Landline movie review & film summary (2017)

Posted by Aldo Pusey on Friday, August 16, 2024

Alas, that last piece of nostalgia might be too soon for some. 

But “Landline,” a forlornly funny and emotionally bruising dramedy that rarely misses an opportunity to reveal humans as the flawed and occasionally awful beings that they are, is more interested in the lack of communication that happens among family members and how secrets can fester and turn toxic when they aren’t shared. All too often what is said is less important than what isn’t, especially when the suspicion of infidelity hangs heavy in the air.

The Sundance breakout has a lot going for it. Topping the list for this darkly droll dissection of dysfunctionality is the reunion of actress Jenny Slate with her “Obvious Child” director Gillian Robespierre and producer Elisabeth Holm, who co-wrote the script that tries to do for divorce what their previous effort did for abortion. That is, demonstrating how such difficult choices can be the right personal decisions for those involved.

And kudos for casting Edie Falco (I so miss “Nurse Jackie”) and John Turturro (I so miss “The Night Of”) as Pat and Alan Jacobs, parents of Slate’s nervous 20-something bride-to-be Dana and newcomer Abby Quinn’s rebellious 17-year-old Ali. They ground the story with more adult matters—namely, the deflated state of their marriage. She’s a Type-A bigshot at the EPA. He’s a mild-mannered ad copy writer and a mediocre wannabe playwright who strives to make art. They reminisce about when they saw Lenny Bruce on their first date and going to Studio 54 when Pat was pregnant. But whatever affection they once had for one another has been overwhelmed by concern for their daughters and disappointment in one another. 

Sullen, sulky and too cool for school, Quinn is quite a find, a perfect foil to chatty, scatter-brained Slate. She stealthily redefines the condition known as “senior slump” by not just simply skipping classes but also staying out all night at raves, snorting heroin and consuming alcohol, having sex with her “not a boyfriend,” hanging out with the wrong crowd and perfecting her caustic put-downs. But matters take a serious turn when Ali stumbles upon a floppy disc containing erotic poetry written by her father that gives every indication that he is cheating on her mother.

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