For much of the running time, the film Other People by Chris Kelly, might as well be called “Sundance Selects”, or perhaps “Other Indies”.

Many of the scenes involving a writer named Michael (a surprising Jesse Plemons), returning home to deal with his cancer-stricken mother (Molly Shannon), along with his closed-minded father (Bradley Whitford, varying from his Transparent role) seem familiar, even comforting, which is not entirely a letdown.

Certainly interactions with MIchael’s former boyfriend, played by Silicon Valley’s Zach Woods, veer in unexpected directions. But a great deal of the “can you believe this family / city” moments are oddly played for laughs, and as such, this dramedy feels quite a lot like Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl or People, Places, Things, or (insert pretty much any lo-fi dramedy that invariably debuted at Sundance).

Still there’s a lot to like here, from a dance performance that rivals Little Miss Sunshine, (another Sundance flick), as well as Plemons finally maturing into a lead role, to a recurring joke involving the band Train that eventually becomes funny and poignant, Other People is not groundbreaking but it is cozy, which is perhaps Other People‘s desired end.

[star v=3]