The Descendants

After seeing good ol' George take the Golden Globe for Best Actor, I thought it was time to check this movie out (that and I STILL can't get anyone to see The Artist with me). Read my review for The Descendants after the jump. 

George finds himself as a rich dude in Hawaii. His family owns a huge piece of beach side property and they're getting ready to sell. George,  a lawyer, is handling the sale.  He and his cousins are the descendants who were entrusted with the land (title explained!).

In the midst of all this, George's wife as been in a boating accident. An adrenaline junkie, the wife is now in a serious coma.  The doctors tell George that it is irreversible and, in accord with her will, it will be time to pull the plug soon.  George, who has one daughter at home, goes to get his second daughter from boarding school. She is a potential alcoholic with a drug problem and was pissed at her mom before she left for school. She tells George it was because the mother was cheating on him. 

Devastated to learn that his wife is both dying and was unfaithful, George takes his family on a mini vacay to find the dude who was banging his wife. 

What most surprised me about this movie was how well The American Teenager did. She blows on that show so I had zero hope for her being any good in this, but she actually ended up carrying some of the scenes.  

It was a sweet movie about family banding together during tough and unusual times. The grief was written in a way that was felt and not forced. I can't say that I would ever sit down to watch this movie again, but I will say that I'm happy I saw it.