Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2012)

Jeff (Jason Segel) is obsessed with the film Signs and sees connections everywhere and so, a simple trip to the store to get wood glue to fix a shutter slowly turns into an epic journey of self-discovery.

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As someone with a BA in screenwriting who has attempted several scripts, I can say with utmost authority that writing movies is hard. So many different elements are at play. If one of them is off, the whole thing can come crashing down. One of the most difficult aspects is hiding the seams where everything is stitched together. By focusing in on one or more characters at the most interesting part of their life/lives you will narratively be encountering lots of chance and coincidence. If you spread the narrative out over weeks, months or years, the seams will usually become less visible. Jeff, Who Lives at Home is set over the course of one single day. That is just asking for trouble. Yet by making chance and coincidence the title character's primary focus, it ends up working like gang busters. I almost wonder if the Duplass Brothers gave Jeff that character atribute as a means to stave off such criticism. Either way it results in a satisfying experience and I cannot wait to check out more of their filmography.