FILM: THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU FDG RATING: 2.6 Film Discussion Group (FDG) Scale is 1-5 (5 is best) Shawn Levy: Director, Jonathan Tropper: screen writer, author of book Jason Bateman: Actor: Judd Altman Tina Fey: Actress: Wendy Altman Jane Fonda: Actress: Hilary Altman DATE: October 19, 2014 DISCUSSION SUMMARY: THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU Jonathan Tropper wrote the very humorous book, This Is Where I Leave You, and also wrote the screen play for the film. It sounds like a recipe for success but for our resident film critics, the key ingredients were missing. A dysfunctional family including 4 disgruntled obsessive siblings with spouses, or girlfriend’s, plus children (one toddler in full potty-training proud exhibitionism), return home for their father’s memorial, and at their mom’s request, reluctantly attempt to sit shiva together for 7 days, a very traditional Jewish custom, although no one in the family is very religious. The situation sets the stage for a great comedic cast starring Jane Fonda (Hillary Altman) as the self- absorbed child therapist author matriarch (who shared way too many family secrets in her book), and Jason Batemen (Judd Altman) and Tina Fey (Wendy Altman) as two of the four siblings. What we were served, however, was rather flavorless although liberally peppered with profanity. While mildly entertaining, sprinkled with some humorous one liners and several funny scenes such as Judd’s fold down bed that can only open halfway as it is squeezed in an odd spot in the basement and the discovery of marijuana in the pocket of dad’s sport jacket, the film tasted flat. A watered down script and a gimmicky surprise ending disappointed our film goers who were hungry for a good comedy. The film received a bland 2.6 score on a scale of 1 to 5. …… See you at the movies! Adriane Dedic, [email protected] Film Discussion Group (FDG) organizer .