Parents' Guide to Self Reliance

Jake Johnson is peak Jake Johnson in his first self-directed feature playing Thomas Walcott, an aimless, late 30s-something dude living with his mother. Despite the film's title, the supporting cast helps Johnson out immensely in Self Reliance, as most of the comedy comes from their disbelief in what Thomas claims to be happening to him. While these scenes are too scarce, they do ground the film and try to remind the viewer that Thomas could be anybody. The premise then only holds as long the "this could happen to you," gambit also holds, which means there is a heavy reliance on making sure that Thomas's decisions along the way feel just, rational, and believable, which thankfully they mostly do. But as the days tick on by, the film flirts with a tonal shift that could have sent things in an entirely different direction. For some, the film will only be interesting because of this tease of a tonal shift, which means that the film will only disappoint them because even the in-film game Thomas is playing reminds him that "this is supposed to be a comedy."

But for others, the flirtation with insanity will be enough, and they will find satisfaction in a tidy, if not altogether thrilling, ending. Either way, the film is entirely watchable and pleasant enough. Unfortunately, perhaps not wanting to overly rely on notable talent, Johnson only gives cameos to Andy Samberg, Christopher Lloyd, and Wayne Brady, rather than give them full supporting roles. By doing so, it feels like Johnson missed some great opportunities to make stronger use of their wonderfully varied and comedic talents.