A Little Help

I personally would give this movie 6.5/10 if possible; it isn't particularly good, but as other reviewers have commented, I appreciated the rawly exposed main character Laura (Jenna Fischer). I don't think the characters make believable individual families, but together the chemistry of the actors remind me of 'The Royal Tenenbaums', which I felt was as overrated as this movie is underrated.

The plot of the movie is contrived, but if one looks at the writer/director (Michael J Weithorn), it makes perfect sense that the characters are very unique, but there is simply not enough time to develop them fully. The setting (Long Island, 2002) lends this movie some interesting flavor and some of the scenes where I laughed out loud were because they were ironic/sarcastic and generally dry, which I feel accurately depicts the vanilla suburbia that surrounds the concrete jungle of NYC. There is a theme of class warfare that I found interesting even if it did not develop into a great ending.

For people who haven't seen it but might try it on Netflix, etc., it can best be explained like this: the first 25 minutes introduce many characters and would make an interesting TV pilot, and the rest of the movie tries to awkwardly make the people pieces fit together into a situation that would be better delivered as several half-hour episodes/seasons on basic cable. The ending is not particularly gratifying, but the reflections on life and the character development make it a sentimentally rewarding movie. Go into it with low expectations, and you will be pleasantly surprised. Watch it a second time, and you will be rewarded with its subtlety.

first of all, not much comic as stated in the genre Movie is about a married lady life in turmoil after she suspects her husband on cheating her. Being unloved and insecure she is turning alcholic resulting in child and house ignorance ( as u can see unwashed dishes and clothes spread all around in the background).

Her husband dies of heart problem. Laura tries to overcome her alcoholic tendencies and admit her son (Denis) to a private school out side the city on her imposing mother and sister demand. Alone & ignored, eager to have new friends, Dennis lies to his teachers and classmates that his father was a hero of 9/11. Laura reluctantly promises not to reveal the truth about his father death to friends.

on the other hand, Laura was forced to file a case against the doctor who failed to diagnose her husband condition and claim insurance money for her family benefit. Attorney part has been played diligently.

Inshort, there are some scenes in the movie which portray real life experiences but some points remain unanswered till the end like mother son relation and devotion in real sense

I don't know exactly how to put this into words but what appeared to be a nice drama movie in the beginning turned out to be an average boring movie till the end. Overall the movie presented a psychic storyline with a disturbed girl finding her way out of her husbands death. Coming to the acting, one can say that most of the characters did justice to what they were put through. I am a kind of person who usually don't miss a single scene of movies, even I also had to skip a few parts at the end. Direction was not very good because the movie actually fail to leave some mark in your mind and it is a kind of movie that you won't even remember its name after a week or so.

This indie dramedy casts cutie-pie Jenna Fischer (of TV's "The Office") as Laura, a woman suffering from a variety of problems—dead-end marriage, unappreciative son, bitchy sister, condescending mom—that no amount of beer and cigarettes can make go away. Then things take a turn for the worse. The movie is about how lies infect the soul—how they grow, like a cancer, and end up spoiling life. There are impressive turns by Ron Liebman and Lesley Ann Warren as Laura's parents, and Kim Coates as a calculating attorney—the embodiment of Satanic dishonesty, he might as well have been carrying a trident. "A Little Help" may not wind up in a lot of the year's Top 10 lists, but I found myself caring about the characters, warts and all. (For once, Fischer is photographed in a way that is not particularly attractive). A winning effort by first-time feature writer/director Michael J. Weithorn.

I normally don't like to call out other reviewers on their views, but I feel like the review that's posted on the page doesn't do this film justice at all. Sure, Jenna Fischer plays a very annoying character, and sure, her son is annoying as all get out, but to claim that either doesn't grow is a little rough.

I think the movie does a great job at exemplifying the tribulations of real life, and it's exactly the point of the film not to have a huge ending where everyone involved has an epiphany and changes all of his or her ways. Everyone has a ton of problems, but the fact that they aren't shown climbing triumphantly out from them is exactly how real life is, how many of you can just walk away from a rough marriage, or problems with a child, or the suspicion of an affair? These aren't things one can simply "Get over" within the span of days, or maybe even ever, and this movie shows that in a way that is quietly elegant. The viewer is left with the statement that things are going to be better, and the viewer has to trust that they will be, as opposed to being shown that they are.

It's a quirky sad film, one that doesn't really make the viewer feel all that great, but it certainly leaves enough room for a quiet warmth; a slow hope that stays with the viewer after the movie ends. It's a great film, an annoying and frustrating and awkward film, but a great film nevertheless. The viewer sees human beings interacting with each other, and very human reactions. It's nothing that's going remain with you for days, but it will make you smile.