The Adults

While The Adults lurches from amusing to cringeworthy in tone, it successfully zeroes in on the raw emotions that both bind and separate this quirky trio that can’t seem to harmonize again.

A sad but affecting character study that has nothing like a plot but instead ruminates on loss, distrust and misunderstanding within a fraying family.

Michael Cera delivers subtle greatness as an eccentric man visiting his sisters after years away.

A warm, wry dramedy that finds fresh resonance and insights from the story of three siblings each trying to move forward in their own way.

There is so much to feel from [Defa's] take on dysfunction, including how it presents siblings who can sing and dance in unison but are not friends. "The Adults" is defined by such crucial touches.

Defa’s tight and tidy focus on communication — mostly verbal, sometimes role play (“Hug me like you haven’t seen me for three years,” Rachel instructs Eric) — adds a smart layer to this otherwise familiar tale of estrangement.

The Adults was one of the best surprises of 2023: an indie-spirited film somehow sponsored by a studio, with three of the best performances of the year.

The Adults is a comedy-drama that doesn’t seem to deliver much of either, and that gray, in-between state just isn’t appealing anymore.

The performances are all distinctly sad and believable, and Cera expertly channels his onscreen neuroses into a suspiciously over-controlled, serious-man façade.

Some action results, but for the most part The Adults meanders rather than grows, eventually ending up in a place that shows a degree of hope without much excitement.