A Little Help

The only thing good about this movie is Jenna Fischer, and she's very, very good. Otherwise, the acting is mediocre at best and the story, dialog and direction are pretty bad. Only Fischer's perfect performance in a ridiculous movie makes it worth watching.

It IS a comedy, by the way, despite what some online reviewers have said. It just doesn't work as a comedy, or as a drama, or as anything else... except as a vehicle for Fischer's unique gift for playing likable, thoroughly and consistently entertaining losers, who also are totally believable human beings - not by any means an easy feat. She's almost a female Woody Allen, except she's not an obnoxious, whining, passive-aggressive, self-aggrandizing pervert.

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 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.

I like Jenna Fischer. Everybody likes Jenna Fischer. That said, she's like Rashida Jones, great in an ensemble, but nowhere near enough gravitas to pull off the lead. It's a question of intensity. Even in a light weight movie, the lead has to have some sort of inner tension that can be seen and heard. Fischer is just too easy to look past. You can't bring yourself to worry if she's going to be okay, because you know she will be. She radiates that innocent girlishness that makes men instinctively protective. In fact I'd wager that she's one of those women who hasn't gone more than a month without a steady boyfriend since high school, because 'good guys' won't leave her alone. Also, the directing was beyond lazy. I doubt he told anybody what do ever, including the editor. Frankly, I know a pretty talented guy who could recut this and make it a much better film. Honestly, that may be all it needs. Revised opinion, re-release it after cutting it so Fisher gets more close ups and the dialog moves faster. 6 out of 10

Revised, revised Opinion: Wrote review while watching movie (was in about 1:26). Now that it's over my advice is to avoid. Unless you're a hardcore Fischer fan, it's not worth the time investment. Everything that's set up basically just hangs there. The characters don't get smarter (except learning not to tell gigantic lies you can't support). In fact, the writing pretty much loses all direction and just becomes forgettable nonsense with no resolution, point or lesson. 4 out of 10

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.