Sam is a shady business dealer who specializes in bartering goods and services to different companies. He's become quite good at it, but unfortunately not good enough to evade the curious eye of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is looking into their company due to complaints about illegal methods of business. To make matters worse, as Sam is dealing with the FTC he gets a call saying that his estranged father has passed away. Sam hasn't seen his father since he was a young adult so going back home is not that appealing. Sam plans on just getting to the funeral, getting his inheritance, and getting out so he can keep the painful memories at a distance for as long as possible. When Sam arrives back home to attend his father's funeral he gets the shock of his life. It seems that his father had a second family that he visited often during Sam's childhood. His father's last wish is for Sam to take a bag of $150,000 to a woman who Sam finds out is his sister. Sam must figure out a way to balance his legal troubles with the FTC and fulfilling his father's wish.
People Like Us is a very sweet, moving film that I initially was not expecting to like very much. From the previews it looked like a cheesy "chick flick", one that a guy like me who is more into action movies than dramas would not like. I was pleasantly surprised. Chris Pine gave a fantastic performance as Sam, Elizabeth Banks was great as Frankie, and Michelle Pfeiffer was also great as Sam's mother named Lillian. I also loved the fact that People Like Us stressed the importance of family, love, and forgiveness. One of my favorite scenes is when Frankie finds out about a few things that Sam has been lying to her about. She asks him how she's supposed to be able to trust him again and he replies: "...because we're family, and family makes mistakes...let me be your brother." By no means does it excuse the fact that he lied to her, but it does show how we are only human and we make mistakes; it's what we do and how we learn from those mistakes that make us who we are.
People Like Us is not for young kids due to the fact it's PG-13, but I most definitely recommend it for 13 and up.
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