Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Mike Mills
Writer: H.G. Hansen
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Jason Bateman, Kate McKinnon, Noah Wyle, Fiona Shaw, Columbus Short
Plot: Jack Walker (Jason Bateman) and Sandra Wells (Kristen Dunst) are having a romantic date at home as Barry White plays out. Sandra suggests they go to the bedroom. Jack makes a joke as they begin to head over. Jack hears the phone and goes to pick it up. Sandra tells him to ignore it. Jack explains it may be Maxwell asking him something about work. He tells her to go on ahead and he quickly wraps it up. He turns to go but the phone rings again. He turns answers like he thinks it’s work but is interrupted. The call turns out to be from a hospital.
Jack and Sandra head down the halls as Sandra asks why they are helping Toby. Jack tells her it’s because none of his relatives are nearby or they’ll lock him up for a while. Sandra doesn’t get it and Jack explains further it’s so he’ll be safe. They head inside as it is almost a concerning moment till Toby makes a smartass joke about how Sandra looks like she’s just coming from a slumber party. Sandra gets upset and goes to get something. Toby makes one more comment about how Sandra, out of all his dumb girlfriends, he likes the best. Jack sighs as he tells him how happy suicide hasn’t slowed his comedy. Toby asks why he is here and Jack replies he’s taking him to his home to stay for a while. Toby refuses till Jack tells him the hospital will put him in a ward if he doesn’t. Toby groans as Jack makes a joke about how he feels the same.
“Why Can’t I Change” by Passenger plays over a montage of Toby’s, Jack’s, and Sandra’s drive back home. Toby stares out the window in the backseat as Sandra seem busy not paying attention to Toby. Jack has the look of a man who is preparing himself for later. An overshot angle shows their drive as it also shows the title card.
They get to the house and Toby doesn’t wait to make a comment about how the management business must in recline with the rest of the world. Sandra makes a look at him and Jack sighs deeper than usual.
We go to Jack’s brother, Maxwell Walker (Noah Wyle), asking him at a bar the next night why he chooses to bring him to his home. Jack makes a case of how he has no one to turn. Max tells it’s cause no one likes to be around him, not even their sister when she dated him. Max makes a case hoe he always makes things uncomfortable as if it’s his superpower. Jack makes a case how he’s made something of himself by being a famous author but Max reminds him it was off of only one. He goes further on how Toby’s attitude during the book tour is the reason no one wants to work with him ever. Jack then reminds him of how Toby never meets his father and how he didn’t even show up when he was famous. Max gives up and tells him to be careful. Jack has a good life going for him and Max doesn’t want to see Toby shake it up. Max drinks his beer and orders another set as Jack starts to look worried.
Jack and Sandra wake up to see Toby making breakfast. It looks like he’s serving them till they see the food is for him. They calmly go get their breakfast as they carefully ask him what happened last night. Toby just tells them it was a bad day plainly. He tries to refocus the conversation to what’s new with them. It’s been a while since they all talked. Jack and Sandra tell him they’re getting married soon. Toby congratulates them then makes a joke about when the baby arrives. Sandra makes a face at Toby. Jack goes back to why wasn’t Toby’s mother there last night. Toby grows quiet as he avoids answering. He gets up and cleans his dishes. Jack tells him Sandra will be here if he needs anything. Sandra makes a face at him and Jack reminds her it’s only for today. Jack heads out leaving Toby and Sandra making a bet of how long it will take for them to destroy each other.
Jack walks into the office of Dr. Kate Carsen (Kate McKinnon). Jack thanks her for the meeting but she says it’s no problem since she knows Maxwell. Jack thinks they dated but Max dated her sister, who is white. Dr. Kate makes Jack uncomfortable only as a joke. Kate asks what Jack is doing in her office. Jack asks for her help with Toby and explains what happened last night. Kate didn’t look interested at first until she finds out he’s the writer of her favorite book.
Sandra runs on an errand and leaves Toby alone. Toby calls an Uber and drives to a nursing home. He meets his mom Lacey Connors (Fiona Shaw) and they have a talk. He tells her tried to end himself and she doesn’t act surprised as she actually expected it. Toby reveals to her that she wasn’t the perfect parent, how she tore him down and how she never was interested in him as a kid. Lacey asks if there is anything else he wants to say. Having no effect on her, he leaves the room.
