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Adult Life Skills
By Sandie Angulo Chen,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Quirky dramedy explores loss, family, moving forward.
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Adult Life Skills
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What's the Story?
ADULT LIFE SKILLS follows Anna (Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker), a 29-year-old English woman who's been living in the shed behind her mother and grandmother's home since her twin brother died a year and a half earlier. Unmotivated and perpetually grieving, Anna works at a local children's rec center and spends her free time recording thumb-puppet videos in the style of a comedy vlog she and her late brother used to run. Worried that Anna is stuck in her grief, her mom, Marion (Lorraine Ashbourne), informs Anna that she must move out of the backyard by her 30th birthday. Meanwhile, Anna strikes up a friendship with one of the more difficult kids from the day camp, an imaginative boy named Clint (Ozzy Myers) who wears cowboy outfits every day and is sad about his mum's terminal illness.
Is It Any Good?
Whittaker gives a touching lead performance in this sweet if uneven dramedy about a woman on the cusp of 30 who's not ready to grow up -- nor let go of her late twin. Director Rachel Tunnard's feature film debut, which was filmed in 2016, has gained traction because her star is now the buzzed-about latest incarnation of Doctor Who. And while it's not an easy sell outside of indie-loving audiences -- it's not funny enough to be a flat-out comedy, and it's just a tad too quirky to be mainstream -- the movie is offbeat without being totally twee, and Whittaker makes Anna empathetic despite her obvious emotional issues and shortcomings.
The thumb-puppet sequences (Anna pretends her thumbs are astronauts on a mission that's about to end in total destruction) are surprisingly touching, as is the fact that Anna keeps envisioning her brother talking to her through key moments. The subplot with young Clint is a bit too on the nose (a fellow grieving, imaginative kid in search of companionship), but Myers proves himself a capable young actor. The best parts of the movie are when Anna is engaging either her best friend, Fiona (Rachael Deering), or her mum and grandma. The interaction between the actresses is genuine and heartfelt -- a reminder of why more movies should star women of all ages.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what the movie's title, Adult Life Skills, means to them. What do you consider the necessary skills of adulthood? When and how can or should you learn them?
Who, if anyone, in the movie is a role model? What character strengths do they display?
Do you think Whittaker's newfound fame as The Doctor makes this movie (shot in 2016) more appealing to audiences?
Movie Details
- In theaters: January 18, 2019
- On DVD or streaming: March 19, 2019
- Cast: Jodie Whittaker , Lorraine Ashbourne , Brett Goldstein
- Director: Rachel Tunnard
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Screen Media Films
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters , Friendship
- Character Strengths: Empathy
- Run time: 96 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: October 8, 2022
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