Josh (Mark Duplass) sees for sale on eBay the same type of armchair their father had when they were kids, and decides to buy and transport it to their dad for his birthday. His brother Rhett (Rhett Wilkins) and girlfried Emily (Katie Aselton) get involved and want to go along. There is already contention at the beginning of the trip, as Josh and Emily bicker about their relationship. You can see that she doesn't want him to take the trip because it encroaches on her time with him, even though she couches it in terms that makes it sound like she is sorry that HE will not enjoy it.
Neither of them seemed to speak truthfully to each other. Josh, as many young men of his age, is in a period of arrested development and immature (calling everyone "dude" for one thing) and Emily, as many young women of her age, was trying to get him to say things that pleased her even though it was against his nature. Josh makes a speech at a wedding which was obviously a projection of what he wanted in his own relationship. I was surprised at how sentimental he was, it seemed out of character for him (although he did show his true colors later).
There is some pretty bad camera work, the camera shouldn't be so obtrusive and obvious with the bad focus and bad motion control (it was noted in an interview that the cameraman was the main actor's real life brother who also directed; he admitted he wasn't a very good cameraman). Although marketed as an indie comedy, and although there are some humorous setups, I wouldn't call this a straight comedy. I think this film needs some lightness, perhaps it would have worked better as a real comedy but with some dramatic moments, a family going through hard times together. Everyone was just crabby.
The last third of the film, when they all confronted their feelings, was the best section, as by then the characters became more likeable and sympathetic, whereas the first third was uncomfortable. The filmmaker brothers' parents play their parents in the film as well.
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