Toby arrives back to the house as Jack and Sandra wait outside for him. Jack freaks out as Toby doesn’t tell them where he went. Jack tells him he’s gonna see a shrink. Toby doesn’t agree but gives up anyway. We then get sessions of Dr. Carsen trying to figure Toby has too impressive of misdirecting the conversation. Dr. Carsen then digs deep as she can see something is eating Toby alive and then goes on how she thinks he sabotaged himself during his book tour. Toby gets uncomfortable and leaves abruptly.
A backyard barbeque is seen with Jack’s and Sandra’s place. Many of their neighbors and friends attend. Everyone is having a good time as Toby sits in lawn chairs by himself. The neighbors gossip about Toby and then make fun of him till Toby tells them that the suicide, that everyone cares so much about, didn’t kill his hearing. They quiet down as Jack is talking to Max about how their business is failing as some money is missing. Max reacts shocked by the news. They continue to talk as Jack says he’ll have to lay off people now. Max excuses himself as he has to go to the bathroom and Toby watches him with interest. He sees Sandra talking to Alec Jefferies (Columbus Short) and gets up to walk away.
Jack and Sandra are cleaning up as Toby walks out looking around. Toby asks if he can help and Sandra makes a comment about how he could have been social. Toby makes a comment on how events that remind you of the past are for weaklings. Sandra makes an argument which Toby happily concedes to entertain “Housewife Barbie”. Jack stops it in its tracks and tells Sandra to head inside. Sandra quietly eyes Toby as she heads inside. Jack and Toby have a talk about how Toby needs to talk to Dr. Carsen but Toby makes a case how talking won’t solve his problems. Jack makes his case how he’s putting his neck out for him and his recovery. Toby backs up tells he’ll go back and continues to clean.
Toby is back at Dr. Kate Carsen’s office as they talk about Toby’s childhood. Toby tells her he was never good at making friends and his mom never helped to make him feel better. Carsen goes deeper and talks about what happened at the last book tour. Toby made a big scene and said unfavorable things about his fans. Toby just says it was a bad day. She always wants to talk about the famous rape scene in his book but Toby starts to wall up. Carsen tries even harder to get a clear answer but it upsets Toby and he rips into her and airs out her dirty laundry as he looked her up. He goes into how life sucks just like her marriage and how her family wants nothing to do with her. Dr. Carsen makes him leave as she can’t take being around someone who clearly hates himself more than anyone could.
Toby heads back home and Jack waits for him. Jack tries to find out why Dr. Carsen called him about the last session. Toby blows him off and Jack reaches his boiling point and kicks him out after Toby tells him he doesn’t owe him anything.
Days go by, Jack and Sandra are at their rehearsal dinner and their friends and family gather around. Sandra looks worried but not for how the rehearsal will go but if Toby will be in a sound mind to around people. Maxwell walks up to Jack and talks about how things are going. The rehearsal starts as we have the best man and bridesmaids give their speeches. We get to Maxwell till Toby walks in making a scene as he is “drunk as a spunk”. Toby takes over the speech and goes to make a revealing speech about how he’s responsible for Jack and Sandra meeting. He goes onto talking about how Sandra actually wanted to just get close to Maxwell and he talked her out of it. Then he goes to how he got published and how his ‘so-called friend” stopped calling after he started to get attention. Max tries to take the microphone away after Jack and Sandra signal him to. Toby dodges through the room and makes even more of an ass of himself. He goes to how one by one everyone he thought cared stopped even being around him, knowing full he’s never had, anyone. Max finally grabs the microphone away and Toby yells at him to give it back. Max tells him he had enough yet Toby replied: “Just like everyone had enough of your drug use?” He goes deeper into how he’s the reason Jack and Max’s business almost failed. Everyone is shocked as Toby explains how he knows a drug user when he sees one. He’s seen Max’s texts and emails. Jack reacts shocked by this and asks Max if it’s true. Max finally admits it and then goes to blame him for inviting Toby in the first place. Jack tries to avoid that but then Sandra goes in as they argue about how he never asked her about Toby staying. Toby then makes a comment about how she never asked Jack it was okay to sleep with other people when they were on break years ago. Sandra loses her cool as she unleashes all her problems with Toby and Toby shrugs her off by the stress of being unintelligent as a lying b-word. Sandra storms off as does Maxwell. Toby ends his speech obviously until he sees Alec Jefferies sitting at a table and freezes. He drops the microphone and quickly walks away from the damage he caused. The DJ tries to pick it up by starting the dancing leaving the room more uncomfortable.
Toby is seen in a hospital room as he looks like he has been given really bad news. He stares into space as he looks like his world has been shuttered.
