Are You Here is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Matthew Weiner. The film stars Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis and Amy Poehler. The plot follows a bipolar man who inherits his estranged father’s fortune and must then battle his sister in court for it while simultaneously battling his psychological issues. The film premiered on September 7, 2013 at the Toronto International Film Festival under the title You Are Here, and released in the United States on August 22, 2014.
Plot
Steve Dallas burns through his paycheck quickly every month convincing women to have sex with him. He is able to afford this lifestyle because he works as the weatherman for a local news channel. Although expected to make his own forecasts, he relies on assistant Delia Shepard to do it for him. Steve spends his free time with childhood friend Ben Baker, a bearded hippie who spends his days smoking cannabis. One day, Ben violently bursts into the WRSC premises to tell Steve his father has died. Steve drives him to the funeral, but they arrive late due to Ben insisting they save some crayfish from ending up as bait. Despite missing all but the lowering of the casket, Ben is received with open arms by his stepmother Angela, a young special education teacher who married Ben's father just 5 years prior. At the reading of the will, Angela is left nothing, in accordance with her wishes; Ben's sister Terry is left 350,000 dollars; and Ben is left the family farm, general store, and 2,000,000 dollars. In a manic episode, Ben decides to use his money to create a school that will spread New Age philosophy, and starts giving classes in the backyard of the family farm. He is soon stopped by Terry, who has decided to contest the will in court by challenging Ben's sanity, forcing Ben to have a psychiatric evaluation. On the day of the appointment, Ben runs to a neighboring Amish farm, feeling that the Amish lifestyle is a role model for his future school. The psychiatrist concludes that, though bipolar, Ben is not a danger to himself or to others, so the court rules that Ben can keep his inheritance. Celebrating the ruling, Ben and Steve get drunk and Steve attempts to reveal to Angela that he has developed genuine feelings for her in the days since they met. Ben has a depressive episode and starts believing life has no meaning. When Angela tries to console him, they end up having sex. The next morning, after taking his new medication, Ben shaves his beard, meets with Terry and gives her full control of the store. Terry makes plans to tear it down and replace it with a more modern version. Steve soon tires of the emptiness of his job and, drawn to the substance and positive influence of Angela, quits the station and drives to the farm to see her. He becomes livid when Terry tells him Ben slept with Angela, storming off and returning to the city to drink and smoke pot, despite having been sober for days to impress Angela. Making good on an earlier promise, Ben, who has moved to the city to live a normal life, eventually contacts Steve to inform him that he is giving him ownership of the farm. Steve, who has built much of his identity around helping Ben with his problems, has an identity crisis and realizes he has problems of his own that need dealing with. The film ends with Steve inviting Angela to stay on the farm and help him run it, and her forgiving him. Ben is shown in the early stages of getting to know a neighbor, a single, friendly mother with a young son.
In November 2009, it was announced that Matthew Weiner would direct a movie starring Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, and Zach Galifianakis. Galifianakis remained cast in the movie but, due to scheduling conflicts, Aniston and Cooper were replaced by Amy Poehler and Owen Wilson. Filming began on May 7, 2012, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The film received negative reviews. Review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes giving the film an approval rating of 8% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 3.43/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Given the amount of talent assembled on both sides of the camera, Are You Here falls bewilderingly flat." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". The film received a grade C from The A.V. Club writer Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, who commented on its bland stylistic choices but praised Weiner's ability to get good performances from its actors.
