This is Where I Leave You Hits Home in the Burbs

Just in time for the High Holidays – it's a Shiva movie! The film version of Jonathan Tropper's bestselling novel, "This is Where I Leave You," is being released this week and the target audience is clearly you.

The story centers on the return of adult children to their childhood home to sit Shiva for their father. They're only home for a minute before reigniting petty jealousies, and re-enacting the fistfights of their youths. You'll recognize the all-star cast with Jane Fonda as an over-sexed widow, Tina Fey as Wendy Altman, a West Coast Jewish princess and her brother Judd played by Jason Bateman, a newly-betrayed husband who loses his wife, his job and his father all in one week.

Tropper places the family drama in his hometown of New Rochelle and includes all the familiar suburban stereotypes – friends who never left home, the rabbi who can't lose his obscene nickname, ex-beaus who pop up in unexpected places and mom's trusted best friend, who in this case turns out to be much more than a friend.

The movie embraces and mocks Jewish tradition and includes a wonderful send-up of a Saturday morning service where the three oversized brothers retreat to a nursery school classroom and end up doused by the sprinkler.

As the story develops, the characters reveal the disappointments of their adult lives. Jason Bateman, the guy who did everything right, is completely unmoored by his wife's infidelity and torn when he spots his high school girlfriend Penny (Rose Byrne) at his father's sporting good store. Tina Fey's husband is a money-hungry workaholic, Paul's wife, played by Kathryn Hahn (Parks and Rec) is struggling with infertility, the youngest brother Phillip (Adam Driver) has failed to grow up and returned home with his decades older girlfriend (Connie Britton of Nashville) who is also his therapist. The family is so dysfunctional that it will make anything that happens at your house this Rosh Hashanah seem tame.

Their stories are troubling but sometimes so funny that I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. After too many "home for the holidays" Christmas movies it was good to see yarmulkes, smoked salmon and a synagogue on the big screen. The rabbi is played by Ben Schwartz who grew up in Edgemont. Other local touches included WRT Cantor Mia Fram Davidson playing the cantor in the film (she taught Jane Fonda to sing Heneh Ma Tov), scenes shot in Portchester and Rye, and even a score that features a song called "Home" written and performed by the American Authors, a band that stars Dave Rublin who has lots of family in the 'Dale.

Watch the trailer here: