Tag: Steve Zissis

I had no idea what to expect from a movie entitled Jeff, Who Lives At Home. I don’t think I ever saw a preview for it, maybe a TV ad once or twice, just that was it. But based on the actors, I assumed some sort of Apatow level comedy. Probably about an older guy who refuses to move out of his parents house. Sounds like the easiest theory? Might have some social disorder.

I DON’T KNOW, FUCK, JUST START THE MOVIE. AHHH!

Jeff is in a store, searching for a mysterious entity.

Jeff (Jason Segel) lives at home. Boom. Movie over.

Usually he spends most of his time in the basement, where he smokes pot and watches movies. His mom (Susan Sarandon) works in a cubicle and it is her birthday today! She left a note, telling Jeff to go outside, go to the store and get wood clue. What bus to take and everything. But someone else calls the house. They want to talk to Kevin. But who is Kevin? This isn’t where Kevin lives. It must be fate. Kevin must be important.

At the same time, his brother Pat (Ed Helms) is living with his wife Linda (Judy Greer) and they are saving up for a real home. But he bought an awesome Porsche anyways. He thinks it is important to spice up their relationship. She doesn’t like it. Oh well, she will come around.

On the way to the store, Jeff sees a guy in a basketball jersey with the name Kevin? Can this be the man he is meant to find?! He gets off the bus to follow this “Kevin”. Also the mother at work is getting anonymous messages from someone else in her work place. Looks like she has a secret admirer. At her age as well!

Jeff, believing in signs in the universe and that fate is leading him somewhere. It takes him throughout town and through his families lives, mostly his brothers. Who is an asshole. Because after drinking some for lunch, they do see his wife with another man (Steve Zissis) and he assumes she is cheating and flips a shit. Also a workplace friend of the mom Carol (Rae Dawn Chong) tries to help her determine the identity of the crush.

Is Jeff blindly following bullshit clues to absolute nothing? Or will it lead him to his DESTINY?

You see that? Dude is parked in a handicap space. Told you he was an ass.

I friggan loved this movie. And yet it is super simple. Counting credits, it is only 83 minutes long, but who counts credits? So in 80 minutes, we have a story of a day in these characters lives, where marriage, love, and potentially lives are on the line!

I actually watched this movie twice yesterday, the second time when I was busy doing some other tasks, but still wanted to re watch just to check to see if I missed out on anything. The beginning is actually Jeff talking about the movie Signs, how he loves all the subtle hints (or signs!) throughout the movie by the end, and why he loves the little girl character.

While it is marketed as a comedy, and it has its moments, it is definitely a pretty serious film. But both halves work together nicely in my book.

But honestly, if a movie that I watched twice in the same day isn’t a 4 out of 4 rating for me, then I don’t know what is.

Normally when I do a review intro, I might say a small quip about what I think the movie was about before watching. Most of the time that is a made up dumb joke, just to show that I tend to try and watch a lot movies without knowing what they are about.

But this one is true. Baghead? The cover is the picture below, four people with bags on their heads. Well, I figured that Baghead sounds a lot like Baghdad. This is probably a comedy (the front says comedy) that has a fictionalized place named Baghead, where instead of turbans, they just have bags on their heads, and people assuming they are all terrorists. A satire or something. This is actually what I determined from the cover and word comedy. But man was I way wrong.

Oh man, oh man what is the movie about?!

Dead wrong!

This indie movie is about four people wanting to make a movie. The group of them are seen at a film festival, and seem to be critiquing to themselves how bad a movie is that everyone else seemed to love. That director, Jett Garner, said he made the movie on a small budget by doing scenes with some real people who thought the events were all real and hidden cameras. Alright, cool. But they do get inspired. They should make a movie! Don’t know what kind, but the four are going to a cabin in the woods to figure that shit out.

We have the would be director Matt (Ross Partridge), his ex girlfriend Catherine (Elise Muller), his best friend Chad (Steve Zissis) and a girl that Chad likes, Michelle (Greta Gerwig).

But first, party time. Michelle has a dream that some guy with a bag on his head was stalking around the woods and trying to kill him. Matt says that is PERFECT for a movie, a dude with a bag on his head is scary, and proceeds to prove that point by scaring them. Of course the level of fear is more based on their reaction to a surprise than the fact that a bag is on his head, but still.

Chad really wants to do Michelle, but she wants to do Matt (who said he won’t go for it). Then a dude with a bag on his head enters Michelle’s bedroom, who she assumes is Matt. She is scared because he doesn’t do anything but rummage and leave. No one claims to be the one who went into her room. DUn dun dun..

What started out as a simple joke and a movie idea is turning into reality. Did she actually see him in a dream the first night, or was he in her room then? When everyone finds out that some dude is outside their house with a bag on his head, will they all freak out and panic, or you know, tell him to stop being a douche.

Are you scared?!

Alright well, yeah. It is a horror drama thing. Definitely didn’t find anything really comedic about the movie. I also saw what was coming a mile away, and it just bugged the shit out of me how boring I found the movie. Definitely more dramatic most of the time. Very slow. Realistic, sure, but man do I not care about any of these characters.

Really not much else to say. This movie was not a good purchase on my part.