''Landline'' is a 2017 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film directed by

Gillian Robespierre Gillian Robespierre (born June 29, 1978) is an American director and writer, known for writing and directing the films ''Obvious Child'' and ''Landline (film), Landline''. Early life Robespierre was born to a Jewish family and raised in New Yor ...

with a screenplay by Elisabeth Holm from a story by Robespierre, Holm and Tom Bean. The film stars

Jenny Slate Jenny Slate (born March 25, 1982) is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and writer. After early acting and stand-up roles on television, Slate gained recognition for her live variety shows in New York City and for co-creating the children's ...

Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. A prominent figure in American television, she is known for her roles both on stage and screen and has received numerous accolades including four Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe A ...

Abby Quinn Abby Quinn (born ) is an American actress. She is known for her role in the 2023 M. Night Shyamalan horror film ''Knock at the Cabin''. Early life and education Quinn was born in Bloomfield, Michigan. Her parents divorced when she was young. S ...

John Turturro John Michael Turturro ( ; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his varied roles in independent films, and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award a ...

Jay Duplass Lawrence Jay Duplass Jr. (born March 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author widely known for his films ''The Puffy Chair'' (2005), ''Cyrus'' (2010), and '' Jeff, Who Lives at Home'' (2011), made in collaboration with his younger br ...

and

Finn Wittrock Peter L. Wittrock Jr. (born October 28, 1984), known professionally as Finn Wittrock, is an American actor who began his career in guest roles on several television shows. He made his film debut in 2004, in '' Halloweentown High'' before returning ...

, and follows sisters in 1990s

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

who think their father is having an affair. It had its world premiere at the

2017 Sundance Film Festival The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016. Awards The following awards were presented: * Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – '' I Don't Feel ...

on January 20, 2017, and was released by

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

on July 21, 2017.

Plot

In 1995, the Jacobs family is a tight-knit Italian-Jewish family. Parents Pat and Alan have a marriage that seems to be struggling because of Pat's disinterest in her husband. Elder daughter Dana is in a long-term relationship with her fiancé Ben that has hit a rut. Younger child Ali is still in high school and more interested in going to raves and getting high than applying to colleges. Returning from a rave one night and trying to do her homework Ali unlocks a file containing her father's love-notes to a mysterious woman named "C". Around the same time Dana runs into an ex, Nate, at a party. Sometime later she decides to blow off her social obligations and take a day to herself. She runs into Nate and the two have sex. After being confronted by her parents over her behavior Ali runs away to their family's country home to have sex with her boyfriend. She is confronted by Dana who has gone there to get away from Ben. The two end up having a girls' weekend where Ali tells Dana about their father's affairs and Dana tells Ali that she cheated on Ben. Dana decides to move back home to "support" Ali and help her find C however she continues her affair with Nate and acts irresponsibly, blowing off her obligations. The sisters hit a dead end, but at a staged reading of their father's play they meet Carla, an actress, and believe she is the C of the letters. Dana is upset but when she mentions it to Nate he blows her off laughing that monogamy doesn't exist and causing her to end the affair. After a conversation with her father where she tells him she's not sure about the direction of her life, Dana begins to reach out to Ben once more. On Halloween Dana goes to meet up with Ben but reveals to him she cheated with Nate causing him to leave her. Ali then takes Dana to a drug deal where Dana convinces her not to buy the drugs, but the two get picked up by the police anyway. That same night Pat goes out to a bar and flirts with a man but returns home and has sex with Alan. She then reveals that she knows about Alan's affair with Carla. Pat and Alan's fight is interrupted by a phone call from jail where Alan goes to pick up his daughters. Returning home, the sisters find Pat smoking and crying. She reveals the affair to them and the two of them hug her in comfort. Dana pursues Ben and convinces him to take her back. Alan moves out of the family home but vows to stay a part of the family. At Ali's birthday party the family reunite to celebrate.

Cast

as Dana Jacobs, Alan and Pat's older daughter and Ali's older sister *

as Pat Jacobs, Alan's wife and Dana and Ali's mother *

as Ali Jacobs, Dana's younger sister and Alan and Pat's younger daughter *

as Alan Jacobs, Pat's husband and Dana and Ali's father *

as Ben, Dana's fiancé *

as Nate, an ex-lover of Dana *

Jordan Carlos Jordan Carlos (born February 2, 1978) is an American stand-up comedian who played a recurring character on ''The Colbert Report'' and is a co-host on the Nickelodeon kids' show '' Me TV''. He also appeared as a panelist and reporter on '' The Nigh ...

as Ravi *

Ali Ahn Alison Ahn is an American actress. She has appeared in TV series such as '' Billions'', ''Orange Is the New Black'', '' Raising Dion'', '' The Diplomat, and Agatha All Along.'' Early life and education Ahn grew up in Pasadena, California, grad ...

as Sandra

Production

On May 15, 2016, it was reported that

would star in ''Landline'', reuniting with ''

Obvious Child ''Obvious Child'' is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Gillian Robespierre (in her directorial debut) and stars Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann and David Cross. The story follows Donna, a stand-up com ...

'' director

and producer Elisabeth Holm, alongside

, and newcomer

. On May 19, 2016,

joined the cast. On June 9, 2016, ''Landline'' began filming in

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

on January 20, 2017. Shortly after,

acquired distribution rights to the film.

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures LLC is an American independent film distributor and production company, and is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in ...

co-distributed the film with Amazon. It was released on July 21, 2017.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 126 reviews, and an average rating of 6.49/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Landline''s talented cast — and a fast-paced approach from director/co-writer Gillian Robespierre — help this charming multi-generational dramedy overcome a familiar storyline." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has an average weighted score of 66 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, landline 2017 films 2017 comedy films 2017 independent films Films about adultery in the United States Amazon MGM Studios films American comedy films Films about families Films set in 1995 Films set in Manhattan Films shot in New York City Films about sisters 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language comedy films English-language independent films