Our Idiot Brother

After Our Idiot Brother was over, I appreciated it the same way I did Identity Thief. Both movies were marketed as comedies... Yet, I didn't laugh very much. What I DID like though, was the way the characters were written in the two films. In Identity Thief, the jerk criminal played by Melissa McCarthy goes through a great personality transformation over the course of the movie, which is surprising, convincing and very sweet. If I ever watch it again, it's that I'd concentrate on... Not the negligible attempts at humour.

In Our Idiot Brother, the chap mentioned in the title as portrayed by Paul Rudd is a fool, yes... In his very first scene he sells cannabis to a police officer. IN UNIFORM. After his prison sentence has elapsed, he suffers the humiliation of losing his girlfriend and dog, before being forced to move in with his mother. At this point, observing his general idiocy and habit of letting people walk all over him, my empathy level for this guy stood at absolutely zero. Then, his three sisters enter stage left.

ALL of them have problems. One is a lesbian who's just fallen pregnant from a fling with a man. Another is married to Alan Partridge, who's banging a ballerina. The last one either gets a HOT story for her work as a journalist, or she might face the sack. Yep, it's yet ANOTHER dysfunctional All-American family (Still, watching a feature length flick about The Waltons would be rather dull, wouldn't you agree?)

Despite their own mounting difficulties, each one's opinion of their dopey brother range from tolerance to outright embarrassment. Yet, due to his happy-go-lucky attitude and general earnestness, he somehow helps each one out (albeit unintentionally for the most part) by just being his goofy, charming self. Not that they recognise this, though... And he eventually becomes a conduit for their own insecurities and frustrations, until it looks like the entire family might break up.

With a superb cast and witty, truthful dialogue, Our Idiot Brother, in it's quite short running length barely puts a foot wrong, in giving us a bunch of people who's lives we care about and proving that sometimes the idiot of the family can be the smartest one. I must say that being around someone like this all the time in real life would drive me CRAZY... I like those who are a little more confrontational and a little less eager to please. But you can't deny the impact he has on changing the lives of his siblings for the better... And for that alone, he earns my respect.

Very well done... 7/10

What a wonderful movie. Paul Rudd is terrific. He is truly the star. His performance is outstanding. The idiot is not Paul's character, Ned. He is a good-natured person who is willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Rather, the idiots are his three pretentious sisters who treat Ned like a child, misinterpreting his honesty for immaturity. Ned maintains his integrity, which is in sharp contrast to the phoniness that he encounters in others. Misunderstandings occur as Ned forces his sisters to confront their own lies. Ned is perceived as the family problem when in fact he is the solution, except no one knows it, at first. Several scenes are amusing as Ned's good nature and candid outlook produces some awkward situations. This movie succeeds because it tells a story, does so with humor, and keeps the audience engaged.

This film tells how a man who is so kind and honest that he manages to mess everyone's life up, including his own.

Ned is a young man with three sisters, and he goes to jail because he gave marijuana to a policeman who asks for it. He might appear very stupid to people, and indeed he is portrayed to be an idiot. However, it does beg the question whether an honest existence and a simplistic life is an undesirable or even a wrong life. I also had the thought that Ned in fact is living happily, unlike his three sisters who think he is stupid. The ending is a sweet and touching one, even though it is rather poorly developed and it feels like a very sudden paradigm shift for the characters involved. Overall, "Our Idiot Brother" is quite enjoyable as it is funny throughout, and is touching in the end.

I will admit that my hopes were quite high for this flick. No pun intended. Like most, Paul Rudd is a favorite comedic actor of mine. As I expected, he did a splendid job with this flick. The supporting cast also seemed to be quite good. Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer, and Zooey Deschanel played the three sisters of Rudd's character. Hence the title of the movie.

The story starts out with one idiotic move by Ned, portrayed by Paul Rudd. Ned is a biodynamic farmer and happens to be selling his crops at a local market. A police officer approaches him and asks for some "green." After Ned insists that he takes the marijuana for free, he is arrested.

The character development in this movie was probably my favorite part. Although frustrating at times, all the characters had that little something about them that was genuine and unique. In addition to learning a lot about Ned (like how he doesn't cheat or lie and trusts others too much), we also witness quite a bit from his sisters too. I really think if we saw the sisters together more often, then I'd laugh a bit more. Although Our Idiot Brother was funny at times, it wasn't the comedy film I was hoping for. I really thought that I'd be laughing more. Perhaps another viewing at another time will perspire such laughter, but I digress.

As alluded to earlier, Ned has three sisters. Miranda (Elizabeth Banks), Liz (Emily Mortimer), and Natalie (Zoeey Deschanel). After he's out of jail, Ned tries to live with his mom (Shirley Knight), but that doesn't work out so he looks to his three sisters.

From there the plot begins to unfold. It's hard to discuss it without giving away spoilers. You'll just have to see for yourself.

Also, Adam Scott, Steve Coogan, and Rashida Jones all have an active role in the film. Very fun.

It's also worth noting that part of the filming took place at the historic Hotel Chelsea. I've only been to New York City once and that's the place I stayed. This film really gave me the urge to want to be back in NYC!

Although not the movie that I wanted, it was pleasantly likable and worth a watch.

7/10 Stars.

Our Idiot Brother is probably the most harmless movie to come out this year, a very light and entertaining piece with a remarkably warm heart. At first I was frustrated by how thinly written the supporting characters were and how the sisters are some of the worst people put on film, but ultimately it's a necessary evil to get the film where it needs to go. It's a nice little study on the cynicism and selfishness of today's culture and how someone with a good heart and a sunny disposition just gets taken advantage of and abused for being decent.

There are a lot of funny moments throughout, most of them coming from Paul Rudd who plays a unique character for him (the rest of the actors were cast exactly in their wheelhouse) and is really just charming and kind the whole time. You really believe him in this role and Ned could have come off as too dim or annoyingly sweet, but Rudd makes him so likable and I just wanted to give him a big hug and hang out with him the whole time. Sure, there are plenty of flaws with how the characters were written, but in the end that's insignificant and just not what the film is about. It's an easy and touching film that sheds a light on how awful the majority has become, just like it's main character. Such a relaxed and easy viewing.