Paul Rudd is Ned. A biodynamic farmer who genuinely expects nothing but kindness from those he meets, Ned is affable to the Nth degree. He is so taken in by people that when a uniformed police officer asks him for marijuana and insists on paying for it, Ned (Rudd) is completely taken aback when said officer arrests him and sends him to jail for eight months.
Upon his release he is evicted from his own property by the girlfriend who decided to dump him while he was in prison but never told him. In addition, she's decided to hang onto their dog out of sheer spite. And so Ned seeks shelter and assistance from his genuinely loving mother and his sisters who only help out of guilt and only until it becomes inconvenient for them. His sister Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) is a Vanity Fair journalist writing a profile on a member the royal family and half- heartedly involved with a neighbor who wants more but doesn't expect to get it. Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) is a bisexual "performance artist" living in a studio apartment with her girlfriend (Rashida Jones) and five other people. Liz (Emily Mortimer) is married to a documentary filmmaker (Steve Coogan) who shows no interest in maintaining their physical relationship and with whom she has a son who is being raised in a manner devoid of even the comic violence of The Pink Panther.
As they all suffer various setbacks, the sisters seem intent on putting the blame for those setbacks on their brother despite the fact that those setbacks are the result of failings in their own character or the character of those around them. Ned is ostracized and, soon enough finds himself back in jail after revealing to his parole officer that he has violated the conditions of his release by smoking marijuana.
Paul Rudd as Ned is a very endearing character. The sisters (Deschanel, Mortimer and Banks) are self-involved and less than endearing but their eventual growth and that of their relationship with Ned is enough to turn their roles in the story. There's no real redemption for the ex- girlfriend (played by Kathryn Hahn) but the shoe eventually ends up on the other foot. I really enjoyed this movie.
Upon his release he is evicted from his own property by the girlfriend who decided to dump him while he was in prison but never told him. In addition, she's decided to hang onto their dog out of sheer spite. And so Ned seeks shelter and assistance from his genuinely loving mother and his sisters who only help out of guilt and only until it becomes inconvenient for them. His sister Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) is a Vanity Fair journalist writing a profile on a member the royal family and half- heartedly involved with a neighbor who wants more but doesn't expect to get it. Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) is a bisexual "performance artist" living in a studio apartment with her girlfriend (Rashida Jones) and five other people. Liz (Emily Mortimer) is married to a documentary filmmaker (Steve Coogan) who shows no interest in maintaining their physical relationship and with whom she has a son who is being raised in a manner devoid of even the comic violence of The Pink Panther.
As they all suffer various setbacks, the sisters seem intent on putting the blame for those setbacks on their brother despite the fact that those setbacks are the result of failings in their own character or the character of those around them. Ned is ostracized and, soon enough finds himself back in jail after revealing to his parole officer that he has violated the conditions of his release by smoking marijuana.
Paul Rudd as Ned is a very endearing character. The sisters (Deschanel, Mortimer and Banks) are self-involved and less than endearing but their eventual growth and that of their relationship with Ned is enough to turn their roles in the story. There's no real redemption for the ex- girlfriend (played by Kathryn Hahn) but the shoe eventually ends up on the other foot. I really enjoyed this movie.