The Savages (2007)

CinemaSource
director:
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Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Rating: R
Release Date: Nov 28, 2007
Running Time: 113 mins.
Country Of Origin: United States
synopsis
The last thing the two Savage siblings ever wanted to do was look back on their undeniably dysfunctional family legacy. Wendy is a self-medicating struggling East Village playwright, AKA a temp who spends her days applying for grants and stealing office supplies, dating her very married neighbor. Jon is an obsessive compulsive college professor writing obscure books on even more obscure subjects in Buffalo who still can't commit to his girlfriend after four years even though her cooking brings him tears of joy. Then, out of the blue, comes the call that changes everything. They're told that the father they have long feared and avoided, Lenny Savage, has lost his marbles. And, there is no one to help him but his kids. Now, as they put the middle of their already arrested lives on hold, Wendy and Jon must live together under one roof for the first time since childhood, soon rediscovering the eccentricities that drove each other crazy. Faced with complete upheaval and the ultimate sibling rivalry battle over how to handle their father's final days, they are forced to face the past and finally start to realize what adulthood, family and, most surprisingly, each other are really about.
cast + crew
Director
Wendy Savage
Lenny Savage
Kasia
Bill Lachman
Lizzie
Screenplay
Producer
Producer
Executive Producer
Producer
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Co-Producer
reviews
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rating

Much like the title family it depicts so well, The Savages is constantly at odds with itself--hilarious yet heartbreaking, warm yet frigid. The result is one final contradiction: a movie that is tough to swallow, yet one of the year's best.

Story

Misery loves the Savages--always has. Ever since they were kids, Wendy (Laura Linney) and Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman) have been plagued by the blase blues. Even though they went their separate ways, the siblings have remained somewhat close… Continued

Source
rating  PETER TRAVERS - December 13, 2007

Given the subject matter — caring for an aging parent — The Savages is damn funny, as long as you don't mind laughs that stick in your throat. The gifted Tamara Jenkins, making her first film since her potent 1998 debut with Slums of Beverly Hills, brews a volatile cocktail of mirth and melancholy. Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his sister Wendy (Laura Linney) have first names out of Peter Pan, but their life is no fairy tale. Wendy is a struggling playwright doing odd jobs in Manhattan… Continued