I don't know why the critics didn't like it, but i fucking loved this movie

I know it's terribly predictable to quip "the book is better", but it is. None of the actors fit right, the scene transitions are terrible- unnecessarily choppy like every other scene was deleted, and the parts that are suppose to be comic relief are so obviously set up to be comic relief they fall flat.

This is a classic example of where a movie might appear on my "favorite" list but not necessarily my "best" list. Is the movie perfect? No. Have we seen a lot of this before? Of course - it's hard to come up with something completely original when there hundreds of movies made every year. It doesn't matter. Sometimes there is something about a movie that just sucks you in and doesn't let you go. This movie had such an effect because the quality of the acting was phenomenal. All of the actors seemed to understand that there needed to be an understated tone to the characters and nobody does that better than Jason Bateman. The film is first and foremost a drama and because of the understated approach to the movie the comedic parts were very funny yet did not take away from the depiction of broken people inside of a broken family. There is a heart in this movie that is undeniable. Probably the highest compliment that I can pay it is that I was ready to watch it again the moment it ended and that almost never happens to me. follow me at https://IHATEBadMovies.com or facebook IHATEBadMovies

I like Bateman, but why does he always play in these kind of weak movies? Even with him, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda and Kathryn Hahn (great comedy cast) this movie was mostly pretty boring and did not feel realistic. It tried to achieve a mix between comedy and drama, but even while it did make me smile at some points it wasn't that funny and failed completely as a drama with the silly flat characters and plot.