Directing: B+
Acting: A-
Writing: B+
Cinematography: B
Editing: B

Jenny Slate is a singular personality, and her presence alone brings a peculiar charm to just about anything she's in. You could say the same of Edie Falco, who here plays her mother. Ditto John Turturro, who plays her father. She and the younger woman who plays her high-school aged sister (Abby Quinn, a match for all around her) suspect their father is having an affair.

In the midst of this, Dana (Slate) is having her own affair, freaking out in the lead-up to marrying her fiancé (Jay Duplass). For some reason, all of this is set during the mid-nineties, which I suppose justifies the title of the film, in a way. Young Ali (Quinn) has her own landline phone in her bedroom, which has to be taken away from her as punishment at one point. No one in this movie has smart phones. Honestly there's something weirdly refreshing about that, almost a relief. There is something to be said for personalities getting through more clearly without devices serving as distractions and barriers.

I can't say there's anything particularly vital about this story, and especially in the beginning, I found myself almost wondering what was the point. But then the story picks up, and the two sisters join forces in trying to solve the mystery of their father. Ali has found oddly written love notes on his very 1990s Apple Computer.

The thing is, these two young women feel very much like real sisters. The whole family feels very real, in their New York City way of veering between matter-of-factness and neuroses. Before long, thanks to truly solid performances all around, you've become invested in every one of these relationships. The sisters' relationship with each other. Their relationship with their parents. The parents' relationship with each other. And in a fairly breezy 97 minutes, the perfect amount of time and attention is paid to all of them.

Landline is ostensibly a comedy, and I wanted it to be funnier than it was. I did get a few good laughs out of it, and in the end was perfectly satisfied with it anyway, because my investment in these characters was well rewarded. This is the kind of movie that has a surface appearance of being ordinary or generic, but gradually reveals itself to be a rare treat.

Overall: B+