Sundance Review: Charming And Delightful 'People, Places, Things' Starring Jemaine Clement

It would be a treat to watch Jemaine Clement read the phone book. Fortunately, “People, Places, Things,” in which he stars as a single dad, is much more charming and delightful than that. From writer-director Jim Strouse, ‘People’ allows Clement to at once be his distinctive self while also offering an opportunity for the “Flight of the Conchords” star to demonstrate his winning leading man abilities. With a dry and witty tone, it’s an amicable and appealing piece on love, both the romantic and family kind, and the ways in which it can change, evolve, and grow.

At the 5th birthday party for their twin girls, Will (Clement) discovers his longtime girlfriend/baby mama, Charlie (Stephanie Allynne), in a compromising situation with a friend of theirs, Gary (Michael Chernus). She declares she wants out, and soon he is out, living in a tiny rathole apartment in Queens, teaching the graphic novel at the School of Visual Arts (Strouse is also a cartoonist and teaches there).

Clement has...