People Like Us (2012)

People Like Us is a film about family, death, acceptance and the legacy we leave behind. Directed by Alex Kurtzman, the movie takes place after the death of the patriarch of a small, dysfunctional family. When an only child finds out that his father had another child, a son learns how to accept his extended family.

The Premise

When Sam's father passes away he leaves the bulk of his money to a boy named Josh. Sam discovers that Josh is the son of the sister he never knew he had. He needs to decide now whether to fulfill his dead father's wishes and give them the money or help himself out of his own bad situation and keep it.

My Take

People Like Us is much more than a, "Should I or shouldn't I keep the money?" movie. Sam inadvertently gets to know his nephew, Josh. As the two become friends, and as Sam gets to know his sister, Frankie, he becomes more and more conflicted as to how to tell them who he is.

Sam is a salesman who has gotten himself into a sticky situation with the Federal Trade Commission, his dad has just died, he finds out he has a sister and a nephew he has never met, his mom is sick and he gets into a fight with his girlfriend. And to top it all off, his deceased father has left him with the task of gifting his nephew with his life savings. Things are not going well for Sam.

Chris Pine is the very conflicted Sam. He finds his sister Frankie (don't call her Francis) at an AA meeting and uses that an excuse to talk to her. Elizabeth Banks plays Frankie, the mother of Sam's nephew, with comfort, confidence, and grace and I am not ashamed to say that she made me cry at least once. The performance I was most impressed with was young Michael Hall D'Addario. He played Sam's nephew, Josh, with an ease and poise that matched the performances of his adult counterparts perfectly.

Sam's moral compass was his girlfriend Hannah, played by Olivia Wilde. She and Sam had their differences but were always pulled back together in the end. Rounding out the stellar cast was Michelle Pfeiffer as Sam's mother. This is one of my favorite parts she has played in long time. Lillian was a real person, who throughout all her anger with her son, still loved him and forgave him and struggled to understood his reasons for his actions.

The Verdict

People Like Us made me cry at least twice so I need to give a shout out to the writers, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jody Lambert as well as give a nod the incredible direction and performances given. People Like Us, for me, was a rare gem in which an all star cast gives an all star performance. So many times I have been disappointed in movies that boast incredible casts but are lacking in either writing or direction or both. I give People Like Us 2/2 siblings. It's definitely a must see.