As other posters have already noted, the ensemble cast of People Like Us was terrific. Although, I ended up being underwhelmed by the film, it wasn't the fault of marvelous performances by Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Olivia Wilde, and Michael Hall D'Addario as 11 year old Josh.
Despite a couple of scenes that were laugh out loud funny and a couple of others that moved me, the film was by and large too long and too soapy. I could never quite warm to the characters enough to forgive their many weaknesses. The lesson of the film may have been that family members forgive each other and rise above their failings but I still couldn't care about them very much. If anybody could have made me care, it would have been Pine, Banks, Pfeiffer, and D'Addario but even their considerable charm and skill weren't enough.
Sitting through People Like Us wasn't quite a waste of two hours but it came perilously close to that. As I was feeling generous, I gave it 6 Stars out of 10 but can't really recommend it.
Despite a couple of scenes that were laugh out loud funny and a couple of others that moved me, the film was by and large too long and too soapy. I could never quite warm to the characters enough to forgive their many weaknesses. The lesson of the film may have been that family members forgive each other and rise above their failings but I still couldn't care about them very much. If anybody could have made me care, it would have been Pine, Banks, Pfeiffer, and D'Addario but even their considerable charm and skill weren't enough.
Sitting through People Like Us wasn't quite a waste of two hours but it came perilously close to that. As I was feeling generous, I gave it 6 Stars out of 10 but can't really recommend it.