I had very high expectations for this film. Not only is it based on an excellent book, but the author of that book, Jonathan Tropper, also penned the screenplay! This knowledge gave me hope that the film adaptation would not make any strange deviations from the excellent work of fiction that is This Is Where I Leave You. To top it all off, the film boasts comedic heavyweights such as Tina Fey and Jason Bateman. How could you go wrong? The answer? You couldn't. I loved it.
For those who are unfamiliar with the novel, the film might have been a bit of a surprise. With the likes of Bateman and Fey, the expectations of many likely leaned towards the lighthearted, comedic side of things. While This is Where I Leave You is certainly funny, it has a very serious tone. The Altman's are not all happy-go-lucky, and things don't always work out for them. Life is hard, and life is messy. That is what you see in this film.
Like I had hoped, the film did stay rather true to the novel--there are even direct quotations in some of the characters' lines. That is something I really appreciated. I also appreciated that the end of the film left me feeling a lot more hopeful than the end of the novel did! Yay optimism!
If you haven't seen this film or read this book, I encourage you to do both. However, if you are going to see the film, don't let the cast fool you. Although they do an incredible job, it's not all fun and games. It's a family dramedy with lots of both.
You can find my review of the novel here. :)
XO
Happy reading and watching!