Jean of the Joneses

Stella Meghie offers up a cute tale in Jean of the Joneses, a story about a 20 something woman who is losing control of her life and gets perspective after her estranged grandfather dies in front of her.

We met Jean as she is getting dumped by her boyfriend. She's in a bad place as she is now temporarily homeless and in danger of losing her book contract as she's spent her advance money on clothes while being unable to write a world. When she answers the door to her grandmother's house and a strange man asks for her grandmother before dying none of her aunts will tell her who the man is. It's only after rifling through his belongings that she finds out he was her estranged grandfather. And while the rest of her family are hell-bent on pretending he doesn't exist, Jean sets out to uncover where he was all those years and why he appeared on her grandmother's door step.

The acting for this is great and the script is solid, if a little conventional. You can almost feel how this was developed in writing labs and workshops, it neatly follows very particular beats. This isn't a bad thing, it leads for easy, digestible viewing. This is the kind of movie where everything is wrapped up in a neat bow by the end and even if we know where we're going it's a fun and enjoyable ride getting there.

This movie is centered around a dysfunctional African American family with Jamaican roots. There are some serious and comical scenes, but this movie will keep the attention of its viewers.

My wife and I came across this looking for something new to see and we were pleasantly surprised. I would describe this as a modern, slightly dark and dry humor film which combines the elements of a classic Woody Allen film as seen through the eyes of a middle to upper class African American / Jamaican / Caribbean family delivered in an style likened to that of the film, The Royal Tenenbaums (another personal favorite). You could even compare it in style to "The Meyerowitz Stories" a film "Jean" predates by a year. The film has a good script and a great flow and it never gets dull. The cinematography is wonderful, plus you get New York City as a backdrop. This kind of film might not fit everyone's style or taste, but it's definitely worth the try.

I actually laughed out loud and even cried laughing, especially during the funeral fight between Janet and her husband. This is my type of comedy, it was dark it was dry but it was actually funny. I'd characterize this more as a dramady but nonetheless I'm happy I watched. I must admit I rewatched the funeral fight scene multiple times. The entire cast did an amazing job and as a fellow Caribbean I'm happy they didn't bother with the poorly done Caribbean accents. Gloria Reuben did an Amazon job as a Jamaican grandma living in New York!

What I appreciate most about this movie is that they wrote black characters with complexity instead of stereotypical traits and a story of stereotypical themes. Unfortunately, the attempts at dark humor were off by a country mile. We have all seen this movie before . Like, 'This is Where I leave You" and just about every movie Woody Allen has ever made. Now I get the importance of comedic timing, because just about every actor in this movie completely lacks it. The main character comes off as whinny and the story just missed the mark overall. I do appreciate the attempt, because we need more movies like this with people of color.