When I decided to immerse myself in mumblecore movies, I enjoyed the Duplass brothers’ first movie, The Puffy Chair. I haven’t seen their second movie, Cyrus. It is in my queue, but because it isn’t available via streaming, only on DVD, I’ve postponed watching it. Jeff, Who Lives at Home is available via streaming and is the Duplass brothers’ third movie. Jeff, Who Lives at Home is surprisingly self-conscious and more predictable than their first movie. Jeff, Who Lives at Home explicitly models itself after M. Night Shylaman in a life affirming way. While it is surprising how everything does tie together, it is also a bit ridiculous. I wish that the Duplass brothers had less money to spend on its cast and filming because then it would be true to its mumble core origins and could get to its core theory about relationships and how to live fully without feeling like the plot concepts were hashed out in front of a white board while people chucked, “Wouldn’t it be great if THIS HAPPENED!!!!.” Instead it felt twee and contrived. I felt manipulated. It may be more enjoyable after repeated viewings