A friend and I have had an on-going discussion about the nature of art. She tends to favor "art" extolling the virtues of the grand — "Lawrence of Arabia" is her favorite movie, so you get a sense of what that means to her.

I would never knock the merits of epic art, especially when it's as good as "Lawrence," but I've always preferred art on a smaller scale. More recognizable, more human, less epic. To me, the best art best reflects the real world in all its mundaneness, and it's not often that one's whisked off to Aqaba to fight alongside Arab Nationalists. Not in my world, anyways.

Well, "The Savages" is a "comedy" for people like me. See those quotation marks? That's not an accident. You tell me if this sounds funny: two siblings, Wendy and Jon Savage (Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, respectively), each dealing with feelings of extreme inadequacy and failure, are forced to take care of their abusive father Lenny (Philip Bosco) after he is diagnosed with dementia.

Comedy gold, right?

This is comedy the way "Sideways" or "About Schmidt" (and no surprise, seeing as how Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, the filmmakers behind those two, produced "The Savages") is comedy — painful, awkward, truthful realism that makes you wince as much (or more) as you laugh. It's an acquired taste, to be sure, and I think "The Savages" is even bleaker than Payne and Taylor's films. The message, if there is one, is that family can fail you and when that happens, perhaps it's best to just move on. That ain't exactly a "Waltons" level of thinking.

That said, this is a really good movie. In many ways, it reminds me of "The Darjeeling Limited." Both films center on siblings forced to reconnect after suffering the influence of a troubled childhood, and both try to make you laugh at things that no one should find funny. The difference is "The Savages" succeeds, and its bracing realism has far more impact that Wes Anderson's trite whimsy.

Every moment in the flick feels honest and natural, and I have to credit writer/director Tamara Jenkins for pulling it off. Nothing in her debut film, "Slums of Beverly Hills," suggested she'd be capable of the maturity and insight on display here. That flick was fun but fairly unsubstantial; this one is … something more.

For example, her depiction of dementia is pitilessly unflinching — Lenny seems truly lost in his own consciousness, with only brief yet vivid flashes of anger breaking that confusion. Both Jenkins and Bosco, who's better than he's ever been here, resist the temptation to soften Lenny. In a sense, it's the severity of his condition that humanizes him, and that's a tough thing for a filmmaker to convey. Jenkins does so with aplomb, and I'm sure that her own dealings with her abusive, dementia-stricken father added to the verisimilitude of the flick.

Yet, and this is what I'm so impressed by, she keeps things funny. I am sure that what we see Lenny doing in his first scene is an unfortunate by-product of dementia. It's also hilarious to watch.

Of course, it helps to have leads as predictably brilliant as Linney and Hoffman anchoring the flick. They are such subtle and skilled actors, and they keep the flick from feeling overtly like a two-hour hate-fest.

Linney's one of those rare actors who's consistently great and is still underrated, and that's because you never see her reaching for dramatic effect and flailing — she just "is." Wendy's a bag of neuroses – a compulsive, manipulative liar with terrible taste in men, but thanks to Linney, we still feel for her. She uncovers the self-loathing powering her character, and that keeps her from seeming like a monster. And Hoffman, in his third great performance of the last year, shows a comic timing here he's not often called on to use — the man makes agonizing over Brecht hysterically funny.

There's a scene they have together, where Wendy helps Jon deal with a tennis-related neck injury, that's maybe the most pleasurable acting moment of their careers (and yes, I have seen "Congo" and "Mission Impossible 3") — it's so arch and loopy and deeply human.

The same can be said for the whole flick. "The Savages" is an excellent movie, maybe the best (in terms of quality) comedy of last year. It's art on a small scale, always recognizably human, and that in itself is an achievement, I think. Just try telling my friend that.

Write your own review! After watching "The Savages" this weekend, come back here and tell us whether you agree or disagree with this review. Don't say we didn't give you a chance to give your opinion.