Jeff Who Lives at Home 2011

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: All of these comic actors find different sorts of laughs -- sadder, truer ones -- by toning down some of their usual tendencies. They're no less effective this way, but the shift does provide an unexpected tone. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: You come to like Jeff and even to admire him. The aura of holy foolishness that hangs around him is not just bong exhaust: he turns out to be the hero of a disarmingly sincere spiritual fable. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Oh, goody, another movie about Lumberus manchildus. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Most of the material avoids the treacle zone, while Jason Segel, as the man-child in residence, gives a performance that I can only describe as gravely affecting. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" has a meandering quality, like its title, that's oddly appealing; you feel like you know these very regular-looking people, and slowly become invested in their dilemmas. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Segel's shaggy charisma and daft sweetness breathe new life into a sturdy mumblecore archetype, and a perfectly typecast Helms radiates a grubby desperation that's poignant and funny. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: This isn't a movie for everyone, but for fans of quirky charm leavened occasionally by uncomfortable, realistic exchanges, it's a small delight. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: A sitcom would set these events in motion and 22 minutes later have them solved. This is a sitcom at four times the length, 10 percent the amusement, and triple the amount of nauseating photography. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: There are some funny scenes in which the two brothers spy on the wife, who may be having an affair, but the movie's climax is a badly contrived attempt to ratify Jeff's notion of personal destiny. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The lives of these sweet, confused, basically decent people wrap around one another in ways that are funny, far-fetched and touching. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: A goofy, sweet comedy about estranged siblings who work their way back to brotherly love in the course of a daylong, very shaggy caper of coincidences. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Segel's performance is the heart of the film, his naive faith making other characters' bolder gestures believable... Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Segel ... seems to be staking his claim on just about any sweet, clueless character that comes along. He should be more discriminating. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: A surprisingly sappy misfire from brothers Jay and Mark Duplass - a hug-it-out, touchy-feely movie that succumbs to the maudlin sentimentality they had avoided in all their previous pictures. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" is [the Duplass brothers'] best yet. Read more

Ian Buckwalter, NPR: Both Jeff and the film have a way of sneaking up on you. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The whole movie is about piecing together broken parts. It may not always come together, but what it makes, if you look at it the right way, is endearing. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Generates quite a few laughs on the way to a surprisingly satisfying climax. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: The plausibility of the finale is open to question, but the filmmaking duo's determination to take us there makes a nice kind of sense. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It feels incomplete and the ending is entirely too convenient. We've seen all of this before. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: A whimsical comedy, very whimsical, depending on the warmth of Segal and Sarandon, the discontent of Helms and Greer... Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The funny, touching and vital Jeff, Who Lives at Home reaffirms your faith in Jay and Mark Duplass. Their films hit you where you live. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It's a brilliant sleight of hand: Nothing important seems to be happening, and yet stuff keeps happening, and the movie is always pushing forward. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: This is one of those smart, funny, rueful movies like "Cedar Rapids" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" where you sense that everyone involved truly cares about the characters. It's impossible not to join in the good feeling. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Jeff, Who Lives at Home" is a high-wire act that could crash if the actors were out of sync, but under this big top, the never-better Segel keeps everyone aloft. Read more

James Adams, Globe and Mail: It's boring. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: This latest comedy from writer-directors Jay and Mark Duplass turns out to be chock-full of an element missing from most of today's movies: genuine surprise. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: For both Segel and the Duplass brothers, Jeff marks a turning point. The actor comes into his own with a layered, pleasing performance, and the filmmakers behind The Puffy Chair, Baghead and Cyrus move towards more commercial films. Read more

Scott Bowles, USA Today: Sarandon is worth leaving home for, even if Jeff won't. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: The Duplass brothers take another step toward conventional Hollywood storytelling without sacrificing the sincere, true-to-life quality that got studios interested in the first place. Read more

Brian Miller, Village Voice: Jeff is a surprisingly mutable, ultimately poignant day-in-the-life drama about a slacker who genuinely wants to stand tall. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: It's the modest, mumblecore version of the seemingly perennial story of man-children in the promised land. Read more