Quote:
"The messy lives of young aspiring writers and the dysfunctional families that spawned them have long provided fertile if inevitably over-tilled material for many an independent filmmaker. If Jean of the Joneses feels fresher than most multigenerational ensemble dramedies, credit not only the relative novelty of an all-Black, mostly female cast, but also writer-director Stella Meghie's talent for suggesting the invisible bonds that unite her characters, despite their many disagreements and (in some cases) general disagreeability. Inspired by her own family life though not strictly autobiographical, Meghie's endearingly acerbic debut feature is a work of modest ambition and commercial outlook, but that modesty proves intrinsic to its appeal, which deserves to be discovered at more stops along the festival circuit following its SXSW [Film Festival] premiere."
-- Justin Chang

Source:
Chang, Justin. "Film Review: 'Jean of the Joneses'; Writer-director Stella Meghie makes a fine debut with this portrait of a squabbling Jamaican-American family." Review of Jean of the Joneses. Variety, March 30, 2016.