Comic realism: The Hangover’s “Stu” adds depth with new role

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By Julius Williams

Television and film star Ed Helms, who is best known for his outlandish performances in the television show “The Office” and “The Hangover” film series, joined student journalists across the country on Feb. 17 for a conference call to promote his new film, “Jeff, Who Lives At Home.”

The Atlanta native plays a starring role as the character Pat, who spends the day with his younger, slacker brother Jeff as they try to track down Pat’s adulterous wife.

It’s a bit of a departure from the characters that Helms is known for playing. For this role, there will be no face tattoos or matrimony to prostitutes; instead, Helms plays a normal, everyday guy trying to deal with a marriage that has spun out of control.

“I’m insanely proud of it,” Helms said. “It’s kind of more dysfunctional…it’s more, sort of an honest look at dysfunctional people than most work I’ve done.”

For Helms, it was the honest portrayal of real-life characters that drew him to the Duplass brothers’ script.

“I loved it right away, watched all of the Duplass movies and said, ‘Sign me up,’” he said.

Although fans may consider Helms’ character on “The Office” as very dysfunctional, he believes that what makes this role special is the fact that you see real the real pain and cost of peoples’ decisions.

“This is a little bit more played for reality, and I hope that resonates,” Helms said. “We all know this guy and sometimes we are this person at various times in our lives… Pat is someone who is very desperate to kind of portray himself as someone who really has his shit together, but who doesn’t…and it’s sort of a chasm between what he wants to be and what he really is that defines this guy.”

The independent movie was filmed on location in New Orleans, with Helms starring alongside Jason Segel and Susan Sarandon.

“The chemistry was fantastic,” Helms said. “We had an amazing time working together. Jason just brought his ‘A’ game all over this movie. But it wasn’t about finding the laughs; it was just kind of a new challenge for me because it was about finding realism and authenticity.”

“Jeff, Who Lives At Home” premieres nationally on March 16.

Contact Julius Williams, sports editor, at jwilli78@jccc.edu.

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