Cyrus, written
and directed by Jay and Mark Duplass, is a romantic
comedy that focuses on
three major characters that, in their own eccentric ways, are searching
for
love. Unlike so many rom coms of late, Cyrus takes a more
realistic direction, shooting for an emotional rollercoaster that has
you
blissful and gloomy at the same time.
Cyrus starts out with the
introduction of John, John C. Reilly, who has been
divorced for several
years and can't let go of the past. He spends his nights masturbating
himself
to sleep and soaking in his own miserable depression.
When his ex-wife Jamie, Catherine Keener, pays an unsuspected visit to him one night during his nightly rope-tugging, he is confronted with the fact that she will be getting remarried. She encourages him to stop be a self-loathing jerk and to move on too.
John is forced to attend his ex-wife's party and attempts, numerous times, to gawkily flirt with any girl he can find, but is dismissed as the loser he is until he meets a beautiful, compassionate girl named Molly. John and Molly, Marisa Tomei, bond over their frank honesty and start to fall in love. Everything seems to be heading on the right course until John intrudes on her personal life and discovers that she has a 21-year old son that lacks the, shall we say, normal maturity level for his age.
While John's intentions are
to
create a loving family, Cyrus's (Jonah Hill) intentions are to stop him
from
succeeding. Cyrus begins by deviuosly playing subtle mind games and stealing John's ugly ass shoes. From that point on, it is a battle royal, boyfriend vs son, to achieve the full
attention
and love of Molly.
Cyrus relies on its comedic relief
from John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill to reduce the impact of the
deep,
emotional moments in the film. Their chemistries mesh together perfectly
throughout the entire film and creates a jocular atmosphere whenever
they are both on screen. Marisa Tomei does an excellent job at
portraying a
believable single mother, who is vulnerable to any kind of love that
comes her
way. Cyrus is a solid film that doesn't fall victim to any
outrageous
storylines that would discredit it from being realistic. Focusing on
the
characters and avoiding dumb humor, the Duplass brothers succeed in
creating an
original romantic comedy.
