THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU (2014). Director: Shawn Levy.

Judd Altman (Jason Bateman of Identity Thief) comes home to discover his wife in bed with his boss, then learns that his father has died. He goes home for the funeral and discovers that none of his siblings are very happy, either. Wendy (Tina Fey) is married but still has feelings for the man next door (Timothy Olyphant) whom she nearly married but who became brain-damaged in an accident. Paul (Corey Stoll of House of Cards) can't give his wife, Annie (Kathryn Hahn), a baby, and it's driving her so crazy she comes on to Judd. Family screw-up Phillip (Adam Driver) has a sophisticated older girlfriend, Tracy (Connie Britton of American Horror Story), who loves him but despairs of him ever becoming a true adult. And so on. Then Mom (Jane Fonda) has a big surprise of her own. One character comes out of the closet after decades and no one asks a single question. This Is Where I Leave You is amiable enough, and generally well-acted, with some amusing moments, but it's sitcom stuff. Typical of many modern comedy-dramas it's cutesy and contrived in equal measure. They did movies like this much better in the golden age. None of the actors are really impressive the way they used to be. This is yet another movie in which the family lover boy is the least attractive of the brothers.

Verdict: Okay if you're not too demanding. **1/2.

THE PINK PANTHER (2006)

Steve Martin

THE PINK PANTHER (2006). Director: Shawn Levy.

Steve Martin is the third actor to essay the role of bumbling, lovable French Inspector Clouseau [after Peter Sellers and Alan Arkin), and he's more successful at it than you might imagine. Frankly, this version of The Pink Panther is more entertaining than the original made in the sixties which first introduced the character of Clouseau. Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) wants to take credit for finding whoever killed an athlete and stole his Pink Panther diamond [the movie never explains why the diamond has that name as the original film does] in front of hundreds of witnesses. However, as he's unable to handle the matter personally for awhile, he decides to give the assignment to a nitwit, Clouseau, who will get nowhere until Dreyfus steps in and wraps things up to unanimous acclaim. Unfortunately for Dreyfus things don't quite work out that way. The film doesn't begin well, with elderly people being horribly injured for laughs, but it improves as it goes along. Jean Reno is fine as Clouseau's new partner, Ponton, who knows he is just a dupe, and Emily Mortimer has a nice turn as Nicole, who assists Clouseau and falls for him. As the ex of the murdered man, Beyonce Knowles is pretty, but she's not really an actress and adds nothing to the film. Roger Rees is splendid as a wealthy playboy that Clouseau interviews in one of the funnier scenes. To be brutally honest, Martin and Kline are not as memorable in their roles as Sellers and Herbert Lom, but they are still quite good in spite of that, and the picture is good, dumb fun.

Verdict: You'll miss Sellers but might still be amused. ***.