Fantasy Life

Matthew Shear, known for playing supporting roles in Between the Temples and Mistress America, makes his debut as writer/director/star in this tale of a mildly depressive paralegal who, after being laid off, starts babysitting the granddaughters of his psychiatrist. Over the course of a year, he gradually becomes like a member of the family and falls in love with the mother. Amanda Peet plays the mom, an actress in her fifties, whose lack of being cast in anything has increased her own depression. The dynamic of a schlubby Jewish neurotic falling for a beautiful actress lacking self-confidence has faint echoes of many Woody Allen and Diane Keaton pairings, especially in Play It Again, Sam, with the two characters sharing prescription-meds and psychoanalysts, but the comedy in Fantasy Life comes from the situations and the supporting cast rather than the leads.

And what a supporting cast! Judd Hirsch and Andrea Martin, Bob Balaban and Jessica Harper, Zosia Mamet, and Holland Taylor. But the MVSP might be Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off, Laurel Canyon, Disobedience) as Peet's neglectful husband trying to avoid his own midlife crisis. Watching Shear attempt to navigate the rough waters of this marriage is entertaining without being over-the-top or dipping into lame cringe-comedy. Instead, the script finds its humor in honest situations. Peet, who is also one of the producers, gets some great scenes to play; both comedic, like when her character is confused for actress Lake Bell (something I'm sure has happened to Peet a lot), and serious, like in the film's terrific family dining room climax. If the only thing Fantasy Life had going for it was providing this gifted actress with a decent lead role, that alone would make it well worth seeing. But the film offers a good number of subtle comedic pleasures.