The way I figure it Noah Baumbach went to see Gene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night and figured it was a comedy. I can just hear him saying 'Shoot! That guy O'Neill wouldn't know a dysfunctional family if one bit him on the ass; I got me a REAL prime example, one that'll make the Tyrones look like the Waltons'. And darned if he hasn't. An early exchange between the two sisters - Margot has just returned after a long estrangement for Pauline's wedding - sets the tone; Pauline mentions a guy she used to go with and Margot says 'wasn't that the guy that raped you?' 'No, that was dad', replies Pauline. Like the man said, where do we go from here. There are a few laughs strewn amongst the torn, bleeding lives Baumbach wheels out for us and the acting is certainly out of the right bottle but it's less of a follow-up to his last success than a small squid and a huge wail.
Review of Margot at the Wedding
