Deeply guarded family secrets lie at the heart of People Like Us, a small scale emotional heart puller from the guy who co-wrote Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Cowboys & Aliens. Say what? Alex Kurtzman makes his directorial debut, working alongside his usual writing partner, Roberto Orci, and the duo are navigating new waters in hopes their blockbuster pedigree will reap unexpected rewards. With Kurtzman's background, subtlety probably isn't even in his vocabulary. He lays on the sentiment pretty thick, and the situation as a whole is basically one big soap opera contrivance, but there are enough true moments and unexpectedly strong performances to make People Like Us a nice bit of counter-programming this summer season.
Chris Pine is Sam, a smooth talking, wheelin' and dealin' salesman who makes a major screw up that has the government breathing down his neck. At the same time, he learns that his record exec father has passed away after a long illness, and since Sam is a selfish serial avoider, he does everything in his power to miss the funeral. Showing up in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Hannah(Olivia Wilde), Sam is literally struck by his mother's(Michelle Pfeiffer) long simmering anger, as well as a number of sudden revelations his father had been keeping hidden for years.
For one, Sam is none too pleased with his inheritance, his dad's remarkable collection of old vinyl records collected through years of rubbing elbows with the music industry's finest. But the real gut punch comes when he's given a bag full of cash, only to discover that it isn't for him, but for the half-sister he never knew he had. Tracking her down at an AA meeting of all places, Sam discovers that her name is Frankie(Elizabeth Banks), and that she's just as screwed up as he is. Although he doesn't really need to get to know her, Sam gradually eases into her life, learning she has a rebellious, quick-witted son named Josh (Michael Hall D'Addario) who is always finding unique ways to get into trouble. She's struggling to get by, and rather than just giving her the money, Sam finds himself getting closer to them than he's ever been with anyone before. Not that it's enough to get him to reveal exactly who he is.
So why doesn't he just tell Frankie the truth? Kurtzman doesn't seem to know the answer, either. Much of the film is built around the question of whether Sam will actually give her the money or just hightail it back home and deal with his own problems. It's an intriguing question at first, but grows old as Sam continues to put off revealing his real identity for no apparent reason. Seen from Frankie's perspective, Sam is just a really nice, good looking guy who has taken an interest in her and her son, and some misplaced feelings of affection start to emerge. Things only get weirder the longer he stalls, and while Kurtzman gets the dynamic between Frankie and Sam note perfect, it's clear the film is merely running in place long enough to make for a crowded, emotionally overwrought finale.
That's pretty much exactly what we get, too, as Kurtzman ladles on the drama like a thick gravy. It's a symptom we've seen from other writers of blockbuster material, that they don't quite know when to ease off the gas when dealing with human emotions. The tendency is to go for just one more tug at the heart strings, which almost always amounts to the film feeling artificial. Kurtzman attacks the script with obvious passion, though, which goes a long way in covering up many of the story's pot holes. Based on a past event in Kurtzman's own life, the film has a very personal feel to it, like someone exorcising some of their demons.
Kurtzman gets a lot of help from the cast, and for the first time since he was out of his Starfleet uniform, Chris Pine doesn't just fade away opposite his much flashier co-stars. He's actually quite good here, painting a picture of a man who has taken all the wrong lessons from his secretive parents. Banks has the more showy role by far, as she tones down her natural glamour to play a rather ordinary, lower-middle class woman on the verge of a total breakdown. She radiates no matter who she's on screen with, and her chemistry with Pine, while disturbing at times, is palpable. D'Addario scores most of the biggest laughs, and his time together with Pine
People Like Us has its share of problems, but many of the familial issues that crop up do hit home, especially during the confrontational moments between Pine and Pfeiffer. This may just be a one-off film for Kurtzman, and having bared his soul may jump back into stories about giant robots, but if he does continue along this path he could find just as much success if he learns to pull back just a little.
