This film by Zach Braff has him starring as Aidan Bloom, a 40ish husband, father and actor. The only problem is he never lands a role and he has ‘a family to support,’ or so you’d think. That is the question: Is it valid to pursue a personal goal when it is no longer just about you? His wife, played by Kate Hudson, wants to be supportive, but things are unraveling. When Aidan’s dad (Mandy Patinkin) gets sick, the pre-teen children have to leave their Jewish day school: Grandpa can no longer pay the tuition. Wife Sarah doesn’t love her job, as she says midway through the film: When did your dream become the only dream in this family? There are definitely touching moments, and plenty of humorous ones, but the movie has too many gaps to be believable: Would a wife really feel loving and supportive after 15 years of this? Bloom is unfulfilled, unshaven and dirty, so why is he still “following his dream”? And, most egregious is the cop-out resolution at the end, which I won’t reveal. But I will say it does not end with Bloom making a conscious decision about what he wants to do with his life and his relationships.
Should You See It? Wait for the DVD. —D.W.
Viewed at Plaza Frontenac Cinema, Landmark Theatres
