Don’t be fooled by the trailer! This film appears to be a quirky comedy, but is actually a dreary drama from film director/performance artist Miranda July. It stars Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins as down-on-their-luck, low-grade con artists who wander around LA trying to scrape up a few bucks with their gawky, closed-off daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). One scam involves a stranger they meet on a plane (Gina Rodriguez) whose presence significantly affects the family. Until she arrives, this bleak family is a downer and so is the movie. It’s trying hard to be quietly peculiar and it succeeds, but at the expense of entertainment. With each tedious scene, I kept hoping for some breakout to make it all worthwhile. Despite a VERY FEW amusing observations, there’s little laughing here…just self-indulgent attempts at being eccentrically off-center.
(2 / 5)