Director Jason Reitman (1977)

A comedy film Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), directed by Jason Reitman and co-written with Gil Kenan, takes place in Summerville, Oklahoma. There, Egon Spengler captures a supernatural being at occultist Ivo Shandor’s mine near the town and lures another to his farm. Despite the failure of his elaborate setup due to a power outage, Egon manages to hide the ghost trap in his home before succumbing to a fatal heart attack. Following Egon’s death, his daughter Callie inherits the farm and moves there with her children Trevor and Phoebe after being forced out of ...

The Front Runner (2018), a 2018 American political drama film directed by Jason Reitman, is based on the 2014 book All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid by Matt Bai. This gripping tale follows former Senator Gary Hart as he makes a comeback in the 1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries, after coming up short against Walter Mondale in 1984. As he gears up for his campaign launch in April 1987, some of Hart’s staffers express their concern about his reluctance to share personal details and instead focusing solely on his ideas and ...

Tully (2018), an American comedy-drama directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody, follows Marlo who is unexpectedly pregnant with her third child with husband Drew. The couple already has two children – daughter Sarah and son Jonah, who struggles with an undiagnosed behavioral disorder resulting in Marlo’s nightly ritual of brushing his skin to minimize his sensitivity to stimuli. Despite her brother Craig’s offer to pay for a night nanny as a baby gift, Marlo declines. She often dreams of an underwater mermaid and her son’s aggressive ...

Men, Women & Children (2014) is an American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written with Erin Cressida Wilson. It is based on the novel of the same name by Chad Kultgen, and focuses on online addiction. The movie follows a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they navigate the ways in which the internet has affected their relationships, communication, self-image, and love lives. Social issues such as video game culture, anorexia, infidelity, fame hunting, and access to inappropriate content are explored. As each character’s ...

Labor Day (2013) is an American drama film written and directed by Jason Reitman, adapted from the 2009 novel of the same name by Joyce Maynard. Set in 1987, it tells the story of Adele Wheeler, a despondent single mother living with her 13-year-old son, Henry, in a rural home. While out shopping, they encounter a man who convinces them to take him back to their house. The man is later revealed to be Frank Chambers, an escaped convict wanted by the authorities. As the film unfolds through flashbacks and imagery, we learn that Frank is a Vietnam War veteran who had married ...

The American comedy-drama film, Young Adult (2011), was directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody, and starred Charlize Theron. Mavis Gary, a 37-year-old alcoholic ghost writer of young adult novels, was facing a tight deadline from her editor to finish the final book of the series before it was canceled. In the midst of this pressure, Mavis received an email containing a photo of her high school ex-boyfriend Buddy Slade’s newborn daughter with his wife Beth. This picture triggered something in Mavis and she ...

The American comedy-drama film, Up in the Air (2009), directed by Jason Reitman and written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner, is based on Walter Kirn’s 2001 novel of the same name. The protagonist, Ryan Bingham, is employed at an American human resources consultancy firm that specializes in assisting with employment terminations. As part of his job, Ryan frequently travels around the country to conduct layoffs on behalf of companies. In addition to his work ...

Juno (2007) is a comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. In Elk River, Minnesota, the sixteen year old high-schooler discovers she is pregnant by her friend and longtime admirer Paulie Bleeker. She initially considers an abortion, but then decides to visit a local women’s clinic where she encounters a schoolmate protesting against abortion. After discussing her options with the clinic staff, Juno ultimately chooses to give the baby up for adoption. With the help of her friend Leah, she searches for potential adoptive parents in the ...

The American satirical black comedy film, Thank You for Smoking (2005), written and directed by Jason Reitman, follows the story of Nick Naylor. As a Big Tobacco spokesman, Naylor relies on ‘research’ from the ‘Academy of Tobacco Studies’, where he serves as vice-president. Despite increasing pressure from anti-tobacco campaigns and declining numbers of young smokers, Naylor remains confident in his job. He meets regularly with his friends – firearm lobbyist Bobby Jay Bliss and alcohol lobbyist Polly Bailey – playfully referring to themselves as the ‘Merchants of Death’ or ...