A.C.O.D. stands for Adult Children Of Divorce. This movie follows a man through.. well, there isn't a whole lot that he's actually going through this side of his brother's wedding. As a result of the impending wedding, he has to get his divorced parent to deal with each other or at least tolerate being in the same room.
Adam Scott, who weekly co-stars on the NBC show Parks and Recreation, plays the son of the aforementioned divorced couple. He's now a successful restaurant owner, but that is really just a facet of his character that is ultimately unimportant for most of the movie. He plays a character very similar to the one he plays in Parks and Rec, but this one isn't as funny as that one. He certainly plays the role well enough, and it has its moments.
His father is played by Richard Jenkins as a guy who can't commit to anything and goes through wives like a guy with a cold goes through Puffs. He plays the distant yet overcompensating father well enough, but the role could accommodate pretty much any guy over 60 or so. His latest wife is played by the star of NBC's Parks and Recreation, Amy Poehler. The interactions between Amy and Adam are definitely the best points in this movie. Their natural comedic chemistry definitely makes itself known pretty quickly and decisively. Their timing is great, and I wish there were just more scenes with them going back and forth.
Catherine O'Hara plays the mother who pretty much can't say anything without following it with some statement lashing out at her ex-husband. She does a very good job making the role her own, and it's nice to see her in a decent role again. Her new husband is played by Ken Howard who plays the bland, calm husband so well that this role that is supposed to be pretty much nothing turns out to actually be pretty memorable.
Jane Lynch is the woman who wrote a book on a bunch of kids that she was psychoanalyzing way back when Adam was a boy. When he returns to her to try to sort out his issues with his parents now, it turns out she sees a new book in revisiting the children that she profiled in her first book. She comes up with the moniker A.C.O.D.
Rounding out the cast are Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the girlfriend and Clark Duke as the younger brother. There are others here, and everyone plays their role well enough that I wouldn't say any of them need replaced. But the story isn't about them - even though it is technically supposed to be about Clark's wedding.
Direction was decent enough
Acting was very good
Cinematography was passable
Story was pretty good
Comedy was good
3.25/5