Gus (2013) Online

I did not know what to expect when i got to the theatre. And assumed it was going to be a typical chick flick I was going to have to suffer through, however I'm glad to say my assumptions were wrong! Jesse McCormick did an outstanding job in her directing debut. It was indeed a story focusing on the relationship between two women done in a way that was totally accessible to both men and women. I laughed out loud more times than I can count, and the acting was suburb. The movie felt quite real to me and the relationships between the characters felt genuine. Don't let the trailer fool you this is not just another "girls" movie. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to kick back and be thoroughly entertained for 87 minutes of great filmmaking!

In Los Angeles, the real estate agent Peter (Jon Dore) and his wife, the private teacher Lizzie (Radha Mitchell), have a troubled marriage since they are unable to have a baby of their own and they are facing financial difficulties. They have sessions with the marriage counselor Dr. Grayson (Mimi Kennedy) trying to resolve their issues. Lizzie spends most of her time with her friend Andie (Michelle Monaghan) and her dog Joyce, and gives classes to her only student, the teenager Justin (Andrew Shea). When the brainless Andie has one night stand with a stranger, she gets pregnant and gives-up of an abortion and offers the baby to Lizzie. Peter does not get excited with the idea, but Andie comes to their house to live with the couple. Meanwhile Peter's brother Casey (Michael Weston) leaves the rehabilitation and Peter bring him to live in his house since his brother is fragile and needs family support. With the four adults living together, friction increases among them.

"Gus" is a deceptive unfunny and annoying film. Surprisingly there are good reviews in IMDb. The story is pointless and the characters are awful and uninteresting. Andie is brainless, silly and irresponsible. Lizzie is confused and annoying, and does not give attention to her husband. Peter is a real estate agent that has to swallow his anger with his snobbish client, has many concerns (financial, his brother) and Lizzie presses him to fix the latch of the gate. Casey is absolutely uninteresting and not well developed. And their counselor Dr. Grayson is a moron. In the end, it is a totally unfunny comedy and the viewer is incapable to laugh. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "De Repente Um Bebê" ("Out of the Blue a Baby")

Firstly let me say that Expecting is most definitely worth watching. It looks a little bit like a midday TV movie in some respects, but do not be fooled, this has some pretty raunchy dialogue. Raunchy and very entertaining, mostly fairly dramatic but occasionally hilarious.

The four leads are very well played and their characters are all the more interesting by being flawed (i.e. normal) and sometimes surprising. Cudos to writer/director Jessie McCormack.

The film has a few things which don't quite make complete sense, such as why Peter stays away from home even after moving out of Casey's place, but these are minor issues. And generally they serve to progress the plot.

Special mention to Mimi Kennedy as the counsellor/therapist, she has some very funny lines and the three scenes with her are highlights (particularly if you have ever been to a counsellor - they are not this funny), and also to Joyce the dog. Other supporting roles are well handled and the side stories are good, specially the prospective house buyer (the character listed as "Douchebag").

I look forward to seeing more of Jessie McCormack's work, and can commend this movie to you as one to watch.

I do not want to write anything against this film, because I am kind of indifferent about it. It is more for the girls then for the big boys like me ;) Plot is from life and I liked it because of it. I always like realistic plots from life. It is probably how it looks to have a surrogate baby being expected in L.A. So plot is OK.

Acting is very good short of being excellent, but nothing out of extraordinary.

Music is well chosen especially one in the end of the film. Very nice.

Otherwise I am quite indifferent about recommending this film for someone else to watch it, because I feel only a notch better after watching it. So if you are a girl and like babies this is a film for you. Otherwise, you big men, take a hike!

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! Even though the ending was predictable – there were many before it with the same result -, "Expecting" was thoroughly enjoyable! There were many ups and downs and the actors thoroughly portrayed their characters.

Lizzie and Peter are trying to have a baby through IVF, to no avail, and her friend Andy instantaneously winds up pregnant after a one-night stand. After deciding not to abort the baby, and knowing that her friends have been desperately trying to conceive, she makes the offer of a lifetime – for Lizzie and Peter to adopt her baby. Much to Peter's dismay, Lizzie accepts Andy's "unconventional" offer and insists that her best friend stay with them at their house.

It is revealed that Lizzie and Peter see Dr. Grayson (Mimi Kennedy), a psychotherapist, due to Lizzie's desperateness to have a child and their fruitless attempts at conceiving through the IVF treatment.

Casey, Peter's brother, who's recovering from drugs, comes out of rehab and Peter instantly takes him under his wing, insisting that Casey move in with them so he can keep an eye on his brother, and make sure that Casey stays on the straight and narrow.

Hilarity and mayhem then ensue and secrets are revealed.

I love Joyce, the dog, whom tries to escape whenever the gate's left open, and Dr. Grayson, who tries to get Lizzie and Peter to open up about their lives and feelings. I must say, I love Mimi Kennedy anyway, who's a fabulous actress!

I've really never heard of any of these actors, let alone seen anything that they're in, but their portrayal of these characters was superb – I, personally, believed that they could be these characters! That's just me, though.

Jessie McCormack did a brilliant job in writing and directing this film and showing the audience what it's like to go through such an experience. I do wish, though, that he'd chosen not to mute out some of the dialogue of particular scenes and replace them with music – it was a real bummer and would've added more to the drama, and made the characters that more real.

Of course, some people may say that not only would it be a tad boring, but you don't need constant dialogue to fully understand the essence and emotion of the scene, and at times it's best left unsaid, but rather seen, which is true. It just irked me a bit. Saying this, though, there are scenes that did quite well with the music replacing the dialogue, but there were some scenes that were better off with more dialogue than music – it felt a bit out of place. He just needed to find the right balance between music and dialogue in some scenes. The other scenes, though, were perfect!

All in all, Jessie and the actors were superb in this film, including Joyce, and I would recommend it to anyone who wanted to watch a good film unfold, especially one that's not your typical ridiculously high budget, Hollywood blockbuster. I find those a bit cold and out of touch with reality, but this one really hit the nail on the head – it had just the right amount of heart and realism.

A smart, funny debut film by director and writer, Jessie McCormack. The story focuses on two strong female friends who face a difficult decision about a pregnancy. But the film is more than the tired "she's having a baby!" trope, and develops well all of its characters, male and female alike. Ms. McCormack has created characters who are real--they have flaws; they make mistakes. But they are intellectually honest flaws, and this makes for a poignant film. And rather than making these characters unlikable, we realize that they are just trying to make it through life the best they can--just like the rest of us. The story that will make you laugh and sting just a bit in the way good stories should. Kudos to Ms. McCormack and the excellent cast. (The film also looks great.)

First off let me start this review with the fact that I knew nothing about the film going into seeing it as I was invited by a friend and just said yes to a Saturday evening out with no expectations. I watch a a lot of films and can be a pretty tough critic on the acting, the writing, and so forth and this film came in as a hidden gem of a picture. From the start of the film I was laughing and it had already drawn me in with it's witty humor, clever writing of scenes, and the nice flow the film had from start to finish. I was never even close to bored and the time and pace of the film was spot on perfect for telling this story which the actors did an amazing job of presenting with amazing chemistry between the leads. I do not want to give anything away with this film, but if you enjoy a well told film and want to walk away with a laugh go see this!