Sundance London 2013: A.C.O.D.

Occasionally an ensemble cast comes along that makes you want to get down on your knees and give praise to the movie gods; A.C.O.D. (Adult Children of Divorce) has such a cast. The directorial debut of Stu Zicherman brings together Parks and Recreation stars Adam Scott and Amy Poehler and expertly tosses into the mix Oscar-nominee Richard Jenkins, along with bona-fide comic geniuses Jane Lynch and Catherine O'Hara. And that's just for starters.

Scott plays the neurotic, cynical Carter, ever-the-peacemaker for his acrimoniously divorced parents (Jenkins and O'Hara): "You have turned a nine-year marriage into a 100-year war" he chides them. When his contrastingly sunny and irresponsible brother Trey (Clark Duke) gets rapidly engaged, the impending nuptials threaten to bring their parents together in an apocalyptic showdown. To prepare himself Carter enlists the help of Dr Judith (Lynch) who had used a young Carter as a case-study in her book "Children of Divorce" and plans to follow it with a look at the continuing impact of divorce on him (and others like him).

A.C.O.D. is peppy, likable and consistently funny. Though its problems aren't catastrophic, like Carter's parental hang-ups, they do hold it back. Poehler is wasted in a small role as Carter's stepmother and there's a dalliance with Jessica Alba which feels oddly abbreviated. Also, while most of the cast get their chance to shine comedically, only Scott has a fully fleshed-out role. However the cast do squeeze every drop of comic juice from the material and watching this lot bounce off each other is worth the price of admission alone.

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