This is How Movies Should Be Made

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

I found this one on Netflix streaming movies. Offbeat and different, I enjoyed most of it, but nothing is tied up at the end, all the issues are left hanging. I suppose that was the intent, maybe just to say now Laura for the first time in her life realizes fully what is going on around her and has a chance to deal with it. Or, maybe they just didn't know how to end it any other way.Jenna Fischer is Laura. She uses a very understated style for this character, plays her not necessarily as an unintelligent person, but maybe just a bit slow to organize her thoughts and realize what is going on. Like the scene where her son's teacher ends with "He was a real hero." Laura is just agreeing then after a few seconds realizes she has no idea what the "hero" comment meant. It turns out her son told everyone at school that his dad was a firefighter who died in 9/11 while saving people.In another scene her sister's husband ends up confessing to her that the main reason he married her sister was so he could remain in Laura's life, and she responded with a slight smile, "How's that working out for you?" (You had to be there.)Her husband is played, briefly, by Chris O'Donnell as Bob. Briefly because he dies early in the story, a heart irregularity. Now with him and his good job gone, and with little in the way of life insurance, we wonder if Laura will be able to maintain her life style on Long Island. So her sister eggs her on to hire a lawyer for a malpractice suit.Their son, 12-year-old Daniel Yelsky is Dennis. He is sort of a cute kid but a bit overweight and with a puffy face. He doesn't always tell the truth and isn't always respectful. He does a few things that get them in hot water with the friends and neighbors.One of the kids is an aspiring musician, and his dad surprises him by taking him to work at a radio station. The guest that day is Dion DiMucci (playing himself) and in addition to having a good part in the story itself, it brought back good memories for me, as Dion was one of the popular singers back in the 1960s and 1970s when I was young.In another blast from the past, the son of Bob Dylan, Jakob Dylan wrote the music and sang some of the songs for the movie, sounding not too much different from his dad all those years ago.So overall I liked the movie, especially Jenna Fischer. It is sort of her "coming of age" 20 years after high school

"A Little Help" is an entertaining 'slice-of-life' story of a woman, disappointed by the men in her life and overwhelmed by the women, who struggles to center herself after the sudden death of her husband. Laura (Jenna Fischer) and Bob (Chris O'Donnell) have allowed their marriage to deteriorate to little more than a shared house with their twelve year old son Dennis (Daniel Yelski) who feels abandoned by both parents. When Bob dies suddenly, Laura must find the strength to overcome her alcoholic tendencies and make her own decisions while her domineering mother and sister try to decide for her. Meanwhile Dennis is forced to make all new friends when he is ushered into a new school far from his old life. Desperate for acceptance, and mourning the father he never got to know, Dennis paints his dad as a fallen hero to his new classmates and teachers. When Laura discovers what her son has done she is livid and demands that he set matters straight at school. But faced with his desperate pleas and worried about the humiliation he will suffer, Laura relents and even goes as far as to support his claims. Perhaps this story might have been presented as a comedy of errors or a farce but instead the viewer is never released from the harsh realities of life long enough to muster a grand guffaw. Neither my wife nor I can figure out how this movie came to be classified as anything other than a drama but we both thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

I have no idea how this film can be rated anything above 2/10. The film is utterly pointless in every facet. Every frame is annoying.I am a fan of the TV show "The Office", but I find Jenna Fisher's character in that show annoying. I guess playing annoying characters is her talent, because her character in this film is incredibly annoying throughout the film. It's hard to expand on that without including spoilers (not that anything could "spoil" this film more than the awful script already does); and I hate reviews with spoilers.As I said, this film is pointless. Nothing is resolved. The main character (Fishcher) is an idiot who learns nothing and grows not one iota. Her son is a liar and an idiot who changes not one iota. She has problems; her son has problems; her sister and brother-in-law have problems; her nephew has problems, and on and on... None of these things are resolved. No point is made. The main character "grows" some reviewers claim? Did we watch the same movie? Fisher's character does one aggravatingly-stupid thing after another; me and my wife kept saying "Why would she do that?" This movie is a pointless, poorly-acted crapfest.

My wife and I very much enjoyed this unpretentious film at the San Jose Cinequest Film Festival. It certainly blends comedy and drama very well, and the story line flows very smoothly. Well-delivered humor kept the audience laughing evenly throughout the story, which complimented the more somber and poignant moments. The actors, many of whom are recognizable from television and the big screen all added to the believability of the story. While I sat there and thought "I am glad this is not my family's story," I, nevertheless, could relate and was drawn to the characters and their trials. There was a certain sweetness about this story that made Laura's (Jenna Fischer) life ultimately redeeming, and ultimately a pleasant surprise to this reviewer.