Whilst Jason Segel and Ed Helms are more readily associated with mucking about with puppets, tigers and vulgar-minded monkeys than navigating psychological breakdowns, that all seems about to change with the release of bittersweet comedy Jeff Who Lives At Home.

A first trailer has been released by Paramount Vantage for the film, directed by the Duplass brothers (last seen helming sleeper hit Cyrus), in which the two comedy stars play a pair of brothers rooted in coinciding mid-life crises.

Segel plays Jeff, an unemployed drifter searching for meaning in a life that seems to be passing him by. Meanwhile, his brother Pat (Helms) has just bought himself a Porsche, only to discover that his wife is having an affair. As for their mother (Susan Sarandon)... well she despairs of both of them.

Check out the first trailer below…

We’re slightly concerned by the lack of obvious laughs on display so far, but hopefully this just means Paramount are subverting the usual technique of cramming every half-decent gag into a two-minute trailer.

Helms and Segel have both got the loveable schlub routine down to a fine art, and with Sarandon also on board, the cast is certainly one worth watching. Let’s just hope the script remembers to find the funny amid the tear-stained life lessons.

Jeff Who Lives At Home will open in April 2012.

Source: iTunes Trailers