A few years ago I had the honour of meeting director Sam Mendes after a Q & A screening here for 'American Beauty'. That film is brilliant and I have loved all his films since.
While I liked 'Revolutionary Road' from earlier this year, much like many people I found it to be a very depressing view of marriage. Luckily Sam has decided to make a film that sees the other side of things with a more happier view. The film is also a lot more low key than his other films with no big names and a very low budget. It is kind of a refreshing change. While the plot of the film is very episodic it is still very interesting and wonderfully told. To me it feels like a very modern story as you don't normally get many older films showing a couple searching for places to raise their kids. It leads to many funny situations with some very crazy people.
John Krasinski is not an actor I'm very familiar with. I have not seen 'The Office' USA version and have only seen him in 'License To Wed' which was not a good thing to judge him on. I must say that he was very impressive here and showed his versatility as an actor in being able to do comedy and drama. He was though very funny in the film and a lot of the humour comes from him. There was one particular moment that had me in hysterical fits of laughter. I think this maybe the only thing I've seen Maya Rudolph in as I don't watch 'Saturday Night Live'. She is not terribly funny here but that's OK as she is very good at the dramatic moments. Of the other cast the other highlights are the nicely over the top Allison Janney who is one of my all time favourite actresses. Maggie Gyllenhaal is also very hilarious in her small role. I don't think I've seen her this funny.
While not my favourite Sam Mendes film (that's still 'American Beauty') it is still a very good film and a great comedy/drama.
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