Director: Dustin Guy Defa
Eric hasn't been back in years, and the reunion he expected barely resembles the one he gets. A short visit unravels into something far messier once his sisters, an old card game, and buried resentments all show up at once.
What is The Adults about?
What starts as a quick stop to see family stretches into several uneasy days. Eric's sisters welcome him with equal parts affection and skepticism, unsure whether the sibling who arrived is any different from the one who left. Meanwhile a standing poker night with childhood friends keeps pulling him away from the house, offering a familiar escape from conversations he'd rather avoid. As the visit drags on, the comfortable distance Eric has kept from his past starts to close, and the version of himself he built as an adult proves harder to maintain than he expected.
Cast & crew
Michael Cera plays Eric with the low-key, slightly evasive energy he's known for, letting small hesitations do most of the emotional work. Hannah Gross and Sophia Lillis play his sisters, each carving out a distinct relationship to the family house and to him, while Wavyy Jonez, Anoop Desai, Kyra Tantao, Kiah McKirnan and Simon Kim round out the circle of friends whose card games double as group therapy nobody signed up for.
Context & significance
Writer-director Dustin Guy Defa builds the film around small talk, inside jokes, and the private shorthand siblings develop growing up under one roof — including odd voices and games that outsiders would find baffling. Rather than staging one big confrontation, the film lets tension surface gradually, through poker hands and kitchen conversations rather than speeches. Shot in the United States and released in 2023, it belongs to a run of low-budget American dramas more interested in family rhythm than plot mechanics, closer to a character study than a traditional homecoming story.
Where & how to watch
The Adults is available to watch on K-Time with a free account login — no separate purchase required to read this page. The platform's Farsi-first interface is built for the Iranian diaspora, and this title carries both a Persian dub and Persian subtitles, so viewers can choose whichever fits how they like to watch.