Write what you know!
I saw this film at the world premiere at Sundance last week. Boy do I wish I hadn't. It was like Garden State but without a point. I didn't expect much after the director/writer opened the screening as if he was accepting an award; I suppose he wasn't expecting to get another chance to make that speech (which he didn't). As if this strange introduction wasn't enough, he proceeded to explain that although he loved his parents and grew up in a positive family environment, the film was about a dysfunctional family.
The film was made well, however it was clear that the director/writer never learned or ignored the first rule in screenwriting: Write What You Know!