Everyday People

I have a great admiration for family men. I’m talking about daddies that handle their business, the ones that deserve the big piece of chicken. I don’t have a wife and children of my own, yet, but I imagine it is hard. In Every Day, a father struggles to maintain his family as he is tested by hardship after hardship.

Ned (Wolverine’s Liev Schreiber,) is a writer for a TV show that requires him to write incest and drug-fueled accidents into his plots. He is frustrated as his boss and co-workers push him toward deeper and deeper lows. There is no relief at home when Ned’s wife (Helen Hunt) agrees to take care of her dying father. Also, his eldest son is gay and wants to go to gay prom. Life is hectic to say the least.

It gets crazier when you add smoking hot actress Carla Gugino to the mix, as Ned’s new writing partner. You’ve seen her in shows like Entourage and you already know how sexy she is. Here, she is soaking wet in her black thong bikini, brainstorming scandalous turns of plot with Ned, as they float in her private pool. I’m not sure how many of us men would say no to those lips, Gugino is perfect as the sophisticated temptress.

The interaction between Ned and his teenage son is another highlight in the film. Schreiber is realistic in his uneasiness over his son’s sexuality. In one scene, he is worried about the message his son is sending older boys with his sleeveless shirt and tight jeans, and in the other he is consoling him after a bad night with a reassurance that he will find the boy of his dreams. I think these are very progressive scenes. They are also very sweet.

The father-in-law (played by Brian Dennehy) is one of the weaker characters in the film. I understand that his arrival drives the plot, but there is something about his deathbed alcoholic story that is very stale to me. Writer/Director Richard Levine could have been more subtle here, giving Dennehy’s character an original wrinkle or two.

I give Every Day a C+. It was well-written and acted, if not entirely fresh and original. It was also a little bit disconcerting. Life is hard and it makes me wonder if I will be able to man up and be deserving of the big piece of chicken someday.