MovieTime

Review

by Jason Di Rosso

Everything's going pear-shaped for 30-something Noah (Dax Shepard): he's just lost his job; his overbearing, loopy mother (Diane Keaton) has left his father and moved in; the wife (Liv Tyler) is on his case about having a child and her cousin, an aspiring sci-fi screenwriter (Mike White), is camped in their lounge with his iBook.

It's a family disaster movie that's as cringeworthy as it is funny. At times the characterisation is very harsh (Diane Keaton's portrayal of a mother on the edge, in particular, is merciless), but ultimately the script plays fair and gives everyone a shot at explaining themselves. Warm hearted, without being sentimental.

Director: Vince Di Meglio
Cast: Diane Keaton, Dax Shepard, Liv Tyler, Mike White, Ken Howard, Selma Stern
Producer: Johnson Chan, Bill Johnson, Tim Rasmussen, Jay Roach
Script: Tim Rasmussen, Vince Di Meglio
Cinematographer: Julio Macat
Editor: Kelly Matsumoto
Music: Manish Raval, Tom Wolfe
Running time: 92
Australian distributor: Hoyts
Language: English
Classification: M