A Little Help

Impressions before seeing it
The trailer was funny, and I've been a big fan of Jenna Fischer since The Office premiered, so I was excited to see her leading an indie dramedy.

How was it?
After Laura's (Fischer) husband dies, she finds out she's practically broke, her son's not her biggest fan, and her mom and sister are trying to make life decisions for her. There's not much else to say about the plot because A Little Help is more character based, but it's basically about this woman trying to be independent and fix her miserable life (which was miserable with her husband, too, but worse now that she has all these responsibilities by herself).

One of the reasons Jenna is so good on The Office is because it gives her those dramatic and/or sweet moments to play, and she is an intelligent enough actress to pull off those tones on top of comedy. I'm surprised it took her this long to finally be playing the main character in a movie, unless you count the even more indie Lollilove, but she wrote and directed that one herself. Anyway, yes, I thought she carried the film well and hit all the right notes, is what I'm saying. Laura is a flawed woman, even dumb and childish at times, but I rooted for her because of her pitiful situation, and because most of the people in her life are condescending toward her and it seemed unfair. In addition to her mother and sister, a weaselly lawyer pesters her throughout the film about big money on a malpractice suit, trying to convince her she needs it for her son's sake but we know he just wants the giant cut he would undoubtedly receive. I think the scenes with Laura and her son are where the heart of this movie lies, and they are cute, but not quite enough to make me cry (which isn't super hard, to be honest). Still, I enjoyed it and appreciated that it was well written and acted. Funny, too.

Recommendation
Check it out if you like indie movies, and especially if you like Jenna Fischer. It is some of her best work.