In A Little Help, by writer/director Michael J. Weithorn, is about Laura, (Jenna Fischer, NBC’s The Office, Hall Pass) a working mom on Long Island who’s coasting through life, is bored, drinks too much and has become hated by her adolescent son. Her life is thrown through a loop when her possibly-cheating husband unexpectedly dies and her family presses her to file a lawsuit against the doctor. It’s tough to describe this indie dramedy without giving it all away.
What’s at the heart of the film is all the great subplots and the awesome cast. Jenna Fischer as Laura is irresponsible and almost unlikeable. Laura was a popular girl in high school and never really had to work for anything. It’s a character that’s not often portrayed as sympathetic, but somehow it seems to work because of the unique circumstances she gets into. She doesn’t take an active role in her life, she just kinda lets things happen. This has worked out for her for the most part, but eventually, she has to take responsibility.
One of the bright spots in the cast was Kim Coates (FX’s Sons of Anarchy) as the lawyer, Mel Kaminsky. He so often plays bad guys that it was really refreshing to see him as a lawyer. Another delight was Rob Benedict as Laura’s brother-in-law. He’s got a certain charm that is so underappreciated. I was also very impressed by Daniel Yelsky, who plays the young son, Dennis. He perfectly captures the angst of an unpopular boy.
Brooke Smith (ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy), however, was typically cast as uptight and totally unlikeable. I really want to see her in something fun and maybe even (shocker) nice. I really didn’t like Chris O’Donnell as the husband either. In his defense, he really didn’t have time to develop the character, but it still seemed a little odd for him even to appear.
The film is not remarkable, but it’s got great talent and a very relatable set of subplots that drive the story. It’s not one that I would highly recommend, but it’s got enough elements to make it worthy of a DVD viewing.
Rating: Complicated but light with solid acting. 5/10
In limited release on July 22, 2011.
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