 |
| Chris Pines, Elizabeth Banks and Michael Hall D'Addario star in "People Like Us." Photo: Touchstone/Dreamworks |
Elizabeth Banks has had quite a year so far. She played
opposite Sam Worthington who played, “A Man on a Ledge,” the fluffy Effie
Triket in “The Hunger Games,” a woman who knows everything about having a baby
without ever having one in “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” and now
Frankie, the a woman who discovers she has a brother after her father dies in
“People Like Us.” Is there anything this woman can’t do?
“People Like us” begins with Sam (Chris Pines), a shady
salesman who is estranged from his parents Things are not going well for him at
work when hears the news that his father passes away suddenly. Unmoved, Sam’s
next thought is “What is for dinner?” Sam and his girlfriend Hannah (Olivia
Wilde), travel back home to be with his mother Lillian (Michelle Pfeiffer) who
is none too pleased that he missed the funeral. Sam fully intends this to be a
short trip, but an attorney contacts him and gives him a shaving bag that his
father wanted him to have. In the bag sits $150,000 and a note asking him to
give the money to a man named “Josh” and an address. After some investigating,
Sam discovers that the man is actually a boy (Michael Hall D’Addario) and
Josh’s mother is Sam’s half-sister that he never met. Tempted to keep the money
for himself and to avoid the awkwardness of introducing himself to Frankie
(Banks), Sam decides to wade slowly into the troubling waters instead. Sam
makes the situation more difficult that he needs to by not being honest with
his girlfriend, his mother, Frankie and his employer.
“People Like Us” was written and directed by Alex Kurtzman
and built partially from his own life. Kurtzman met his own half-sister when he
turned 30. It is a wonderful movie with an intriguing storyline. The acting is
excellent and believable. Its greatest strength is showing how three troubled
people get their lives back on track. Sam grew up with a terrible father.
Frankie grew up wanting a father. Ironically, Frankie had a child out of
wedlock and doesn’t know who Josh’s father is, so Josh is in the same boat. The
movie details in a real way just how important a father is to his children. Without
meaning to, both Sam and Frankie grew up reckless, just like their dad. Now,
they want to make their lives matter but they aren’t quite sure how. Though not
intentional, the story also gives an example of sins of the father being passed
down to the next generation, but this generation wants to make them stop here.
Despite the fact that all of the actors featured in “People
Like Us” are beautiful, the story comes off realistic. It is impressive that
Michelle Pfeiffer can look beautiful and yet haggard at the same time. Pfeifer
isn’t afraid to show a few wrinkles and though it is completely plausible that
she is old enough to be Pine’s mother, it is hard to believe. Wilde comes off
completely charming and definitely too good for Sam.
