Filmmaking brothers Jay and Mark Duplass have carved out a nice niche for themselves as a pair of brilliantly creative artists who continue to turn life’s seemingly innocuous little circumstances into finely crafted works of art: a mother trying to cope with her dysfunctional son in Cyrus; young screenwriters writing a horror film in the remote wilderness in Baghead; and driving cross-country to deliver an e-Bay purchased, giant purple lazy-boy in The Puffy Chair.

In Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Jeff (Jason Segel) is a 30-something mom’s basement slacker who may have discovered his destiny on the way to the hardware store to pick up some wood glue. Via their trademark low-key, low-cost style and character-driven plots, the Duplass brothers (who also wrote the screenplay) turn the simple errand into a magical story about fate versus chance.

Jeff firmly believes that if a person pays attention to the signs in the universe, the path to destiny will be clearly highlighted. Ironically, he learns to look for these signs by watching M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs over and over again, pausing only to take the occasional bong hit. Whereas most of us only recognize them as we look back, awestruck at the path we’ve taken, Jeff sees the patterns and clues in life’s everyday chain of events.

A misdialed phone call sets Jeff’s chain of events into motion when, shortly before heading out on his errand, he receives a wrong number call for someone looking for Kevin. Whether it’s the hazy effects of the pot or his belief in the messages from Signs, Jeff decides there are no such things as wrong numbers, and it’s his mission to find this mysterious Kevin.

But his simple task quickly becomes forgotten when he’s presented with a series of comedic and accidental events that steer his path directly on course with those of his family in the strangest locations and quirkiest circumstances. It’s one of those movies that nearly runs in real-time with the string of events and fateful encounters unfolding over the course of a single day.

Along the way, unemployed but good-natured Jeff meets up with his older brother Pat (Ed Helms), his exact opposite. Overachieving and angry, Pat takes his beautiful wife Linda (Judy Greer) for granted and is clueless about her marital unhappiness. Meanwhile Jeff and Pat’s mother Sharon (Susan Sarandon) sees her sons fighting while wondering what happened to her own life that has resulted in her cubicled existence toiling away at a civil service job. In the tried and true Duplass style, they’re all flawed individuals trying to connect with others who are just as dysfunctional.

As the day’s events continue to unfold, and the paths of all involved continue to beautifully intersect into what eventually ends up as a magical climax, we begin to realize that nothing important has really happened, yet funny and interesting things have happened as the film paces gracefully forward. While the Duplass fly-on-the-wall style, with hand-held camera and mumble-core dialogue, isn’t for everybody, those who enjoy innovative filmmaking with just the right mixture of subtle comedy and poignantly tender drama will find plenty to love about Jeff, Who Lives at Home. Segel is tailor-made for the role, for the sympathetic nature he displays in every one of his characters, plays perfectly into Jeff, who wants to believe in magic and in the universe.  In fact the entire cast is great, including the charming Rae Dawn Chong in a brief but pivotal role.

Some may find the film’s ending a bit overcooked or contrived, but in the service of seeing the characters grow from miserable cads to beautifully rounded human beings, it’ll do just fine. Yes, one guy alone can make those around him understand that innocence and naiveté are sometimes still important human characteristics.

(Released by Paramount Vantage and rated “R” for language, including sexual references and some drug use.)

Review also posted at www.franksreelreviews.com.