This Is Where I Leave You

A high powered cast represents a family gathered together to sit Shiva (a Jewish period of mourning) for the deceased patriarch of their family. Reunited at close quarters and at a stressful period inevitably highlights tensions within family relationships and generates new sources for tension too.

The group setting is a familiar structure for establishing a dramatic and/or comedic environment. With performers of the calibre of Jane Fonda and Tina Fey the casting element of 'This Is Where I Leave You' is set up for success but for the mine the film goes off the rails somewhat. For example, the Rabbi (admittedly, an incidental character) is as unlikely a spiritual leader as one could imagine. And you know a film about 'adult' issues and relationships is struggling when one of the recurring threads is a joke about a baby's pooping activities.

With all that talent on show this could have been better.
★★1/2