In this witty dramedy, writer/director Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) displays her talent by telling a bizarre family story. The tale is about the strained relationship between a middle-aged brother and sister, neither of whom ever married, and how they must come to grips with caring for their once emotionally abusive and neglectful father who is now elderly and suffers from dementia.

The siblings are Jon and Wendy Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney). Jon, the older brother, is a neurotic English Theater professor in Buffalo, New York, who preaches obscure social reform issues and has romantic problems with his Polish girlfriend named Kasia (Cara Seymour), who is leaving him. Wendy lives in the East Village of New York City and has a habit of telling lies and popping pills, and lives a boring life as a wanna-be writer working at temp jobs. She also has romantic problems with a married man named Larry (Peter Friedman) who lives in her building.

When the siblings get word that their father Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco) is seriously ill, they must figure a way to live together once again and care for him. This will awaken bad memories and unconventional habits they never overcame as children, which caused the family's friction in the beginning. Before they take on this endeavor, they must visit their father Lenny at an upscale senior community in Arizona where he lived with his longtime girlfriend who recently died. They must relocate their father from an exclusive senior center on the warm West coast to a nursing home on the frigidly cold East coast.

The story broadens out into another rich but rarely explored theme - the complex web woven by brother-sister relationships. This relationship at times is hysterical and yet incredibly moving. I found it fascinating to watch their completely different ways of dealing with the world and yet still maintain the ability to trust and rely on each other. Each sibling develops a different reaction to their father's dire situation, with Wendy obsessively hoping to make it all right and Jon trying to maintain a sense of cool, detached realism.

Laura Linney, who gets top billing in this film, shows she can create another darkly funny and deeply poignant role on the heels of her Golden Globe-nominated performance in The Squid and The Whale. The illness and death of a parent is one of the most significant things that can happen to anybody. It is a frightening topic that is frequently avoided. Linny takes the audience through many of those emotions. Her fine performance is credible, funny, and often very sensitive. Hoffman is dynamic as a purposely imperfect man struggling within the limitations of his life. And Bosco, who is one of America's most distinguished actors known for many Broadway performances, shows he has a great sarcastic sense of humor. The supporting cast of David Zayas, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Tonye Patano, Guy Boyd and Debra Monk adds to a witty and clever movie.

This narrative is dark and heartbreaking, yet incredibly funny and hopeful.

Directed by: Tamara Jenkins
Running time: 114 minutes
Release date: November 28, 2007 (limited)
Genre: Drama and Comedy
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures
MPAA Rating: R