My wife and I saw this because we like George Clooney and we liked Sideways. What we learned is that Alexander Payne desperately and obviously needed his Sideways screenplay collaborator Jim Taylor on this film – Payne’s screenplay for The Descendents is incredibly boring and inconsequential. We also confirmed our growing suspicion that George Clooney is overly attracted to these stark, ambiguous, vaguely postmodern stories, where he spends a lot of time doing his deer-in-the-headlights look (probably his worst tic as an actor.) All in all, it was a miserably disappointing time at the movies.

The only thing I took away from this film is a strong sense of wonder that Judy Greer never gets any lead roles. She is such a talented actress, and she completely steals this entire movie with just a few scenes. Her technique is incredible, she is versatile, she is warm and attractive on screen, she has a good voice: Why can’t somebody write this woman a film to star in?!