Causeway effect

Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Crit

Don't see this for Jason Segel's portrayal of the title character, a saintly lost man who is endearing in a movie but whom you would beat to death with a ball peen hammer if you had to spend 24 hours with him; don't go to see nice guy Ed Helms prove that he can play a thoroughly convincing asshole; don't go to see Judy Greer demonstrate yet again that she has the chops to carry a film, if only someone in Hollywood would pay attention; don't go to see Rae Dawn Chong's most memorable performance since Choose Me; hell, don't even go to see Lake Pontchartrain's most prominent gig since sloshing over the levees after Katrina.

No, go to see the meatiest role in I don't know how long for Susan Sarandon. I just saw her 41-year-old self less than a week ago, of course (and for that matter, right before leaving work I heard her 28-year-old voice intone the memorable line "God bless Lili St. Cyr"), but the 64- or 65-year-old version who made this film is as gorgeous as any woman could be, and if she's had work done, it's the smoothest work I've ever seen. But forget the looks: surprisingly, her third-tier character gets to have a life crisis of her own, even apart from the one her sons cause her, and gets to have exciting romantic possibilities.

Not a great film, but a beautiful one.

Oh, and a bonus: after the film, I met a 17-year-old self-described movie nerd named (no way! see the film and you'll understand how perfect this is) Kevin, who does a sort of YouTube version of this. I'll check back after the evening film & we can see what he has to say about Jeff.

Trailers

• The Five-Year Engagement--Segal again, with the romcom-ubiquitous Emily Blunt.
• Sound of My Voice--A little bit of Martha Marcy May Marlene, with young, naïve investigative reporters on the scoop.
• Dark Shadows--Burton, Depp, and '70s soap-opera camp; what could go wrong?
• G.I. Joe: Retaliation--Oh, sure.