A film starring John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill about a mother who has an unusually close relationship with her son could have been vulgar. In the hands of writers/directors Jay and Mark Duplass, the story turns into a quirky mix between drama and comedy. Reilly shows why he’s an Oscar nominee and not just Will Ferrell’s sidekick and Hill has a chance to prove that he’s more than a cog in the Judd Apatow comedy machine. Oh, and Marisa Tomei gets to extend her current winning streak.
John (Reilly, CHICAGO) is a lonely guy. Since getting divorced from Jamie (Catherine Keener, CAPOTE) seven years ago, he hasn’t had a date. Now she’s getting remarried. They have remained good friends and colleagues and she forces him to go to a party. Awkward moments abound for the sad sack until to says something that attracts the beautiful Molly (Tomei, MY COUSIN VINNY). John goes all out to impress this new woman. But she’s keeping secrets. Turns out she lives with her 21-year-old son Cyrus (Hill, SUPERBAD). John thinks she’s a MILF, but the problem is Cyrus thinks so too.
Molly has coddled her son his whole life. He gives John the creeps with his directness, neurotic behavior and his physical closeness to his mother. The first night John stays over at their place, his shoes mysterious disappear. Who is not the mystery, but why is? But this mother-son relationship runs both ways. Molly has invested all her emotional life in Cyrus and has a hard time letting outside people into their world. She’s protective of him and doesn’t see his faults clearly. And yet she’s not clueless, she knows Cyrus is different, but to what extent she is oblivious.
Reilly has played this character before, most notably in MAGNOLIA. He’s great at it though and gives John different nuances. He’s come to terms with the fact that his own actions, or better his lack of action, ended his first marriage. He resigned himself to being alone, but when Molly comes along, he isn’t going to let a good thing slip away. In the processes, he gains more confidence in himself.
Tomei plays Molly with a sweetest shyness. She’s clingy with her son and connects to John’s honesty and openness quickly. His directness probably reminds her of Cyrus. At the party where they meet John questions why such a beautiful woman like her would be caught in the forest with Shrek. She’s just as lonely as he is. Her relationship with her son has probably scared off other suitors.
Hill makes Cyrus creepy in an original way. He stares and asks questions and requests that most people would only keep to themselves. The film keeps Cyrus from simply being the butt of every joke. He says funny things, but they create more awkward silences than laughs. The lines are more than just punchlines. He attempts to deal with the situation maturely, but the closer John and his mother get, the more he tries to slyly sabotage their relationship.
It’s in this area that the film avoids landmines. Whenever the film could have sunk into juvenile one-upmanship, the Duplass Brothers bring the story back to the characters and reality. It’s as if they sat down with all the clichés this story could have presented and then tried to find what would really happen if the premise were real. In doing so, the story deals with complex emotions and allows the actors to develop deep characters. Right when you think you know how a character is going to act in a given situation, based on conventions, they prove you wrong. In a film that’s so refreshing.
What are also refreshing are the many great character moments. Watch Molly’s reaction to John’s embarrassing singing at the party. See how one’s opinion changes as Cyrus plays his house music for John. Notice what Molly says before going into Jamie’s wedding. Then take note of how John reacts to Cyrus’s attack at the wedding. What could have been a cliché turns into a defining moment for the character.
I went into this film expecting belly laughs, which never really came. But what I got was far richer than I could have hoped for. What we have here is an unusual and original love triangle. Kind of like Oedipus for the modern dating age.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
