Let me get this out of the way: I LOVED Obvious Child, the first film by director Gillian Robespierre that also starred Jenny Slate. Despite the lack of a similar hook for Landline (most of the discussion over what it was about just seemed to be "it takes place in the 90s) I was still very excited to see it. Unfortunately it failed to live up to my expectations and to the early promise that the Robespierre/Slate collaboration showed.
Landline is indeed set in the mid 90s but it is focused on the romantic relationships of the Jacobs which is comprised of a father who is a copy-writer and failed playwright, a mother whose job I never quite caught, an academic daughter, and a youngest daughter still in school. The eldest daughter Dana (Jenny Slate, both annoying and adorable) is engaged and in a long term relationship. After she runs into an ex-boyfriend she ends up sleeping with him and the two start an affair. At nearly the same time younger sister Ali discovers erotic poems her father has written to his mistress. Bound together by this hideous secret the two of them begin to try to discover their father's mistress while trying to protect their mother from the awful revelation.
There is a lot to enjoy about Landline including all the 90s references which aren't over the top but are nicely woven in. At the same time, the script is a bit of a mess and though the film is trying to meditate on long-term relationships and sexual fidelity the last third is so rushed (a very important relationship is rebuilt over a ridiculously short one minute montage) that it undercuts any poignancy the film might have.
Slate once again proves herself best in show. Robespierre allows her to be over the top and ridiculous (this is a character who openly snorts when she laughs) and she really runs with it. I'll still look forward to any collaborations director and muse have in the future, but with more tempered expectations.
Landline is indeed set in the mid 90s but it is focused on the romantic relationships of the Jacobs which is comprised of a father who is a copy-writer and failed playwright, a mother whose job I never quite caught, an academic daughter, and a youngest daughter still in school. The eldest daughter Dana (Jenny Slate, both annoying and adorable) is engaged and in a long term relationship. After she runs into an ex-boyfriend she ends up sleeping with him and the two start an affair. At nearly the same time younger sister Ali discovers erotic poems her father has written to his mistress. Bound together by this hideous secret the two of them begin to try to discover their father's mistress while trying to protect their mother from the awful revelation.
There is a lot to enjoy about Landline including all the 90s references which aren't over the top but are nicely woven in. At the same time, the script is a bit of a mess and though the film is trying to meditate on long-term relationships and sexual fidelity the last third is so rushed (a very important relationship is rebuilt over a ridiculously short one minute montage) that it undercuts any poignancy the film might have.
Slate once again proves herself best in show. Robespierre allows her to be over the top and ridiculous (this is a character who openly snorts when she laughs) and she really runs with it. I'll still look forward to any collaborations director and muse have in the future, but with more tempered expectations.