There’s plenty of potential in Julian Farino’s relationship dramedy, “The Oranges.” Farino is an experienced television director, he’s assembled a top-shelf cast and suburban malaise will never cease to interest audiences.
So why does such a heavy air of underachievement blanket the entire project?
Even the actors seem disconnected, with only Leighton Meester — who has the most to prove — working to create a distinguishable character.
She plays Nina Ostroff, a free-spirited twentysomething who reluctantly returns to New Jersey after a breakup. She moves back in with her parents (Allison Janney, Oliver Platt), and immediately begins an affair with her dad’s best friend, David (Hugh Laurie).
Naturally, David’s wife (Catherine Keener) and children (Alia Shawkat, Adam Brody) are none too pleased about this turn of events.
Oddly, though, nothing really seems to be at stake. Most crucially, there’s no chemistry between Meester and Laurie, perhaps because he — like most of his castmates — seems bored. It’s not entirely their fault. Despite the film’s slick sheen, neither the script nor direction indicates any sense of urgency or originality.
In Nicole Holofcener’s “Please Give,” Platt and Keener made one of the best midlife-crisis comedies of this century. Their presence here serves mostly as a reminder of what we’re missing.
Watch the trailer for "The Oranges" here
Source : nydailynews[dot]com
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