sophie-17495
Jake (Nick Kroll) a guy who's been living the bachelor start up life but finds himself without money or friends after his tech investment start up project goes belly up. He goes back to his childhood home where his older sister, Justine (Rose Byrne), lives with her husband and 3 year old son. She's pregnant, trying to sell her house, discontent with her job, and isn't particularly happy to see her brother who only shows up when he needs something. Nevertheless, she lets him stay and he takes over as nanny to her 3 year old son. This set up had some really good potential. It could have been a good story about a guy who finds himself at a loss without a job, living in his hometown, and not knowing what to do with his life but the movie falls flat at really exploring the themes it sets up. It splits its focus between Jake and his sister without really fleshing out either of them enough. Too many elements are introduced (learning to take care of his nephew, Justine's dissatisfaction with her job, the marriage issues, Justine feeling betrayed by her brother for not being around, Jake's lonliness) that it all gets lost. If the writers had focused on just one or two of these things, the movie would have been stronger.The ending is so rushed and the stakes so low, that I felt kind of cheated.I also have to mention that I have a huge pet peeve about the fact that Justine was pregnant, but barely looked pregnant throughout the movie.Kroll and Byrne do a good job with the script they are given which left me feeling again like this movie could have been so much better. I found Kroll amazingly likable and sweet and for me, that made this movie worth watching.
Gordon-11
This film tells the story of a high flying entrepreneur who lost everything on the night of his company launch. With nothing under his belt, he goes unannounced to his sister's home to stay a few months. The problem is, he and his sister aren't even close."Adult Beginners" is a fun film. It tells the way Jake slowly reconnects with his sister Justina, who haven't seen each other for a year. In the three months they stay together, they grow closer to each other and even make amends of the troubled past. The topic is dealt with in a light hearted manner so that it's not grim at all, but still provides the emotional roller-coaster amidst the laughters. It highlights the divide between work and family, and makes people reflect on the importance of connecting with your family. It's a nice film to watch.
Johan Dondokambey
The story background seems like another classic of s man rebuilding his life after a sudden loss. The main focus on the family and relationship drama feels really nice. The way the movie's script depicts the many small things happening in Jake's life is really nice that it feels so subtle and smooth. The movie literally didn't have any increase or decrease in mood, and just dominantly play on a single track of story development. The smaller things seem unpredictable, although their consequences seem so very predictable once they have come on-screen. The acting overall is quite a good bit. Rose Byrne's acting still feels okay although the character doesn't really need much more development. Nick Kroll really gets the comedy side nicely, just at the right portion. Bobby Cannavale's acting really balances the whole set.
CleveMan66
Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale have been dating since 2012 and have made three films together in that time. She's the Australian beauty known for the "X-Men" and "Insidious" films, as well as 2014's "Neighbors" and 2011's "Bridesmaids". He's the tall, dark and handsome actor who played Al Pacino's estranged son in "Danny Collins" (2015), Cate Blanchett's would-be suitor in "Blue Jasmine" (2011) and did a season each of "Nurse Jackie" and "Boardwalk Empire". Together, Byrne and Cannavale have made 2014's "Annie" and 2015's spring releases "Adult Beginners" and "Spy". Now, you may be wondering why I've devoted the opening paragraph of my review of "Adult Beginners" (R, 1:30) to the relationship between two of the movie's stars. Well, it's because that's the most interesting thing about this movie. Nick Kroll (who has had a recurring role on "Parks and Recreation" and has his own show on Comedy Central) came up with the story, and stars in "Adult Beginners" as Jake, a self-centered tech guru whose career gets off track, leading him to move in with his sister, Justine (Byrne) and her husband, Danny (Cannavale). Justine, who's expecting her second child, and Danny, who's building the young family a new home, let Jake earn his keep (and saves them some money) by providing day care for their 3-year-old son, Teddy (played by twins Caleb and Matthew Paddock). Jake is predictably inept at taking care of the lad, but he isn't the only adult in the film with an underdeveloped sense of self. Along with Jake, Justine and Danny also feel and act like overgrown kids, or… adult beginners.The film's title actually refers to the fact that Jake and Justine never learned to swim, but they end up taking little Teddy to a swim class taught by Miss Jenn (Jane Krakowski), who encourages them to take an adult beginners swim class. Other familiar faces that pop up in minor roles include Josh Charles ("The Good Wife") as Jake's prospective employer, Joel McHale ("Community") as Jake's shallow best friend and Bobby Moynihan ("SNL"), who plays a socially awkward former high school classmate of Jake's. After riding a pretty steep learning curve, and with the help of fellow nanny, Blanca (Paula Garcés), Jake starts to get the hang of being Teddy's nanny, but being in his sister's home for a period of months exposes him to some family drama that he would rather have avoided, but has to deal with. "Adult Beginners" wants to be a poignant reflection on what it means to be an adult, and make us laugh in the process. It fails on both counts. The conversations and scenes meant to deliver the movie's message are few, far between and not really integral to the other goings-on. The jokes are not few and far between, but they're also not very funny. The cast member who comes closest to amusing is Moynihan, but only in two brief scenes. The three main adult characters are unsympathetic and the actors playing them are uncharismatic. Cannavale, who has done some great work over the past couple years, unconvincingly bounces back and forth between clueless and angry. Byrne, whose career has had as many misses as hits, was funnier in "Neighbors" – and that ain't saying much. Kroll sleepwalks through his role, a self-absorbed sad-sack, a la Adam Sandler, but not as entertaining. McHale and Krakowski could have brightened things up a bit, but instead are relegated to thankless roles that make almost no use of their considerable comedic talents.The scenes depicting Jake's struggles with his new position as glorified babysitter are uninspired and the other gags involving kids aren't only unfunny, they're offensive, that is, unless you find pregnant women getting drunk, couples having sex while toddlers are left to fend for themselves and frequent swearing in front of small children to be humorous. And speaking of the language in this movie, I'm no prude and I think that some well-placed cussing can even be pretty funny, but this script drops f-bombs and other colorful words like they're going out of style. The foul language doesn't advance the plot, doesn't make the movie any funnier and seems to have pointlessly saddled this film with an unnecessarily restrictive MPAA rating. This film gives us too little of what could have made it entertaining, too much of what distracted from its potential and makes me think the title would be better used to describe the people who made this movie. "Adult Beginners" gets a "D".
