Kate McKinnon is locked-down and focused on her job, so depressed she can't pick up on the least human emotion. When she has to supervise her niece for a week, she hates everything about it.
I've been appreciative of Miss McKinnon's work for several years now, and she performs the low-affect depressive character very well. In fact, almost everyone in this movie seems to be working in some form of depression, some situationally, some stuck there. Her father is a drunk. Her brother, whom she depended on growing up, is estranged. Her sister-in-law's mother is dying, her niece is bullied at school... well, it's all a mess. On top of that, her niece has a friend who's a Juggalo, a fan of Insane Clown Posse, a group that makes Deadheads look about as obsessive as fans of the Easy Listening channel on your radio. A few years ago, the FBI classified them as a 'hybrid gang', and they fought and won against the classification.
It is a comedy in the classic sense, even though nothing very funny happens. The story is a little too neat, and the symbols too obvious. The performances are good.
I've been appreciative of Miss McKinnon's work for several years now, and she performs the low-affect depressive character very well. In fact, almost everyone in this movie seems to be working in some form of depression, some situationally, some stuck there. Her father is a drunk. Her brother, whom she depended on growing up, is estranged. Her sister-in-law's mother is dying, her niece is bullied at school... well, it's all a mess. On top of that, her niece has a friend who's a Juggalo, a fan of Insane Clown Posse, a group that makes Deadheads look about as obsessive as fans of the Easy Listening channel on your radio. A few years ago, the FBI classified them as a 'hybrid gang', and they fought and won against the classification.
It is a comedy in the classic sense, even though nothing very funny happens. The story is a little too neat, and the symbols too obvious. The performances are good.