Some films are rightly not a success at the box office and disappear from the cinemas faster than you can say ‘flop’. When it comes to other films, it’s a shame that they didn’t really take off and were pulled from the program after only a few screenings. For example, in the case of the extremely charming indie drama ‘The Adults’, in which Michael Cera (‘Arrested Development’), Sophia Lillis (‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’) and Hannah Gross (‘Joker’) play an estranged brother or sister -Play a trio that reunites after years. Only 1,956 tickets for the film were purchased in this country. Shockingly little and absolutely undeserved – at least according to the author of these rules.
If you want to give the criminally overlooked indie gem, which boasts a stellar cast, quirky humor and heartwarming moments, a chance, you can finally find the film with a WOW (formerly Sky Ticket) subscription.
And that’s what ‘The Adults’ is about
He probably doesn’t even know exactly why Eric (Michael Cera) is visiting his hometown. The obligatory visit to an old friend who has just become a father seems more like a polite obligatory appointment, and the reunion with his sisters Rachel (Hannah Gross) and Maggie (Sophia Lillis) is also uncomfortably distant. And yet something seems to keep the infamous braggart in town, as he keeps postponing his escape.
Does he seek contact with his lost sisters? At first it doesn’t seem like it, as Eric avoids spending as much time together as possible – and immediately runs away. He prefers to spend his evenings with a casual acquaintance from his school days, who always encourages Eric to organize poker rounds where the stakes are higher from day to day. At the same time, the siblings also get back on track, unearthing long-forgotten childhood rituals and uncovering sad truths.
The beauty of the past few days
‘The Adults’ is an incredibly melancholic film about carefree childhood memories. Once inseparable siblings Eric, Rachel and Maggie have become strangers whose life decisions and unresolved arguments have created rifts deep in their relationship. The innocence of childhood quirks have grown into almost unbearable and self-destructive quirks. And yet you still feel the absolute desire in everyone to let the beauty, lightness and carelessness of their childhood bloom again – even if only for a fleeting moment.
Director and screenwriter Dustin Guy Defa (“Person To Person”) reveals a great sense of the characters and a deep understanding of the quirky dynamics between siblings. The interactions between Eric, Rachel and Maggie, who increasingly resort to their childhood alter egos Moopie-Moopie, Wug-Wug and Charles (probably the most down-to-earth choice for a fantasy name ever) to communicate with each other, let you partly (positively) shuddering at the shame of others, but they still feel very natural. It’s like an old insider joke that the audience only partially understands and even the protagonists understand only rudimentarily – and at the same time reveals a very vulnerable intimacy.
There is a lot to read between the lines
Ultimately, the relationship between the siblings is never clearly explained. And yet between the lines there are many problems and points of contention: it is about unfulfilled expectations, rejection, isolation, selfishness and also the death of the mother, who died five years earlier, who existed as the last common anchor in the brothers and sisters. ‘ relation.
Fortunately, ‘The Adults’ does not degenerate into a moral education film. Instead, it encourages us to remember and tell broken and complex characters who have lost something in the transition from childhood to adulthood. And honestly, who can’t understand that, at least partially? We can definitely recommend this wonderful trip to you – and it rightly received a whopping 4 out of 5 stars in the FILMSTARTS review.