplass brothers have money to waste? If you wanna regret an hour & a half of your life watch it, if you want to laugh & be captivated don't press play.