Adult Beginners

Some of my favourite people come together in this movie, so I couldn’t resist, but neither could I legitimately build up my expectations since it was just an unvouched-for indie among many on Netflix.

adult And it doesn’t have much of a plot that I can summarize for you; it’s an unambitious slice of life. It’s about a guy (Nick Kroll) who shows up at his sister’s door in suburbia, looking for a place to live. He’s had some major setbacks and he’s feeling way too old to start his whole life over again. She’s (Rose Byrne) not in a much better place, kind of not sure about her job, her marriage, or even where to be or who to be. They’re listless. But the interesting thing about the movie, to me, is that they’re not painted as losers. They’ve just had some bad luck and some hard times, and that’s life.

Not the laugh-out-loud comedy you’d expect, I was caught off guard by how AdultBeginners_2014_BluRay_1080p_DTS_x264ETRG_mkv_snapshot_01_25_59_2015_08_04_17_47_46 thoughtful and mature this movie is – maybe one of the more realistic movies about adult family relationships I’ve seen in a long while. Byrne and her on-screen husband, Bobby Cannavale, are a real-life couple, and they play well together. Throwing funny man Nick Kroll into the mix as a more or less straight-man is a bold and surprisingly effective choice. Everyone is some degree of flawed in this movie but we don’t make monsters out of any of them. They’re very relatable, and there’s a adultbeginners quiet generosity in the characterization, a forgiveness I’m not used to see in movies that was really refreshing and kind of a relief.

While it doesn’t exactly gift-wrap an opaquely happy ending, it does suggest that second chances are possible, and maybe that’s as happy an ending as I really need.

16 thoughts on “Adult Beginners”

Colane Conundrum March 14, 2016 at 9:12 pm

Cool! I’ve seen this one on iTunes, so now I’ll have to check it out.

LikeLike

Reply ↓

Liz A. March 14, 2016 at 11:27 pm

I heard of this one. It came out a year or so ago, right? It vanished pretty quickly, but I do believe it had a theatrical run.

LikeLike

Reply ↓

Jay Post authorMarch 23, 2016 at 4:43 pm

I was never even conscious of it being in theatres!

LikeLike

Reply ↓

Birgit March 15, 2016 at 12:20 am

I haven’t heard of this but it sounds Like a good one to see. I a, adding it to my list

LikeLike

Reply ↓

fragglerocking March 15, 2016 at 4:32 am

Nice to be pleasantly surprised then. Nice review for it.

LikeLike

Reply ↓

kmSalvatore March 15, 2016 at 10:29 am

Haven’t hard of this one.. Hopefully it’ll show up on tv and , it looks like something I’d watch 😉 thanks for the review

LikeLike

Reply ↓

The Telltale Mind March 15, 2016 at 11:05 am

I’m only going to watch this because of Rose Byrne. Good review!

LikeLike

Reply ↓

Jay Post authorMarch 23, 2016 at 4:44 pm

Well she’s a pretty good reason.

LikeLiked by 1 person

Reply ↓

elisa ruland March 15, 2016 at 12:43 pm

Nice review…I’ll check it out.

LikeLike

Reply ↓

Alok Singhal March 15, 2016 at 4:58 pm

All that ends well is well. Happy for happy ending 🙂

LikeLike

Reply ↓

vinnieh March 18, 2016 at 7:56 am

Great review, I think this movie would be good for me to watch.

LikeLike

Reply ↓

Jay Post authorMarch 23, 2016 at 4:46 pm

Good for you as in you could learn a few things?

LikeLiked by 1 person

Reply ↓
1. vinnieh March 24, 2016 at 3:35 am
  
  I like the sound of mixing comedy and drama. When done well the results can be great.
  
  LikeLike