Peep World

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.

"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.

"Pardon me if I don't toast the man who ruined my life." After a book exposing all his families secrets is published and becomes a hit Nathan must deal with the fallout. The fact that his brothers and sister now hate him, his dad he is completely self obsessed is the only one who is proud of him. The movie takes place the day of the annual birthday dinner for their dad's birthday and we watch how each person deals with the stress of that as well as the book release. Judging by the preview I was expecting this to be funnier then it was. I'm not saying this was not a good movie, but I was expecting funnier. I did enjoy it, and the movie was perfectly cast I thought, but I just thought it was missing something to make it better. Watching each person deal with their own personal problems set against the way they feel about the book is enjoyable to watch, but again something was missing. I'm just not sure what. Overall, I really did enjoy this, but it could have used something else, I just can't figure out what it is. I give it a B.

Would I watch again? - I don't think I will.

*Also try - Everybody's Fine

this is the movie for you. It's your typical dysfunctional family type of film. The one thing I would have liked to be included was what exactly was in Nate's book, Peepworld, that was so horrible. Peepworld is based on his family and a lot of it is true. Only a few details were mentioned. So, the audience can't understand why all the kids hate each other and their father so much. More details should have been added. The most scandalous revelation was Jack's addiction to porn.

The movie takes place on the father's 70th birthday. Jack, the most normal one, pays for the birthday party at a fancy restaurant, even though he doesn't like his dad. Joel, the loser brother, just wants money from Jack. Cheri is the kid that hasn't done much with her life. Nate is the author and most successful. So, a lot of the movie is everyone snapping and yelling at each other and having an uncomfortable dinner. It's sort of entertaining and funny at times.

FINAL VERDICT: It was OK, nothing really new. I wouldn't recommend paying to see it.

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.