Peep World

This movie about a dysfunctional family being torn apart by a book published by the youngest member of the clan, Nathan, is a decent way to spend an hour and twenty minutes.

Of course, with its TV-bred cast, (Judy Greer, Michael C. Hall, Rainn Wilson, & Sarah Silverman), narration and short length, this film comes off more like a middle episode of a sitcom. In itself it is not extremely satisfying, though it has some good moments both of humor and drama.

And that's important. The trailer may not make this seem like a movie with any dramatic weight, but it is. There are some funny moments, but the more dramatic ones overshadow those. This is a dramedy that is trying to market itself as comedy. That said, these actors handle the dramatic moments incredibly well, especially coming from such comedic backgrounds.

Don't expect this to be the film adaptation of Arrested Development some people are making this out to be; though it has some funny moments (really genuinely laughable things), it's not the laugh-riot you'd expect an Arrested Development movie to be.

So yeah, in a nutshell, this movie is a well-done (if but slightly average) dramatic movie with good comedic moments.

"Peep World" is a peek into a world of a dysfunctional family. It's a dysfunctional family comedy and it's funny. Henry had four children, even though he really shouldn't have had any, and they all pretty much hate each other and him. This movie is set on one particular day: Henry's birthday, and right after the youngest sibling, Nathan (Ben Schwartz), wrote a best-selling book revealing the family's secrets.

I consider it better than most dysfunctional family dramedies because this isn't a drama-comedy, it's pure comedy and it is hilarious. There is a moment of self-realization for most of the characters near the end that comes awfully close to melodrama that probably would have been better left on the cutting-room floor, but it doesn't really affect the many moments of brilliant, cutting humour.

Another reviewer had mentioned that the one thing he liked about the movie is that the characters seemed like real people. Oddly enough, one of the many things that I liked about the movie is that the characters were nothing like real people. They are all rich, privileged, fundamentally screwed-up fools who are completely clueless and selfish. At no point do I even have to consider comparing myself to them. When Nathan declares that his book requires America to hold up a mirror — that is a joke for the audience to get.

It has an all-star cast who, for the most part, are acting outside of their standard roles. Rainn Wilson is not playing the dweeby loser he usually does, but he is trying to get his life together again after going to rehab three times. Don't expect Sarah Silverman to break out into her stand-up routine, she's busy fretting over her father's new, young girlfriend. Michael C. Hall is basically playing the straight-man, but every character is messed up in some way. Judy Greer plays the one serious role in the movie and that is a very welcomed change for her. Kate Mara stood out for me as she held her own against the star (Schwartz) and mastered the subtle reactions to his many comedic and chauvinistic mishaps.

Lewis Black narrates all the characters and their ridiculous episodes, and I can't help but laugh at everything he says. Mostly because all the jokes in "Peep World" are funny; they work on multiple levels, and usually on one of those levels, they're true.

I was very disappointed in Peep World. I had high expectations for the movie because some of my favorite actors/comedians are in it. It is ironic that the title of the movie is Peep World and that implies you are peeping in the private lives of the characters, but that never happens. The talent was not enough to make the movie worth watching. The movie had a weird feeling to it as if you didn't start watching it from the beginning. It felt more like you started watching it in the middle and missed all the important stuff that sets up the movie. The story was about how one son's book, Peep World, affected his family. But, you never get to know all the horrible revelations that are in the book. There were very few vague references to what is in the book so you have no idea what the characters are actually going through. This movie could have been a lot better if they included the back story of what was in the book. We have no idea who these characters are and what they have been through in their dysfunctional life. So, without that, you can't relate to what they are going though now. The only positive thing I can say about the movie is at least two of the actors did a good job with their characters. Rainn Wilson was good as Joel and when I watched him it was nice not to see Dwight from the Office. Michael C. Hall was very convincing as Jack. I did feel his character's pain, frustration and humiliation. He felt real to me, probably because the frustrations he had about always having to be the "good one," the good son, good brother and the one with all the responsibility. I am in that situation daily with my own dysfunctional family and I hate it too so I really felt a connection to Jack at that point. Everybody else in the movie was just so-so. It's too bad that this movie did not go more into the contents of the book so that we could have had a background of the whole essence of the movie. Without that, the movie fell flat, very flat.

Stories about dysfunctional families have always held great appeal to me. 'Arrested Development' is among my favourite television series and 'Eulogy' and 'Little Miss Sunshine' are among my all-time favourites. I was quite excited about 'Peep World', more so for its promising cast and the trailer had me laughing out loud. While it's not up there with the aforementioned titles, it's still entertaining.

The main problem with 'Peep World' is that much of the humour felt forced and it didn't add much to the film. At times it tries to be too quirky. One example is Nathan's massive erection sequence which really didn't contribute much. Also 'Peep World' felt very short. Yes, the running time is less than the standard 90 minutes but it felt like a short film rather than a feature. It could have used more story development and I would have liked to have seen what happened to the Meyerwitz after the head recovers from the stroke.

On the plus side, the comically intense sequences are well done and I also enjoyed the final dinner scene which wasn't overdone to the point of being not funny. Of the cast, Michael C. Hall, Judy Greer and Rainn Wilson are stupendous. Ron Rifkin is great. Alicia Witt and Ron Rifkin make full use of their two scenes. Ben Schwartz is very good. Kate Mara is charming. Vivacious Taraji Penda Henson is hot. Sarah Silverman is over the top but she does occasionally manage to make you laugh.

While the writing and direction is overall decent, it is mainly the ensemble that makes it work. 'Peep World' may not be a classic but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

Nathan, the youngest son, has no problem writing a novel which reveals all the secrets of the meyerwitz family. Except he forgot to include his own shameful secrets. And this makes family get-togethers even more awkward. A fun, quirky collection of tv personalities in this one. Ben schwartz is nathan, the author. Michael hall had finished his run on "dexter". Sarah silverman is the angry sister, who is suing nathan. Lesley warren is mom. The awesome stephen tobolowsky is cheri's boyfriend... he was also ned reyerson in groundhog day! And the whole thing is narrated by comedian lewis black. The awkwardness really amps up when they make a movie from the book.... and dad meyerwitz is now "dating" the actress who plays his own daughter in the film. Anger, hate, jealousy. So much yelling. Sadly, the ending was sooooo predictable. Kind of a let down. I was hoping for something more original. It felt like he really ran out of steam when it was time to write the finale. And they left some loose ends hanging out in the breeze. Directed by barry blaustein, who has made numerous films with eddie murphy. Written by peter himmelstein. A case study in family dysfunction.