Enormously enjoyable from its first scene to its last. One of the best films of 2012 so far. Tons of huge laughs, and great performances from the whole cast. It's a shame Jason Segel spends most of his time stuck on a CBS laugh track sitcom; he's a no bullshit talent.

This is a good film that fails to offer an interesting enough plot. It's strongest feature is that its characters have traits that are uncomfortably similar to traits that I and people I know have. It has an interesting and straightforward portrayal of flaws that are all too common. The problem is the resolution is fairly weak and predictable. Avoid if you need a more engaging plot, but worth a watch if you like seeing realistic characters interact and seeing an emotional story unfold.

It's probably because Cyrus was the last Duplass vehicle that I saw, but I liked this flick quite a bit. Despite a pretty thin screenplay, Segel (even though he's not out of his comfort zone) and Helms are great, and I give the film big bonus points for the last 30 minutes.

The Tree of Life, mumblecore style.

Saw a Duplass double bill tonight, this movie and the Do-Deca-Pentathlon. While there are a lot of similarities in the setup and subject matter, Jeff is by far the more interesting story, and the plot twists and dialogue here are silly and touching at the same time. Segel, Helms and the supporting cast, especially Judy Greer, are excellent.

Setup-wise (a haphazard slacker and his on-track older brother making friends), it's fine. But nothing, and certainly not the Susan Sarandon subplot, elevates the film much above mere averageness.

"For the most part, this is a boys-will-be-boys movie that excuses everything its pair of protags do in the name of some sort of cosmic order." - Andrew Schenker