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Wednesday, August 5, 2015

'Adult Beginners' DVD & BD: Nick Kroll's Neo-Modern Peter Pan

Product Details
The public relations firm PubLIZity from the Comedy Central sketch show "The Kroll Show" would likely describe the 2014 Nick Kroll comedy "Adult Beginners," which Anchor Bay Entertainment separately released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 4 2015, as tasty medicine for the current summertime movie blues. An absence of even "wanna see" films during what should be the blockbuster season screams for turning to good home-video titles.

The following clip, courtesy of YouTube, of the "Adult" trailer offers an extensive but moderately spoiler-free recap of this modern-day fairy tale about the related values of family and being a responsible grown-up.


Kroll plays "young hipster entrepreneur" Jake,  whose life falls apart hours before his latest project is set to become the next big thing. That reversal of fortune and other unfortunate incidents prompt him to flee to the suburbs to arrive unannounced at the New Rochelle home of his largely estranged sister Justine (played by Rose Byrne) and her husband. Said abode being the family home of Jake and Justine greatly contributes to the family drama aspect of the film.

The desperation of Jake leads to his agreeing to be the manny of Teddy, who is the toddler son of Justine, in exchange for room, board, and a small allowance. An amusing moment regarding this has Jake ask "a week?" and Justine responding "a month" when discussing his monetary compensation.

The direct meaning of the title of "Adult" relates to Jake and Justine learning to swim in conjunction with swimming lessons that young Teddy is taking. The typical "hidden meaning" relates to the siblings becoming happier and more complete grown-ups.

Kroll and the filmmakers do a nice job with relatively clever variations on the standard humor related to Jake adjusting to caring for a small child. A scene in which Jake faces the dilemma of being able to leave Teddy alone for the few minutes that Jake needs to perform an urgent bodily function is one of the best in "Adult."

The film continues following the standard pattern for this type of movie. Jake bonds with his nephew in the course of caring for him, the sibling bonding includes discussing past conflicts, Justine and her husband having their own conflict, Jake reconnecting with a high school classmate, and Jake getting a chance to at least partially return to his prior life.

The aforementioned success regarding the transition to Mr. Uncle continues throughout the remaining cliches in "Adult." There is no melodrama or anything else that is atypcial for modern life. The characters merely are everyday people leading everyday lives. Further, no one is dramatically different at the end; they simply achieve an intermediate ability to be an adult.

The DVD and Blu-ray extra consists of a "making of" featurette.

Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Adult" is welcome to email me. You can also connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.











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