Toby is at the back of the building, stumbling to light his cigarette. Jack walks out in a huff as he starts getting upset at him. But Toby interrupts him by asking help to light his cig. Jack does it and goes back to yelling at him, Toby interrupts again by thanking him for cleaning out those long overdue skeletons in the closet. Jack now explodes as he can’t believe he let him back into his life. He goes further about how everyone always tells him to leave Toby behind. “Like Alec Jefferies?” Toby says. Jack asks why that is relevant. Toby responds its cause Alec Jefferies is one who gave him AIDS. Jack is shocked as he figures out why he tried to kill himself. But Toby does one better as he tells him how Alec raped him in high school, the same day he stopped acting nice to people. Jack asks why he didn’t say anything. Toby tells him how since Alec was “the man” at high school no one would believe the trailer trash kid with no dad. Then he reveals how he wrote a book about to reveal the truth but everyone took it as fiction and made his suffering a joke. Jake then realizes that’s why he sabotaged his book tour. Toby tells him why he should ever care when the world always pushes him down. Jake sympathizes with him about how he wants to be his friend because he can’t stand how he always has it good. Toby connects with him a bit for the first time but Toby finishes his cigarette and walks away. Jake watches as his friend disappears in the darkness.
Jake walks up to the front as he sees Sandra talking to Alec. They notice him and stop talking. Alec asks Jake if he is alright but Jake punches him hard in the face knocking him down. Alec asks why and Jake tells him he knows what he did to Toby. Alec’s face says it all and tries to defend himself but Jake tells him to stay away from him and anyone he knows. Alec complies and walks away before things get worse. Sandra asks what that was about but Jake only wants to talk about their issues. They work them out and promise to actually be honest with each other. Suddenly, they see a car slam into a stone statue near them. They run up to see Toby in the driver seat, passed out. They try to get him and call for help.
Earlier in the day, Toby is seen in Dr. Kate Carsen’s office. Dr. Carsen doesn’t look happy to see him as Toby apologizes for the other day. Dr. Carsen makes a joke about if he thinks that’s the first time that happened; he’s stupider than she thought. Toby is more open with her as he reveals the novel is about him. The mother problems, his hard childhood, and then the night he was assaulted. Dr. Carsen makes an observation about how Toby doesn’t believe he deserves to be loved. She then goes to if he actually met his father yet. Toby reveals the story of how he actually did find him when he saw his father was already happily married and the reason he left. He found something better. Dr. Carsen makes a metaphor about poker, stating just because you get bad hand every turn, doesn’t make your bluff stronger. Toby gets up and thanks to the doc. He tells her he actually likes her for she sees the world for what it is. Dr. Carsen is shocked by this as Toby walks away.
Toby is lying on the hospital bed unconscious as Jake and Sandra sit together watching him. They talk about how Toby needs medical help. The right kind of help. Jake tells her what Toby told him earlier in a brief form. Sandra suddenly feels for Toby for the first time and wishes him well. She leaves to go grab a coffee as she needs to process what she was told. Maxwell enters before she leaves though. Max and Sandra share a look at each other as they both now feel the sting of the rehearsal. Max asks if Toby will be alright and Jake tells him dully he’ll live unfortunately for Max. Max tries to explain how the job was more than he thought it would be and he got caught up trying to keep up. Jake doesn’t hear it and told him the only reason Max still has a job is cause he can’t work alone. Jake then tells him he has to go to rehab or else he will hire someone to replace him. Max agrees but Jake tells him to do it now. Max thinks he’s kidding but Jake is dead serious considering he’s next to his friend’s lifeless body. Max gets the picture and leaves the room. Toby starts to wake up a bit and Jake tells him he’ll help him the right way this time. Toby weakly tells him though he’s not going with him and how it’s time to let the professional help. Jake asks him that’s what he truly wants and Toby tells him it’s time to stop making his problems everyone’s problems. Sandra makes a good joke about that and Toby laughs along. They all share a laugh as the camera pan away from them.
Jake visits Lacey in the nursing home. Jake tells her Toby is doing okay but Lacey doesn’t care about that. Jake finds how Lacey knew Toby had gotten assaulted and how he has AIDS. Jake is set back by this news and then rips into her about how bad of a mother she is and how it’s part of her fault her only son turned into a mess. Lacey pays no attention to him and makes a remark about life is hard. Jake leaves after telling her she is a horrible human being and Lacey admits without hesitation.
Toby can be seen in a room at a mental ward as Toby looks outside. His room has photos of Jake’s and Sandra’s wedding and they’re first kid which they named Toby. We see letters behind them. He admires the view as he can see nature untouched. He begins to tear up as he finally believes life will be better from here on.
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