Understanding 'People Like Us'
In a summer overwhelmed by a sliding scale of successful superheroes, aliens, vampires and a bevy of animated characters, this weekend offers a tender switch in programming. Dreamworks' latest, 'People Like Us', boasts a story inspired by true events and grounded by the one thread that we all have in common despite what planet we inhabit or what time period it may be - our family. Whatever conditions or limitations we may have grown up with, we're still little puzzle pieces of our parents decisions and sometimes things don't always fit the way that you originally thought or hoped.
'People Like Us' was an eight year labor of love between long-time writing team Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. After fate introduced Kurtzman to a half-sister he never knew existed, he and Orci contacted their friend and fellow writer, Jody Lambert to help sculpt the framework and pulse of the extremely personal film. While Kurtzman's experiences helped get the wheels in motion, the collaboration between the three helped separate reality from a situation best played out on the big screen. "The mother and father are nothing like my parents and the choices that they made in the movie are nothing like the choices that my actual parents made," he claims. "It is a complicated separating of truth from fiction and the thing that was most important to me, while being true to the experience of my life, was that i wanted to make sure it was a movie that communicated that everybody has reasons for doing what they do".
The movie relates the story of Sam Harper (Chris Pine). Fast talking, handsome and burdened with a sudden work related debt, he's reluctantly summoned home to Los Angeles after the death of his estranged, music producer father. After deliberately missing the funeral and revisiting his tense relationship with his mother (Michelle Pfeiffer), Sam angrily inherits a vintage shaving kit containing a $150,000 and instructions on whom the money was to be delivered. After an awkward bit of stalking and a mountain of lies, Sam discovers the money belongs to a recovering alcoholic sister he never knew about and her rebellious 11 year-old son (Elizabeth Banks and Michael Hall D'Addario). What was once the burden of his father's long-time secret had now shifted to Sam. As he begins to establish a foundation with his new family, he complicates every minute of progress by withholding the truth of their relation.
Played to perfection by Banks, Frankie utilizes a sharp tongue to counterbalance years of damage both self-inflicted and by the absentee father she hated to love and vice versa. But despite a rough exterior, Frankie possesses an irresistible vulnerability and kindness, that allows for a lot of chemistry between her on-screen son and brother. As she begins to trust Sam, what was once reluctance turns into comfortability and connection. "What I like to say about this movie is that we don’t get to choose our family, but we do get to choose if we love them," she claims. For Banks, the film's emotional depth and authenticity was executed through the remembrance of her own issues. "That's what it takes. Unfortunately it takes a cataloging of a lot of all the shit that's happened to you," she reveals. It also required a little bit of Regina Spektor in between takes. "I'm a big fan (of hers) when I need to cry," she laughed. "That vocal register plucks on my heart strings".
For leading man Chris Pine, taking on such a flawed character turned out to a be heavy but welcomed challenge. "Imperfection is the defining feature of growing up, maturing and becoming a better person," he admits. "The damaged characters reflect who we all are in real life." As Sam struggled to find peace with his narcissistic parents and neglected youth, his solace came in the genuine way he attempted to understand the stranger who had his father's eyes. Too bad even his best intentions became overshadowed by the things he couldn't say. "Sam has grown up in a house of lies. As a result his default in life is to lie to get out of a problem," added Kurtzman. "What happens when a character who lives in that space is suddenly presented with a complicated moral choice, is it going to redeem or destroy him?"
'People Like Us' marks Kurtzman’s directorial debut and close to a decade later, his long-winded expedition with the Harpers now has the opportunity to mean different things to a variety of people. “I think these characters will always be a part of me in a huge way. It’s weird after all this time, after nurturing them to now give them to you. Now it’s time for them to go out into the world and for them to belong to others.”
While Sam may garner your judgement, Frankie's character will earn your respect. As they navigate from strangers to complicated friends to siblings, they find a way to make the audience feel their authenticity, witness their difficult journey and ultimately believe that despite the deceptions and broken backgrounds, there is something beautiful and meaningful at the root of it all.
'People Like Us' is in theaters now.
'People Like Us' was an eight year labor of love between long-time writing team Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. After fate introduced Kurtzman to a half-sister he never knew existed, he and Orci contacted their friend and fellow writer, Jody Lambert to help sculpt the framework and pulse of the extremely personal film. While Kurtzman's experiences helped get the wheels in motion, the collaboration between the three helped separate reality from a situation best played out on the big screen. "The mother and father are nothing like my parents and the choices that they made in the movie are nothing like the choices that my actual parents made," he claims. "It is a complicated separating of truth from fiction and the thing that was most important to me, while being true to the experience of my life, was that i wanted to make sure it was a movie that communicated that everybody has reasons for doing what they do".
The movie relates the story of Sam Harper (Chris Pine). Fast talking, handsome and burdened with a sudden work related debt, he's reluctantly summoned home to Los Angeles after the death of his estranged, music producer father. After deliberately missing the funeral and revisiting his tense relationship with his mother (Michelle Pfeiffer), Sam angrily inherits a vintage shaving kit containing a $150,000 and instructions on whom the money was to be delivered. After an awkward bit of stalking and a mountain of lies, Sam discovers the money belongs to a recovering alcoholic sister he never knew about and her rebellious 11 year-old son (Elizabeth Banks and Michael Hall D'Addario). What was once the burden of his father's long-time secret had now shifted to Sam. As he begins to establish a foundation with his new family, he complicates every minute of progress by withholding the truth of their relation.
Played to perfection by Banks, Frankie utilizes a sharp tongue to counterbalance years of damage both self-inflicted and by the absentee father she hated to love and vice versa. But despite a rough exterior, Frankie possesses an irresistible vulnerability and kindness, that allows for a lot of chemistry between her on-screen son and brother. As she begins to trust Sam, what was once reluctance turns into comfortability and connection. "What I like to say about this movie is that we don’t get to choose our family, but we do get to choose if we love them," she claims. For Banks, the film's emotional depth and authenticity was executed through the remembrance of her own issues. "That's what it takes. Unfortunately it takes a cataloging of a lot of all the shit that's happened to you," she reveals. It also required a little bit of Regina Spektor in between takes. "I'm a big fan (of hers) when I need to cry," she laughed. "That vocal register plucks on my heart strings".
For leading man Chris Pine, taking on such a flawed character turned out to a be heavy but welcomed challenge. "Imperfection is the defining feature of growing up, maturing and becoming a better person," he admits. "The damaged characters reflect who we all are in real life." As Sam struggled to find peace with his narcissistic parents and neglected youth, his solace came in the genuine way he attempted to understand the stranger who had his father's eyes. Too bad even his best intentions became overshadowed by the things he couldn't say. "Sam has grown up in a house of lies. As a result his default in life is to lie to get out of a problem," added Kurtzman. "What happens when a character who lives in that space is suddenly presented with a complicated moral choice, is it going to redeem or destroy him?"
'People Like Us' marks Kurtzman’s directorial debut and close to a decade later, his long-winded expedition with the Harpers now has the opportunity to mean different things to a variety of people. “I think these characters will always be a part of me in a huge way. It’s weird after all this time, after nurturing them to now give them to you. Now it’s time for them to go out into the world and for them to belong to others.”
While Sam may garner your judgement, Frankie's character will earn your respect. As they navigate from strangers to complicated friends to siblings, they find a way to make the audience feel their authenticity, witness their difficult journey and ultimately believe that despite the deceptions and broken backgrounds, there is something beautiful and meaningful at the root of it all.
'People Like Us' is in theaters now.
Feed Source:
Gofobo Staff
Author:
Tristen Gacoscos
Date:
Array on
movie: People Like Us 2012