"Adult Beginners" Soundtrack Lyrics

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One of those movies that can be viewed on the couch in the evening in good company with a glass or two of beer, since the film only benefits from it. Secondary stars (Joel McHale (starred in The Community TV show) and Jeffrey DeMunn (star of The Walking Dead serial movie)), appearing in movie, pleased you more rather than actors of the main cast. The storyline is simple – the unfortunate broker who lost all his money, a house, and clients' money, moved to 3 months’ living to his sister and her husband, simultaneously trying to arrange something in own life. Thirteen basic compositions and 3 trailer’s sounding, are typical musical accompaniment to such film about not very much fascinating story of not very interesting person. It is difficult to separate something really well made. Rather, all songs are typical middling in the genre ( No Nostalgia by Ages And Ages or Tennessee by Arrested Development ). As for genres, in which most of the songs performed – it is rock and somewhere punk rock (Devil Again), clumsy songs, jagged and rough, like the film itself and like its main characters. Most of the music made in the style of the American 70's and 80's, as if to emphasize the stale time of the small town, which is inhabited by the main characters. It does not change much, nothing happens and everything is quite stable as in the plot of the film. A few slow songs deserve to be audible again and again, but nothing more to search in this collection, that "goes beyond". Maybe to listen at least once, for the overall development.

"Adult Beginners" Soundtrack: Description.

A gentle indie mix for a messy grown-up season

• Some soundtracks pound the table; this one nudges the elbow. Adult Beginners lives in that in-between mood—wistful but not sappy, a little lo-fi, then suddenly you catch a Bowie chorus on the breeze and remember you used to be loud. The film dropped in the U.S. on April 24, 2015, after a TIFF premiere the fall before, and it follows a tech bro flameout who becomes, awkwardly and tenderly, a manny. The music matches that pivot: small-scale songs with big hearts, plus a warm score that never begs for attention.
• The original score is by Marcelo Zarvos, whose fingerprints are all over intimate character pieces; he’s the kind of composer who trusts a single piano note to carry a scene and lets woodwinds do the talking when dialogue runs out. Here he gives the film a steady emotional pulse—soft, humane, a touch bruised—but the needle-drops are the breadcrumb trail you remember on the walk back home.

Track Highlights

Indie comfort food, with a few classic bites

• “Follow the Rainbow” — Tom Quick. The movie opens on hustle. Screens, pitches, charm turned up to eleven. This slick, buoyant electronica cue sells the optimism right before the crash. I remember thinking, yep, that euphoric synth pad? That’s borrowed confidence; it never lasts.
• “The Shore” — Wiretree. Strummy, sunlit, almost careless. The song hangs in the air like a party you’re not fully present for—perfect for those early scenes where Jake’s life looks glossy but feels hollow once you tilt it.
• “No Nostalgia” — Ages and Ages. A knowing wink of a title. When Jake and Danny slip into a haze, this track’s handclap brightness and choral swing turn the scene into a shared surrender, like two grown kids ducking curfew just to feel something light.
• “New Constellation” — Toad the Wet Sprocket. Toad’s grown-up jangle fits a movie about recalibration. The lyric idea—remapping your sky—echoes the film’s pivot from ego to responsibility without rubbing your nose in it.
• “Tennessee” — Arrested Development. A dose of ‘90s conscience and groove. When it pops up, it snaps the timeline back to mixtapes and bus rides; sudden, specific memory—like smelling your old high school hallway.
• “Walk on the Ocean” — Toad the Wet Sprocket. A song that feels like standing waist-deep at dusk, looking back at shore. Used sparingly, which helps; too much nostalgia would flood the joint.
• “Up the Hill Backwards” — David Bowie. The title alone writes the logline: trying to move forward while gravity insists otherwise. It’s a sly, slightly off-kilter fit that rewards anyone who’s ever had to stumble forward with dignity.

Where the songs live in the film

• Opening pitch chaos — “Follow the Rainbow” sets the caffeinated stage, all shine before the burn.
• Household drift — “The Shore” threads a background smile through a scene that very politely avoids eye contact with reality.
• Late-night hanging — “No Nostalgia” catches that silly-serious middle distance of old friends who can’t quite say what they mean, so they sing along instead.
• Reframing — “New Constellation” arrives like a deep breath after a messy exhale, hinting the map can be redrawn.

Musical Styles & Themes

• Zarvos’s score is the emotional grout—piano phrases with gentle string cushions, a breeze of woodwinds here, a pulse of pads there. It never oversells, and that’s its magic; it lets the actors keep the mic while laying down trust under them. If you’ve heard his work on small, humane dramas, you’ll recognize the quiet empathy baked into the harmony.
• Needle-drops skew indie-folk and alt-pop, with one immaculate Bowie shard to cut through the softness. The palette suggests second chances without the self-help sheen: guitars that tune toward hope, chorus vocals that feel communal, and drums that don’t march so much as meander into clarity.
• Theme, distilled: you can grow up without performing adulthood. The music keeps reminding you—don’t posture, just show up.

