Cyrus
Mumblecore auteurs the Duplass brothers (
Baghead,
The Puffy Chair) dip their toes in the precarious waters of Hollywood by casting well-known actors in
Cyrus. But their devotion to clumsy, uncomfortable people remains: John (John C. Reilly,
Step Brothers) has barely left his apartment in the seven years since Jamie (Catherine Keener,
Lovely & Amazing) divorced him, so Jamie demands he come to a party--where, miraculously, he meets Molly (Marisa Tomei,
The Wrestler), who seems like the woman of his dreams. Unfortunately, Molly comes with some baggage: her 22-year-old son, Cyrus (Jonah Hill,
Superbad). To say Molly and Cyrus are close is an understatement, and John finds himself in a battle of wills with Molly as the prize. The Duplass brothers seek a kind of cinematic simplicity--to call it purity would be too highbrow for these aggressively pedestrian filmmakers--and when it works, it brings the viewer in intimate contact with life in its ordinary, essential glory. When it doesn't work, it's just dull. Despite its flatfooted plot,
Cyrus works pretty well. The higher caliber of the cast helps--Reilly, Tomei, Hill, and Keener are all excellent, and much of the movie is genuinely funny. Don't expect elegance, but sometimes, something plain can please.
--Bret Fetzer
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