Cyrus

 

Cyrus is the pretty entertaining indie comedy from the Duplass Brothers. It is the story of John (played by John C Reilly), a man who has spent the last seven years since his divorce in a tailspin of depression. He is constantly around his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) and her fiancé. At her urging he goes to a party and meets Molly (Marisa Tomei). The two hit it off and start a relationship. Everything is going well until John meets Molly's son Cyrus. Cyrus is a 22 year old unsuccessful musician that lives at home and completely controls his mothers life. Cyrus is played in a more understated performance by Jonah Hill. This is the first time I have seen much potential for growth in Hill's acting ability. He does well going between, funny, sad and completely creepy.

 

The movie works really well because it avoids a lot of the standard romantic comedy clichés. Some of it feels like a Meet The Parents type comedy where everything that can go wrong does and the tension builds and builds. However being from the Duplass brothers the formula is a little skewed and plays out more painfully realistic than painfully over the top. A large portion of the script was improvised. Reilly has a history of being an incredible improviser and does well. It only hurts the film occasionally when some of the scenes can seem to go on just a bit too long. Overall the acting is very strong. The characters though weird are likeable (with the exception of Cyrus). If you are a fan of offbeat comedies this film works well.