After watching this movie I have come to the realization that I do not like Steve Carrell in “mean” roles.  I am used to seeing him either being funny or the hero of a story, so it was kind of difficult to watch him in a role where the character is a two-timing liar and likes to talk down to his girlfriend’s son.

Not sure if this one is considered an indie, but it certainly does have that type of feel to it.  I thought the story felt pretty familiar too.  In fact, I feel like there should be at least one or two movies I should be able to name that are really similar to this one, but I can’t think of any titles off the top of my head at the moment.

There were a few stories going on at once in this movie.  One was Liam James’ character, Duncan, who is a misfit and an introvert trying to find a place and a group to belong to.  At some point he meets Sam Rockwell’s character, Owen, who plays a big part in helping Duncan with his issues while at the same time also learning his own lessons about responsibility.  The other main plot point would probably have to be between Steve Carrell and Toni Collette’s characters.  In short, their story can probably be summarized as a man trying to reform from his cheating ways and a woman who takes a long time to accept what she knows is going on right under her nose.  In short, this movie very much focuses on character flaws.  The pace is also at times very slow, which can make it difficult to sit through.

FINAL VERDICT: C-

Personally, I was disappointed because I had heard so many good things about this movie.  Knowing what I know now, I think I could have skipped it altogether.