Jenna Fischer is the ultimate girl next door type.
But even the girl next door can have issues.
“A Little Help” casts “The Office” cutie as a post 9/11 New Yorker coping with an indifferent husband, a bratty son and the sense that every move she makes is the wrong one. It’s not material that screams, “get me Jenna Fischer,” but the actress conquers it all the same.
Laura (Fischer), a Long Island dental hygienist, leads a dreary existence leavened by the occasional swig of Budweiser. Her husband (Chris O’Donnell, also cast against type) is all but checked out of their marriage. Their crotchety son Dennis (Daniel Yelsky) is sick of his mother showing up late to pick him up.
When Laura’s husband dies from an undisclosed ailment she runs into yet another life obstacle. She’s broke.
A sleazy lawyer (Kim Coates) suggests she sue the doctor who failed to detect her husband’s medical condition following a heart attack-like event, but Laura seems too distracted to lunge for that easy payday. She’s lost, plain and simple, and the only thing that feels right is spending time with her sister’s husband, played by “Felicity” co-star Rob Benedict.
“A Little Help” takes some mild storytelling chances, including a subplot in which Dennis tells his new classmates his father died during the 9/11 attacks. It’s much cooler than saying your father dropped dead. Laura’s attempts in the dating world yield some quietly funny moments, like her short-lived fling with a patient (comedian Jim Florentine).
Writer-director Michael J. Weithorn, making his feature film debut after a lengthy career in sitcoms, takes his time getting to the point of his own story. Laura’s growth comes during quiet exchanges, not steel cage style arguments. But it’s an approach that suits Fischer’s style. You’ll want to shake Laura until she takes some action, any action, to protect herself. And Fischer captures Laura’s ability to absorb one body blow after another without hitting the canvas.
In contrast, Laura’s family feels like it was plucked from a sitcom pilot, their boorish tics making it clear where Laura’s low self-esteem originates. But Ron Leibman strikes some poignant notes late in the film as Laura’s blowhard of a father.
“A Little Help,” opening July 22 in Denver exclusively at the AMC Highlands Ranch theater as well as other screens across the country, represents the best and most frustrating aspects of the indie film realm. Its pleasures are modest but certain, and the story demands patience but delivers when it counts.
For Fischer, it’s a sign her career needn’t hinge on how many more seasons her NBC sitcom has left in it.
(Photo: Daniel Yelskey and Jenna Fischer play family members coping with the loss of a loved one and some unresolved issues in “A Little Help.”)
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I’ve wanted to see this since I saw the trailer. Looking forward to it.
Honest truth: I’ve not seem many episodes of The Office, and though I am familiar with some of the characters, I didn’t follow it. I have been a fan of Fischer’s for awhile now, and look forward to her career in the future.