binderhead126 I personally would give this movie 6.5/10 if possible; it isn't particularly good, but as other reviewers have commented, I appreciated the rawly exposed main character Laura (Jenna Fischer). I don't think the characters make believable individual families, but together the chemistry of the actors remind me of 'The Royal Tenenbaums', which I felt was as overrated as this movie is underrated. The plot of the movie is contrived, but if one looks at the writer/director (Michael J Weithorn), it makes perfect sense that the characters are very unique, but there is simply not enough time to develop them fully. The setting (Long Island, 2002) lends this movie some interesting flavor and some of the scenes where I laughed out loud were because they were ironic/sarcastic and generally dry, which I feel accurately depicts the vanilla suburbia that surrounds the concrete jungle of NYC. There is a theme of class warfare that I found interesting even if it did not develop into a great ending. For people who haven't seen it but might try it on Netflix, etc., it can best be explained like this: the first 25 minutes introduce many characters and would make an interesting TV pilot, and the rest of the movie tries to awkwardly make the people pieces fit together into a situation that would be better delivered as several half-hour episodes/seasons on basic cable. The ending is not particularly gratifying, but the reflections on life and the character development make it a sentimentally rewarding movie. Go into it with low expectations, and you will be pleasantly surprised. Watch it a second time, and you will be rewarded with its subtlety.

MarieGabrielle No real morality issue here, this is a story of people like Jenna Fisher ("The Office") who loses her husband (brief performance by Chris O'Donnell as handsome but cheating spouse), and has to re-think her life.Look for Brooke Smith as Jenna's resentful sister, she is jealous her sister was the prettier one and leads a "charmed life being lucky" according to her. Again, never judge a person by their externals, the same goes for the lies her son uses to pretend his dad died as a hero during 9/11, and there are some good scenes of their L.I. neighborhood.Overall good film with some stereotypes, nothing deep but good sardonic real-life humor, which I prefer to the usual drivel offered as comedy by Hollywood mainstream. 8/10.

maitre-miyamoto A little help was a surprisingly nice family drama. It isn't your average Hollywood movie. If you expect the typical Sandra Bullock feature, you probably won't like it. If you expect Jenna Fisher's character to be a perfect middle-class mother, you probably won't like it either. It isn't Pleasantville. Her characters smokes and drinks too much. She and her son gets into big fights, sometimes about nothing. And it isn't supposed to be funny like an episode of Married with children or a Wes Anderson movie.If you are looking for a movie with realistic family dynamic and flawed characters who try to do their best, you should watch this movie. Jenna Fisher has a few memorable scenes throughout with her controlling mother-in-law, a litigation lawyer and her son. Despite all her quirks, she is pretty much adorable. Actually, her flaws in the movie make her adorable and cool. It seems that some people did not like the movie because they felt frustrated at the main character's actions. In their eyes, Jenna Fisher's character never does the *right* thing. Sure she made a few bad decisions like lying for her son. On the other hand, I get the feeling that some of the haters just identified themselves with the slimy lawyer or some of the other very judgmental and controlling characters.This is not a must-watch movie but I would definitely recommend it.

brettster This indie dramedy casts cutie-pie Jenna Fischer (of TV's "The Office") as Laura, a woman suffering from a variety of problems—dead-end marriage, unappreciative son, bitchy sister, condescending mom—that no amount of beer and cigarettes can make go away. Then things take a turn for the worse. The movie is about how lies infect the soul—how they grow, like a cancer, and end up spoiling life. There are impressive turns by Ron Liebman and Lesley Ann Warren as Laura's parents, and Kim Coates as a calculating attorney—the embodiment of Satanic dishonesty, he might as well have been carrying a trident. "A Little Help" may not wind up in a lot of the year's Top 10 lists, but I found myself caring about the characters, warts and all. (For once, Fischer is photographed in a way that is not particularly attractive). A winning effort by first-time feature writer/director Michael J. Weithorn.