Plot & Characters

The story the songs are holding

• Jake (Nick Kroll) flames out spectacularly on the eve of launching his start-up, vaporizing the illusion of control. With nowhere to land in Manhattan, he returns to the suburbs and moves in with his pregnant sister Justine (Rose Byrne) and her husband Danny (Bobby Cannavale). He becomes an unlikely caregiver—part manny, part penitent— to his toddler nephew, an arrangement both funny and oddly sacred.
• The conflicts are domestic, which doesn’t mean small. Justine is balancing a career, a kid, a marriage with hairline cracks; Danny is charming, imperfect, trying and not always succeeding. Jake wants atonement without the homework. That’s the tension: can you rebuild without performing your apology?
• The tone shifts from brittle comedy to openhearted drama in modest steps, which is why the quieter cues do the heavy lifting—there’s a lot of feeling that nobody wants to name out loud.
• Cast, quick roll-call: Joel McHale drops in as Hudson; Jane Krakowski appears as Miss Jenn; Jason Mantzoukas and Bobby Moynihan add delightful chaos; Josh Charles, Mike Birbiglia, and Caitlin FitzGerald round the edges. It’s a warm bench, deployed lightly.

Production Notes

How it came together (and why the music feels like this)

• Director Ross Katz (a producer on Lost in Translation) keeps the camera close, give-or-take a few breathing shots of the suburbs. That closeness is why a modest score works: you’re half a room away from the characters at any given time.
• Writers Jeff Cox and Liz Flahive (from a story by Nick Kroll) lean into real-life texture—missed signals, petty fights, acts of care that look like errands. Music supervisor Maggie Phillips curates songs that carry that texture without varnish.
• Originally announced as Brother’s Keeper, the film premiered at Toronto in 2014, then hit limited theatrical and VOD on April 24, 2015. Shooting included a New Rochelle home—very much that Northeast-cousin vibe the movie wears like a comfy sweater.
• Bonus nerd note: Zarvos’s score qualified for the Academy’s original score longlist that season—a nice nod for music that plays the long game.

Reviews & Quotes

• Critics were split, but gently. The consensus called it “perfectly pleasant” and “middle-of-the-road,” which, fair—this is a hangout film with a heartbeat, not a barn burner.

“Perfectly pleasant yet never particularly engaging.” Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus

“A modest, well-assembled charmer.” Justin Chang, Variety

“Emotionally intelligent and mature.” Nikola Grozdanovic, IndieWire

Why the soundtrack lands anyway

• Because the songs don’t pretend to fix anyone. They just sit in the scene and breathe with the characters. You can throw a dozen prestige strings at a reconciliation and still miss the ache; or you can drop “Walk on the Ocean” for fourteen seconds and let memory do the heavy lifting.
• Also—Bowie. One well-placed Bowie cut can hold a whole thesis in its pocket.

FAQ

Who composed the original score for Adult Beginners?

Marcelo Zarvos composed the score, bringing his understated, character-first touch.

Is there an official soundtrack album?

No widely distributed commercial album surfaced; the film leans on licensed tracks plus Zarvos’s original score cues within the movie.

What’s that Bowie song in the movie?

“Up the Hill Backwards,” a perfectly on-the-nose title for a film about stumbling forward.

Who handled music supervision?

Maggie Phillips is credited as music supervisor.

When did the movie release?

Premiered at TIFF on September 8, 2014; U.S. limited/VOD release on April 24, 2015.

Technical Details

• Type: Movie
• Release (U.S.): April 24, 2015
• Director: Ross Katz
• Writers: Jeff Cox, Liz Flahive (from a story by Nick Kroll)
• Cast: Rose Byrne, Nick Kroll, Bobby Cannavale, Joel McHale, Jason Mantzoukas, Jane Krakowski, Bobby Moynihan, Josh Charles, Mike Birbiglia, Caitlin FitzGerald
• Composer: Marcelo Zarvos
• Music Supervisor: Maggie Phillips
• Key Songs: “Follow the Rainbow” (Tom Quick), “The Shore” (Wiretree), “No Nostalgia” (Ages and Ages), “New Constellation” & “Walk on the Ocean” (Toad the Wet Sprocket), “Tennessee” (Arrested Development), “Up the Hill Backwards” (David Bowie)
• Runtime: ~90 minutes
• Distributors: RADiUS-TWC (North America), Universal Pictures (International)

Credits & Cast (Spotlight)

Principal Ensemble (2014 festival bow / 2015 release)

• Nick Kroll — Jake
• Rose Byrne — Justine
• Bobby Cannavale — Danny
• Joel McHale — Hudson
• Caleb & Matthew Paddock — Teddy
• Paula Garcés — Blanca
• Jane Krakowski — Miss Jenn
• Jason Mantzoukas — Herman
• Bobby Moynihan — Paul
• Josh Charles — Phil
• Mike Birbiglia — Braden
• Caitlin FitzGerald — Kat

Why this soundtrack lingers

• I still remember the first time that Bowie hook slid in—half grin, half grimace—and I realized the movie wasn’t trying to solve anyone. It was just willing to witness the wobble. That’s the whole record-in-your-head here: a mix that doesn’t audition for greatness, just tells the truth softly, then gets out of the way so the hard conversation can land.

September, 23rd 2025

Adult Beginners on the Web: IMDb, Wikipedia

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A-Z Lyrics Universe

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