Simply A Masterpiece

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

There are moments in our life, decisions we must make that define who we are. Sam (Chris Pine) must face a myriad of these in a short period of time. Sam works as a corporate barterer who has gotten himself into legal and financial problems. When his father dies, Sam leaves with his wife/girlfriend? (Olivia Wilde) to reluctantly attend his dad's funeral. His mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) is cold and distant.Sam's father was a record producer who had a daughter, Frankie (Elizabeth Banks) from another relationship. Sam finds this out from the attorney. He is instructed to give Frankie and her son (Joseph Wise) $150,000 dad had designated for them. Faced with financial problems of his own, and not knowing how to go about this, Sam is reluctant to hand over the money, but manages to work his way into their hectic lives. The bulk of the movie is consumed by us waiting for the moment of truth when Frankie finds out Sam is her half-brother.The formula is cliche. Chris Pine was less than stellar, but the supporting cast was great. The heart warming ending is predictable. If you simply like a feel good movie with light drama and humor...and who doesn't, count this one in and don't forget the Puffs.Parental Guide: 1 f-bomb, minor sex scene, no nudity. Minor sex talk.

I wanted to turn this off, but considering it was 10pm on a Sunday night and I had work tomorrow, I decided I was too deep to look for another movie and chose to tough it out. My main gripe, none of these characters are likable. In fact, most of them I found myself hating. Chris Pine is a wannabe hotshot selfish asshole douche and it's hard to invest any interest in him. The kid is a smart mouthed little shit, who if he was my kid, would NEVER talk to me the way he does to strangers and especially his own mother. The plot is not that complex yet it drags on and on, you just want it to be over already. I'm honestly shocked at how many people gave this film a good score and actually wrote glowing reviews about it. Maybe I don't get it, but I guess I'm glad about that.

I think the domestic violence in this movie completely overshadows any positive content. Both the mother and half sister of the main character, Sam, perpetrated domestic violence in an alarming manner. Upon becoming angry with Sam, the two female characters struck him rapidly, multiple times. It's not okay, even if women are the perpetrators. The danger of making light of such behavior in a movie is many viewers may think it is a social norm. People may think that such acts are domestic violence only when committed by men. Violence breeds violence. I would not have given the movie such a low rating if in some way it sent a message saying the acts were not socially acceptable.

One sweet and romantic view in the foundation of family's relations, "People Like Us" does a great job in showing just how important being a united family is...Using a great cast and script this movie is a promising story that will touch your heart and will make you change your mind about the way you see and understand family.Chris Pine is in great shape as regards his acting skills but Elizabeth Banks is the one who stands out and steals all the applause...Michelle Pheiffer is -as always- great in catching her role as the "one who made the choice" and regarding the directory that is average and sometimes fails to follow the great acting or soundtrack.Anticipating for more movies like this one i would say that "People Like Us" will be hard reach by anyone as it does a great job in combining drama and comedy all in a wonderful moving way...