Reeling after his second divorce and struggling with writer's block, sci-fi novelist John Henderson resolves to figure out where his life went wrong, and hits on an unorthodox solution: moving back in with his relentlessly disapproving, cheerfully passive-aggressive mother, whose favorite son has always been John's younger brother, Jeff. It's an experiment that, however harebrained, delivers surprising results. Brooks's film perfectly blends the writer-director-star's biting wit with insight and inviting warmth, while giving him a formidable foil in the delightful Reynolds, triumphant in a comeback role that₂s equal parts caustic and charming.