Michael Cera has been doing a lot of TV lately, but it’s nice to see him back on the big screen for the first time in five years. You might have seen him steal a few scenes in Barbie as Allan, the discontinued Mattel doll briefly introduced in the 1960s as Ken’s best friend. Cera’s always been good at playing oddballs and misfits, to the point of being typecast, and sure enough, he plays another one in his new comedy, The Adults. But his character, Eric, is one of his more interesting roles. He’s tricky and temperamental and hard to figure out — and so are his two sisters, Rachel and Maggie, whom he comes home to visit.
It’s never explained why Eric has been away from his East Coast hometown for three years — maybe it was COVID lockdown, maybe something else. But things are clearly awkward between him and his older sister Rachel, played with a wonderfully sardonic edge by Hannah Gross. She lives in and takes care of the home they all grew up in as kids; their parents are dead.
In time we’ll also meet the youngest and gentlest of the three siblings, Maggie, played by Sophia Lillis. Unlike Rachel, Maggie is delighted to see their brother back in town. But she’s upset that Eric is only here for a short trip, mainly to see his old friends, and plans to spend just a little time with his sisters. He’s even rented a hotel room rather than staying at the house.
The writer-director Dustin Guy Defa doesn’t overload his characters with backstories. But he subtly suggests that all three of these siblings are feeling stunted and unfulfilled in their own ways. The details dribble out gradually: Rachel works at a local radio station, editing what she contemptuously calls “puff pieces.” Maggie is a recent college dropout. And as for Eric, it’s not entirely clear what he does for a living, if anything. He makes a big deal about getting home, but he winds up easily extending his trip — not to spend more time with his sisters, although he does, but to join his friends’ nightly poker games.
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