Every weekend I try to entice my Jewett Hall buddies to join me while I “work” by watching a movie––usually, a mindless bloody action adventure is an easy draw. Surprisingly, last weekend I persuaded the gang to see “The Descendants,” and none of us were disappointed.

“The Descendants” follows Matt King (George Clooney) as his life is turned upside down. Matt, a hard-working lawyer, is a descendant of Hawaiian royalty. Being the oldest son, Matt is in charge of selling a huge chunk of unused Hawaiian land to whichever billionaire or company he picks. Then tragedy strikes, and Matt’s wife is in a coma. Matt is devastated and must struggle with the hospital, the land sale and his two daughters. Matt is forced to become a family man holding down the house as his wife slowly dies.

Very few movies have a solid script, a big-name cast and phenomenal acting, but “The Descendants” hits the trifecta. George Clooney, always a great actor, has one of his best performances playing an emotional father who is pushed to his limits. Shailene Woodley, a relatively new actress, holds her own with the titan Clooney and turns in a powerful performance as Matt’s oldest daughter, Alexandra. Alexandra is forced to return home from college to help care for her mom and her younger sister. Nick Krause plays the completely hysterical and sometimes idiotic friend Sid, who thankfully offers moments of humor cleverly placed throughout this emotion-packed movie.

Although I resisted seeing “The Descendants” for weeks because I didn’t like the commercials showing my “Ocean’s Eleven” idol Clooney in a Hawaiian shirt, “The Descendants” is hands down one of my favorite movies of the past year and almost ties “The Artist” for my top slot. Convince your friends to go relax, laugh, enjoy and be moved by “The Descendants.”